How a Hike Lead Me to MyTrailPals

About Me

I am Gunjan, a mom to two wonderful daughters, an avid hiker, community builder, and founder of MyTrailPals.

I also co-founded the women’s hiking community HikeQueen Buddies, where thousands of women have found strength, confidence, and belonging on the trails.

Journey on trails

My journey on the trails began in 2018 when a friend casually asked if I wanted to join her for a weekend hike.

Without thinking much, I said yes.

That simple yes changed a lot for me.

What started as two friends exploring nearby trails quickly grew into something more meaningful. We began sharing our hikes on social media, and slowly, friends started asking to join. Then friends of friends. Before I knew it, a small weekend plan turned into a growing circle of women who loved being outdoors together.

Over time, this evolved into a WhatsApp group and later a Facebook community of ~1.2K women.

But more than the numbers, what stayed with me was what I saw happening quietly in the background — people finding confidence, consistency in fitness, emotional support, and a sense of belonging through shared outdoor experiences.

The Moment Everything Shifted

In December 2021, after one of our hikes, a woman came up to me and gave me a hug. She thanked me for organizing the experience.

A few days later, she messaged me again.

She shared how that one hike had unexpectedly shifted something in her life — helping her feel more confident, more connected, and more open to new possibilities, both personally and professionally.

That message stayed with me.

It made me realize something simple but powerful: outdoor experiences can be transformative when they are shared.

Research also supports this — time spent outdoors improves physical and mental well-being, and when combined with social connection, the impact is even stronger.

The Insight

As I continued engaging with the outdoor community, I started noticing a pattern.

People weren’t struggling because they didn’t want to go outdoors.

They were struggling because discovering the right outdoor experience wasn’t easy.

I spoke with hikers, runners, walkers, and outdoor enthusiasts across different backgrounds. A few clear themes emerged:

• Outdoor experiences were everywhere, but fragmented

• Most were organized inside WhatsApp groups, Facebook groups, Instagram pages, Meetup communities, or word of mouth

• Unless you were already “inside” these circles, it was hard to discover what was happening around you

• At the same time, passionate community leaders were spending significant time organizing these experiences without tools built for them

It wasn’t a lack of interest.

It was a lack of connection between those who host outdoor experiences and those who want to discover them.

Building MyTrailPals

That’s where the idea for MyTrailPals took shape.

MyTrailPals is a community-led outdoor experiences marketplace where local outdoor enthusiasts can host experiences, and others can discover and join them.

Instead of searching across scattered groups and posts, people can find real outdoor experiences in one place — hosted by individuals and communities who love the outdoors.

These experiences can be anything from:

• Beginner-friendly hikes

• Trail runs

• Wellness walks

• Camping trips

• Cycling rides

• Outdoor social gatherings

At its core, MyTrailPals is not just about finding people to go outdoors with.

It’s about making it easier for anyone to discover and participate in meaningful outdoor experiences — and empowering hosts to build and grow their own outdoor communities.

What’s Next

As we grow, our focus remains simple:

Help more people discover outdoor experiences they’ll love, and help more community hosts share what they already naturally do best — bringing people together outdoors.

I’d love to see this grow into a world where outdoor experiences are easier to discover, easier to host, and more meaningful for everyone involved.

Because sometimes the best connections, ideas, and transformations don’t start in meeting rooms — they start on a trail, a sidewalk, or a path we walk together. That's how MyTrailPals was born 🙂

And hopefully, I’ll see you on a trail, at a sunrise hike, or at an outdoor experience near you.

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Gunjan Utreja

Let's connect on MyTrailPals!