Brooklyn’s Outlandish Hosts Black History Month Hike

On the surface, hiking can seem as if it has a low barrier to entry. How hard is it to get up and go outside?

Dig deeper and you will find that you need proper footwear and plenty of water. Depending on the weather, moisture-wicking apparel and warm socks will come in handy. Transportation to remote areas can be complicated, and having a guide, or at least a member of your group with knowledge of the terrain, can’t hurt. And more gear will probably be needed the more hours hikers spend outside.

The barriers can be even higher for Black people and other people of color, given the lack of access to the outdoors for certain communities. There’s also a pervasive stereotype that Black people do not enjoy activities like hiking, which discourages some people from trying it in the first place.

At Outlandish, a hiking-gear store in Brooklyn founded by Benje Williams and Ken Bernard, the staff works to end such stereotypes by educating Black people and other marginalized groups on hiking and other outdoor activities. Last weekend, in celebration of Black History Month, the shop hosted a guided hike so participants could have a chance to reconnect with nature at a time of upheaval.

“That’s the hope for this hike, especially after a couple of rough weeks, just going out and breathing and remembering that things might be falling apart but there’s still a lot of beauty as well,” Mr. Williams said, referring to crackdowns on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives by President Trump.

“I think now more than ever we want to celebrate Black history, celebrate one another, and really I think community is going to have to really be the nucleus of this next presidency,” Mr. Bernard added.

Nearly 40 participants, most of whom were Black, set off around 10 a.m. to Harriman State Park, where they hiked a 5.3-mile loop along the mossy terrain past Lake Nawahunta, eventually climbing Stockbridge Mountain to take in panoramic views of the forest. They explored Indigenous routes made by the Lenape tribe along the way.

Avalou Ross, a licensed hiking and camping guide in New York who has been hiking for about 10 years via her organization, Tristate Hikers, was the main guide for the event. She has led about 20 of Outlandish’s hiking adventures, which the store calls Hikeish, and said that one of the things she stresses to participants is to “not just to connect with nature, but to connect with each other.”

“Every day that we decide to step out as a Black person into these spaces is a part of Black history,” Ms. Ross said. “And I considered myself a part of Black history because I’ve helped so many Black women face their fears of getting outdoors, especially in the winter.”

Ms. Ross also spoke to the fear that some Black people have expressed toward activities such as hiking and backpacking, claiming that they do not feel it is a space for them.

“Because they don’t see it,” she said. “They’re not exposed to it.”

For Similejesu Sonubi, Sunday’s hike, which took nearly four hours, was only her second, after going on one about three years ago in Cold Spring, N.Y. Outlandish, she said, was the first hiking community she had heard of that centered Black people.

“It’s always nice to see when different types of Black-owned businesses are started and supported by the community,” Ms. Sonubi said.

There are a number of hiking and outdoor clubs around the country and internationally that have emerged in recent years with a goal of centering Black people and other marginalized groups. Among them: Trials, Trails and Triumphs in New Jersey, the Hood Hikers in the Bronx, Rando Fragile in France, Black Men Hike and Black Girls Trekkin’ in Los Angeles and Black People Outside in Chicago.

For Outlandish, the store and the hikes started with a friendship that began in 2021. Mr. Williams, 40, and Mr. Bernard, 32, who are Black, met while Mr. Bernard was working at R.E.I., a recreational equipment retailer. Mr. Williams was preparing to go on his first backpacking expedition in the Sierra Nevada and needed gear. He was elated to see a Black person, Mr. Bernard, working at R.E.I.

After that initial connection, the two kept in touch and talked about their love of the outdoors. Eventually, Mr. Williams began moonlighting at R.E.I. and, in 2022, he shared his goal of opening a hiking store. Soon the pair began plotting what would become Outlandish.

Since opening the store in January 2023, Outlandish has positioned itself as a go-to destination for hiking gear. The store tries to spotlight gear from companies owned by people of color. It also tries to provide a variety of products that are not only fashionable but might not be accessible in mainstream outdoor-equipment stores. The store sells major brands like Patagonia as well as smaller labels, including Urban Native Era, ToughCutie, Leimert Mountaineering and Allmansright.

“We know that when they made these pieces, there are stories behind them that aren’t being told, especially in a big-box retail space,” Mr. Bernard said. “So it’s been really cool to help these brands evolve in a way and get rooted in a community that a lot of them don’t exist in.”

The founders began their outdoor outings just a few weeks after opening the store. They then secured a partnership with the outdoor brand Salomon to launch Hikeish, which has led to around 40 outings so far.

“We felt like people of color and Black people especially have belonged outside since the beginning. Like, my grandparents grew up in Arkansas and they were farmers and sharecroppers and then they left and they never went back,” said Mr. Williams, who is originally from Auburn, Calif.

“With the Great Migration, there is this fragmentation that’s happening with our relationship in nature, and we are trying to return to that,” he added.