Abbey Waited Months. Then She Said Yes to Larapinta
Her Trails | Larapinta Retreat
sometimes the hardest part is saying yes
Abbey Waited Months.
Then She Said Yes.
The question is rarely only about the trip.
It is about whether you are ready to trust yourself enough to say yes to something that keeps calling you.
Abbey Ford had been thinking about the Her Trails Larapinta Retreat for months. Six days of hiking through one of Australia’s most extraordinary landscapes, surrounded by women who were also stepping beyond the familiar.
She felt drawn to it. She also kept circling.
Was it the right time? Was she ready? Could she really be the person who said yes to something like this? Three weeks before departure, Abbey made the decision.
She arrived as a participant. She returned as a facilitator.
Not because the retreat turned her into someone else, but because it gave her the space to recognise more of who she already was.
In the video above, Abbey shares what it felt like to make that decision, what she discovered on the trail and what she would say to any woman sitting in the same uncertainty she once sat in.
Larapinta Note · 01
Listening to the pull
At Her Trails, we talk about listening to your intuition and allowing your gut to guide you. The honest version of that conversation is more complicated.
Your instincts can draw you towards something meaningful. They can also pull you back towards what feels familiar and safe. Both voices can sound convincing.
The work is learning to distinguish between the voice that says, “This genuinely does not fit,” and the voice that says, “I am frightened by how much I want this.”
Fear does not always mean no. Sometimes it means this matters.
Larapinta Note · 02
Abbey did not force her way to yes
This is not a story about overriding every concern or saying yes before you are ready. Abbey allowed herself time to consider what the retreat would ask of her and whether it belonged in her life.
Her decision became clear when she stopped looking for complete certainty and began listening to what she genuinely wanted.
Saying yes did not mean she had every answer. It meant she trusted herself enough to take the next step without needing to see the entire path.
“If you are thinking about it, you are already halfway there.”
Abbey Ford | Her Trails Facilitator
Larapinta Note · 03
What the Larapinta Retreat holds
The Her Trails Larapinta Retreat is a six-day women’s immersion in the ancient landscape of Tjoritja and the West MacDonnell Ranges.
Days move through red rock country, dry river valleys, open ridgelines and vast desert skies. The walking creates the rhythm, but the experience is about more than the distance covered.
It is time away from the usual roles and demands. Time to move without rushing. Time to hear your own thoughts clearly and connect with women whose lives may look different, but who understand what it means to arrive carrying a lot.
The retreat is led by Samantha Gash alongside experienced guides and Her Trails facilitators. Together, they create a supported environment for movement, reflection, challenge and genuine connection.
Larapinta Note · 04
You do not need to arrive as an experienced hiker
You do not need an impressive hiking history or a perfectly prepared version of yourself. You need a willingness to train for the walking, ask for support when you need it and arrive open to the experience.
We support you before departure with practical information and preparation guidance. On the trail, the group moves with care for different histories, strengths and ways of experiencing challenge.
The aim is not to prove that you can keep up. It is to discover what becomes possible when you are properly supported.
You do not have to arrive fearless.
You only need enough trust to take the next honest step.
A question for you
Is this your moment?
If the Larapinta Retreat has been sitting quietly in the back of your mind, these questions may help you understand what the hesitation is asking of you.
Is the hesitation coming from something that genuinely does not fit, or from the vulnerability of wanting it?
What would saying yes make possible beyond the six days themselves?
What might the version of you who went want the version still deciding to know?
Upcoming Her Trails retreats
You do not have to decide alone.
Explore our upcoming retreats, or reach out if you would like to talk through the experience before making your decision. We are always happy to have an honest conversation about whether it is right for you.
Explore Her Trails Retreats →sometimes the first step is simply trusting the pull
From Her Trails
Her Trails retreats create space for women to move through extraordinary landscapes, reconnect with themselves and experience what becomes possible in a genuinely supportive community.
