Rhonda McGwier’s family has been taking trips to Estes Park for the past 25 years.

But last year, because of relocations and complicated schedules, the Dallas-Fort Worth resident found herself without anyone to go with her on the trip. Still, she felt determined to escape to the mountains. She had a goal in mind: Dream Lake, a high alpine lake in Rocky Mountain National Park that sits at the base of Hallett Peak.

Looking for somewhere to start, McGwier came across a tour-guide business while scrolling on Instragram, Femme Trek. So, she reached out.

“I said, ‘Well, I really want to go up to Dream Lake. I have never made it up there, believe it or not,” McGwier said. With two knee replacements and admittedly a bit out of shape, she started to work hard to prepare for the hike, walking several miles daily.

A couple of months later, she landed in Estes Park and met Sharon Saternus, who would be her guide.

“We set off for Dream Lake, and she did get me there,” McGwier said, learning breathing techniques and hiking skills from Saternus on the way.

McGwier felt comforted by Saternus’ experience as a guide, especially being another woman whom she could trust.

“To have somebody and have a woman is really pivotal, I think, in going,” McGwier said.

“I’m glad I went, and it was a success being there, and I wouldn’t have got there with without her.”

Saternus founded Femme Trek in 2021, quitting her corporate job to pursue her passion.

The company offers hiking tours in Rocky Mountain National Park, as well as survival-skill classes, all tailored to women.

“I wanted to provide a safe space for women in the outdoors,” Saternus said. “Women are underserved and underrepresented in the outdoor industry, and there’s people who come from all over the world to Colorado and are looking for opportunities to hike with other women just because we experience the wilderness differently.”

Saternus moved to Colorado from northern Virginia in 2018. In the years prior, she had discovered her love for hiking as a way to escape the stress of her work in the tech industry — the same job she would quit to create Femme Trek.

“I was hiking all the time, because the job was really stressful, and so I would just go into the mountains to rejuvenate my mind and my soul,” Saternus said.

“I went through nine reorganizations within two years, and just really didn’t know what my job was anymore, and the company was going way too fast, and I just decided it wasn’t worth it anymore.”

Originally, Saternus tossed around the idea of tailoring the tour-guide service for families or couples. But, after looking at her competition, she found there was a gap in the market for women hikers.

“When I was in my corporate job, I developed a program to bring more women into the industry. So I just thought, ‘OK, well, I can just transfer my skills to my business, and just kind of see what happens,’” she said.

And it was a success — about half of her tours are with returning clients, and her survival classes are booked months in advance, Saternus said.

“I knew the need was there, but it’s confirmation that I can keep going with this,” Saternus said.

The mission: Create a space where women could feel confident branching away from the trailhead, she said. As a female guide to other women, Saternus is able to customize each experience for clients without fear of judgment, something that McGwier appreciated.

Saternus has 400 hours of survival-skills training from a six-week-long survival camp she completed before creating Femme Trek. Saternus uses her knowledge to teach other women how to be prepared in the wilderness, teaching her classes through partnerships with the Bear Creek Nature Center and Fountain Creek Nature Center in Colorado Springs.

The workshops are geared toward female day hikers, Saternus said. She covers important skills, such as how to remain calm and prioritize if something goes wrong, as well as the basics like making shelters, fires, finding water, using a compass and signaling. Saternus also goes over essential items, emphasizing why hikers should carry them.

“I had one client tell me she carries paracord (nylon rope), but she had no idea why,” Saternus said. “I don’t want them to carry things because the ‘10 essentials’ says you should carry them. I am showing them this is why you should.”

She also uses her own experiences to craft the courses in hopes that those taking them don’t have to go through potentially dangerous situations to learn lessons.

“I don’t want them to have to go through situations over the years, to get themselves in a dire situation where they’re just really uncomfortable, and could have been life or death and then have to learn from that,” she said.

“I’d rather be able to present these skills and say, ‘OK, here you go.’ So hopefully they can apply them when they’re on the trail and teach each other, too.”

Saternus has permits that allow her to provide guide services within Rocky Mountain National Park.

Women travel from all over the world to tour with Saternus. Only about 20% of her clients are from Colorado, since many of the women that book with her are completing adventures on their bucket list.

With the success Saternus has been having with her business, she soon plans to expand, hoping to offer even more survival workshops and to start hiring employees.

“I want to make Femme Trek a great place for women to work,” Saternus said.

As for McGwier, she doesn’t take the services of Saternus lightly. Throughout her stay, she made several treks with Saternus in Rocky Mountain National Park, hiking the Ute Trail and exploring Wild Basin, activities that she says wouldn’t have been possible without a trusted guide.

“You’re trusting her with your life, right? Really you are, and that’s not lost on me about giving a recommendation to her,” McGwier said. “It’s important that you go with somebody that you trust.”