How a Hike Lead Me to MyTrailPals

About Me

I am Gunjan Utreja — a mom of two lovely daughters, an avid hiker, technologist, and the founder of MyTrailPals. I am a community leader, passionate about bringing people together for the greater good and giving back through connection. 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 trails started in 2018 when a friend asked if I would like to hike over the weekends. Without a second thought, I said, “I would love to.” All I needed was a trail pal.

We began hiking every weekend and loved every bit of it. With every hike, I felt awe — a magical connection with Mother Nature — and a deeper connection with myself that I had never experienced before. I felt refreshed and energized after each hike, ready to take on the coming week’s personal and professional challenges.

We shared our experiences on social media, and slowly friends — and their friends — started joining us. Without realizing it, we were inspiring fellow women and building a community. Today, it’s a private Facebook group of 1,000+ women across Silicon Valley. This journey has empowered many along the way, made fitness fun, and created a much-needed support system — physically, mentally, socially, and even professionally.

On the trails, conversations felt different. People opened up. Titles faded. We weren’t just professionals, moms, founders, or job seekers — we were humans walking side by side. That’s when I started noticing something powerful: movement and nature were creating connection in a way meeting rooms often don’t.

MyTrailPals

The spark for MyTrailPals was lit after one of our hikes, a woman hugged me and thanked me, sharing what a magical experience it had been for her. She was going through one of the hardest phases of her personal and professional life. That single hike changed the trajectory of her journey — giving her clarity, confidence, and opening doors she had been struggling with for a long time, both personally and professionally.

Through the trail, she met people, had real conversations, and formed connections that didn’t feel forced or transactional. That hug became a euphoric moment of realization for me.

Research shows that being outdoors stimulates all five senses and positively impacts physical and mental health. When combined with social connection, the impact is multifold. What I witnessed on the trail was exactly that — wellness, confidence, belonging, and opportunity unfolding naturally through movement and nature.

At the same time, I saw a broader shift. Wellness was no longer just about fitness. Communities and tech organizations were exploring walking meetings, networking walks, outdoor offsites, and employee experiences to build culture, creativity, and human connection in a digital world.

That’s where MyTrailPals evolved.

MyTrailPals is a platform creating opportunities for people to connect outdoors — not just for hiking, but for walking, networking, wellness, and community building. It’s a mobile app that enables real-life connections (the opposite of the metaverse 🙂), making the outdoors accessible to individuals, communities, and organizations anywhere.

It empowers anyone who wants to step outside — whether they’re hesitant to go alone, looking for meaningful conversation, building a community, or creating modern team experiences beyond conference rooms.

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 🙂

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Gunjan Utreja

Let's connect on MyTrailPals!