Seven celebrity women I'd love to take on a backpacking trip

1/22/2015

Celebrities don't often come across as the backpacking type (or at least their public personas don't really lend to imagining them out on the trail, with no makeup and dirt under their fingernails). Still, there are a handful of women who seem like they would be a blast out in nature. Here are my top eight women whom with I'd love to share the trail:

1. Jennifer Lawrence
Known as "America's Kick-Ass Sweetheart," you have to try really, really hard not to like J-Law. Her acting is all-in (I thought her performance in American Hustle was mesmerizing), and with roles like Ree in Winter's Bone and of course Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games trilogy it's hard not to imagine her as completely amazing out in the wilderness. Also, she has claimed herself to be "the fastest pee-er ever," a total bonus when backpacking.

2. Alanis Morrisette
Claiming her favorite place in the world is California's Big Sur, Alanis seems like she'd be a great conversationalist around the campfire at night (are there portable guitars)? Her songwriting skills make her one of the most memorable women performing today, and the fact that she starred on "You Can't Do That On Television" as a teenager likely means she's got a wicked sense of humor.

3. Annette Bening
Maybe it's her charm, or maybe it's the fact that she's managed to stay married to Warren Beatty for 23 years, but I feel like Annete Bening can do anything, and do it with grace (including walking miles a day with a 40 pound pack). Her roles in The American President and American Beauty, two of my all-time favorite movies, make me wonder if she'd be a fun-yet-even-keeled addition to any backpacking trip.

4. Alicia Keys
This badass R&B star made a name for herself at a young age, and has said that she loves trying new things. She's been quoted saying that she has huge calves, which puts you at an advantage in backpacking, and she once considered changing her name to "Alicia Wild." Plus, she could sing while we hiked, something that makes a long haul go faster (not to mention keeps the bears away).

5. Reese Witherspoon
Her recent performance in Wild aside, Reese is a big reader and considers herself “a big dork who read loads of books...I get crazy in a bookstore. It makes my heart beat hard because I want to buy everything." She's also a feminist — when asked who she would invite over for dinner, she said "all the female senators" and when asked what she would ask them, she replied "why there aren't more female senators." I hear you, sister.

6. Jennifer Aniston
I know this is completely ridiculous, but I've always secretly believed that Jen and I would be best friends given just 5 minutes together at the bar (good thing we'll never meet in real life). She's smart, she's independent and she's funny — all things that I look for in a bestie and a trail partner. Imagine how close we'd be after two days in the wild! (Plus maybe she'd bring along her bestie Courtney Cox.)

7. Jillian Michaels
Jillian Michaels is everyone's favorite badass, making her the ideal celebrity to get me out of my comfort zone and push me to be my best (something I do with my own clients). But I'd also like to take her backpacking because she's a writer, a vocation that's near and dear to my heart, and as an investor in the jerky company Krave, we'd have lots of great snacks on the trail. Plus she loves animals and communing with nature.

What female celebrity would you love to spend some quality time with while backpacking remote backcountry trails? Leave your answer in the comments below.