Hike Clerb Founder Evelynn Escobar On Building Community By Doing the Work

In 2017, Evelynn Escobar sent a text message to her friends that would change the course of her life. It was an invite to hike up to Griffith Observatory, a classic Los Angeles route. Ten friends showed up, prompting her to set up an Instagram account to organize more regular hikes. Eight years later, Hike Clerb has grown into a nationwide community movement to create space for thousands of women of color to reclaim a relationship with nature through monthly hikes and workshops.

Coincidentally, Escobar first discovered her love of hiking at Griffith Observatory when she was 10 years old. While visiting her aunt who lived in LA, she remembers feeling a sense of awe at the view of the city below. The moment left such a lasting impression that when she moved to LA in 2014, she made sure to spend time further exploring the many trails in the valley. But as her interest in the outdoors grew and she ventured into national parks like the Grand Canyon and Zion, she was struck by the overwhelming lack of diversity.

“I only saw one or two Black people in these parks,” Escobar recalls. “It frustrated me because, as Black, Indigenous, and other racialized people, we all have this trauma connected to the land—displacement, violence, systemic discrimination. And yet, we’re made to feel like we don’t belong in these spaces.”

Through Hike Clerb, Escobar is rewriting that narrative. For her, the outdoors isn’t just about adventure—it’s about healing, community, and reclaiming space. Now, as a business owner and new mom, she continues to center this mission in her work. Staying true to Hike Clerb’s mission of inclusivity and empowerment in the outdoors, Hike Clerb partnered with The North Face to release a capsule collection of footwear and apparel last year.

[Ed Note: Discover more BIPOC focused outdoor organizations to support and get involved with here.]

To learn more about her vision for Hike Clerb we recently spoke with Escobar about how a small hike evolved into a movement, what it will take to make the outdoors truly inclusive, and how Hike Clerb has mobilized its community to respond to the recent fires in Los Angeles. An edited version of our conversation is below.

You are now eight years into Hike Clerb, at what point in your journey did you decide that this wasn't simply about your mental health, a hobby, or a social activity, but a part of your life's work?

When I moved to LA, I was working in social media management. I was working for fashion and beauty brands, but I was feeling unfulfilled. I knew I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing. I knew that I was supposed to be working with people and being part of the community in some way. I didn't necessarily know exactly what that looked like yet, but I just knew that this was not the right fit.

Back in 2019, we hit the two-year mark. I had just quit my full-time job working in social media management and gone freelance. I took the leap and was like, “I’ll figure it out.”

That same year, we hosted a hike in partnership with Hoka. One hundred people came to that hike, and we took over the Temescal Ridge Trail in LA. During the hike, we were met with microaggressions from the white people on the trail, but I really only remember the moment when we paused to do the simple Hike Clerb chant—one, two, three, Hike Clerb. It hit my soul. I really appreciated the solidarity and the way we were able to take up space on the trail. I will remember that feeling forever.

I never set out to be this movement leader, this community leader in this way, but now this is where I'm at, and this is the way that I'm showing up. I feel like that hike kind of marked my understanding that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.

What still needs to happen to make the outdoors more accessible to women of color?

I always joke that in 2020, people discovered Black people and nature because of everything that was going on. During that time there was a lot of support, a lot of eyes, interest, and intrigue in my own story and the work that I was doing through Hike Clerb. It also inspired, I think, a new crop of people who wanted to start something that mattered, who enjoyed the outdoors, who maybe didn't see themselves but are now seeing themselves for the first time.

It’s funny. I started Hike Clerb during the first Trump presidency, which is a very interesting parallel. We've always been about this work, true inclusivity, and empowerment. When I think about what has happened since then, I think there have been bright spots where people were paying more attention, there was a lot of support, a lot of momentum, and resources being shared around. But now I feel like collectively, we are all kind of in this recoil. There's a lot of fear. A lot of the programs that were instituted only a few years ago have been erased. It feels like we've gone back five steps.

Even though it feels like it’s hard as hell right now, we are doing the work to ensure that we are being seen, supported, empowered, and resourced, despite the lack of resources we are being presented with. Historically, through all movements, Black women have led the charge, and Black women specifically are going to lead the charge to create these equitable spaces and new worlds that everyone else gets to benefit from.

You live in LA. Have the recent wildfires affected your mission for this year?

Yes, overall our theme is restoration on a literal and spiritual level. There's a lot I think that needs to be done to kind of build the land and ourselves back up in this very insane time.

This year, we’ll be honing the point that we’re on sacred land. We’ll think about how our behavior impacts the lands that we reside on and the way that the land is now in conversation with us through the programming we host this year. We have three different categories for our programming. We have moving through nature, healing through nature, and restoring through nature.

Moving through nature obviously focuses more on hiking. Healing through nature incorporates wellness modalities. That's activities like sound baths, breath work, and things like that in our program. And then restoration through nature is our sustainability focused vertical, that's us planting trees, doing cleanups. So traditionally, our programs fall into these categories, but this year we're gonna be seeing that they're kind of all going to be in communion with each other. Everything is going to have a component of these three.

You are a woman of many passions, and you've been able to bring all of that to Hike Clerb from your background creating content to advocacy work. How do you bring them all together?

I used to be like, how do I explain Hike Clerb to people? I do not have a traditional background in environmentalism or environmental justice. What I have learned and what I have done has been self-taught. And for a long time, that made me go through an imposter syndrome era. Ultimately, Hike Clerb is just me being me.

There are a lot of people who have traditional schooling or traditional leadership backgrounds in the outdoor space. That was not my path. I now realize how much of a superpower that really is. We all get to the places that we need to get to on our journeys in so many different ways. I think for me, it really goes back to that intuition piece. I'm actually a really great listener. I not only listen to the urges that I get, but I act on them. And so that is how I've been able to really bridge everything.