It’s a cool, clear September evening. The light is just beginning to shift toward darkness. A bat flies overhead on its way to eat the last of the season’s mosquitoes. At the top of a 25-foot cliff overhanging a creek, a group of women have gathered. One of them, wearing a helmet, gloves and a small harness, steps gingerly toward the edge, turns and calls out “On rope!” That’s the signal she is ready to take the plunge at Devil’s Glen Park in Bettendorf, Iowa, where Quad-City Women’s Outdoor Club founder Kim Shields (right) has gathered the group.
Shields formed the QCWOC in spring of 2007, and the woman about to rappel — Caroline Gabelmann — joined just an hour earlier. Perched on the limestone ledge, she looks like she might be rethinking that decision. “Come right to the edge, lean into the rope, look down for the next place to put your feet and step off,” says Gerry Voelliger, one of the instructors for the evening.
From below, five women who have already rappelled the cliff add their advice to Voelliger’s instructions. “Stick your tush out!” one of them yells while the others call out encouragement.
Slowly, Gabelmann takes one step, then another. She keeps one hand in front of her and the other behind her back, working a safety rope as she eases herself down the cliff. Within a few minutes, she has made it to the bottom. QCWOC members come forward to congratulate her. “I’m still shaking,” she tells them, smiling, “but I’m happy.”
The women represent a broad cross-section — some are college students, others are counselors and accountants and stay-at-home moms. What these women all have in common is an enthusiasm for the outdoors and an interest in trying something new.
Shields says the group is committed to offering high-quality outdoor experiences to its members. “Instead of just doing it, we want to develop real skills. So we bring in instructors who can really educate us about doing the activity right,” she says. The list of activities the group has tried is impressive: hiking, mountain biking, kayaking. Winter weather doesn’t slow down the group. “We’re year-round,” says Shields. Cold-weather activities this season will include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and rowing.
The group is open to members of any age, fitness level and outdoor experience. Annual dues are $20. Members receive a long-sleeve T-shirt and water bottle and can attend any of the group’s monthly meetings and activities. Active Endeavors, one of the group’s sponsors, offers a 10-percent discount in its store to members, and Trinity Medical Center, another sponsor, offers discounts on classes and women’s health screenings.
For Elizabeth Heston, one of the QCWOC’s first members, the group was just what she was looking for. She has an adult son who makes his living in outdoor adventures. “I’m normally a timid person,” she says, “but I figure if I’m going to go and play with him when I visit …” QCWOC takes new members all through the year. Women interested in joining can visit the group’s Website, www.QCWOC.com, sign up at Active Endeavors, 3885 Elmore Ave., Davenport, or contact founder Kim Shields at kim@qcwoc.com.
