This post has been updated with a new estimate of the turnout for the Women's March in Ann Arbor.

ANN ARBOR, MI - There was a sense of trepidation among many at the Women's March in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Jan. 21, that the presidency of Donald J. Trump will result in infringement on their rights.

But seeing thousands of people march through downtown Ann Arbor in solidarity with women and then gather for a rally at the University of Michigan Diag gave them hope.

"It can feel a little bit hopeless, but this brings hope," said Kristin Sharp, of Trenton, who marched with her sister Kerry Haynes and co-worker Debby Benson.

"It's women uniting, not only in Michigan and in the country but in the world - they're in Oslo, Moscow, Greece, Australia. Women have had it," Benson added.

Sharp, Haynes and Benson said they're especially concerned about the federal government denying funding to Planned Parenthood - which Trump said while campaigning he would support - and restricting women's access to health care. They also would like to see the gender wage gap eliminated.

They joined the line of people that stretched more than a mile once the march began just before 2 p.m. on the unseasonably warm, sunny Saturday. Michelle Regalado Deatrick, one of the organizers of the march, said more than 11,000 people attended Ann Arbor's march.

"When we first started (planning) the march, we thought we would get about 600 people," said Deatrick, a Washtenaw County commissioner and founder of Michigan to Believe In. "It just took off. It clearly struck a chord for people."

Ann Arbor Police Sgt. Patrick Maguire said the crowds were larger than expected, but they didn't have any problems with the march. Deatrick thanked the Ann Arbor Police Department and the University of Michigan for their efforts to direct traffic for the march.

Bright pink hats, scarves, coats and shirts dotted the stream of people filling the streets for the Women's March. Most of the participants were women, with men and children well represented among the marchers, too. The group chanted "Women's rights are human rights" and "This is what democracy looks like" as they walked, and many carried signs reading "Love trumps hate," "Not my president," and "My body, my choice."

As Ashley Wilson, a University of Michigan junior and treasurer for U-M Students of Choice, said at the rally, most of the discussion on Saturday centered on women's rights, but the event also was meant as a sign of solidarity to defend the rights of the LGBTQ community, immigrants and people of color and to defend religious freedom.

"With the transition into this new administration, it is no secret that women's health and bodies have taken a very unpleasant starring role in the recent political rhetoric," Wilson said. "From attacks on abortion rights to the dismissal of sexual assault allegations against a man who now sits in our White House, the administration has made it clear that they want to be on the wrong side of history when it comes to women in this country."

She thinks women's access to reproductive health care will be restricted if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, which Trump and Republicans in Congress have said they plan to do.

Wilson joined several other people in speaking at the rally: Deatrick; co-organizers of the march Claire Cepuran, Robert Joseph and Bradley McPherson, co-founders of Progressives at the University of Michigan; Maria Ibarra-Frayre, a racial justice and immigrants rights activist; Michelle Elizabeth Brown, civil rights activist; Cindy Estrada, UAW vice president; state Rep. Donna Lasinski; and U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell.

Many of the speakers called on those in attendance to join organizations advocating for the rights of women and other marginalized groups and to participate in their local government in order to carry on the momentum from Saturday's event.

"All these signs with all these issues give me so much hope for my children, because I know that they're going to grow up in this world - in this world, where we're going to stand for love not hate," Estrada said at the rally. "But - one last thing - in order for that to happen, everybody needs to leave here today and not just stand up for each other, but you need to go get involved in a group."

Dingell started Saturday in Washington, D.C., where she said she greeted people from Michigan joining the national Women's March. She said she wanted to participate in Ann Arbor's march, and it brought tears to her eyes to see the crowd gathered at the Diag.

"Our voices are the most powerful tools we have to bring about change," Dingell shouted into the mic, the closing speaker at the rally. "And together, our voices are strong, they are mighty, and they will not be ignored!"

Jennifer Crooker, of Ann Arbor, and her friend of 20 years, Diana Maxfield, felt compelled to march Saturday for their daughters' sake. Crooker had three daughters and her mother join her at the march, and Maxfield was accompanied by her two daughters and three granddaughters.

"Our daughters have grown up knowing that they can be whatever they want to be," Maxfield said. "They have no frame of reference for a time when that wasn't possible. We want them to realize that as much as we thought it wasn't possible to lose those rights, apparently it is. You have to be involved."

Crooker and Maxfield, who both work at a Muslim feminist organization, and their daughters wore homemade headbands that read "Nasty Woman" tied around their hijabs. They hope Trump's presidency will serve as a wake up call for Americans that their democracy is not infallible.

"I think we have to understand that we're not immune. America's not immune," Crooker said. "Growing up, I was always given the idea that America's immune from bad things happening, like, 'OK, we just let the government take care of us. It's OK, we can go about our business and not be concerned about other people as much.' But that's not true. We really do have to connect with other people and be proactive and not assume that it's not my problem, not my job."

Saturday's march reminded Maura Dooley, of Dearborn, of marching for women's rights as a college student at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the '70s. Her sisters Ann Hunter and Margaret Landon joined her at the march in Ann Arbor.

"Women still don't have equal rights," Dooley said, adding that she marched Saturday for her 1-year-old granddaughter. "I hope the momentum keeps going (from Saturday's marches). I'm heartened by this."

Hunter said she's worried about the Affordable Care Act being repealed.

"We're only making America great again for white men," she added. "I think it's going to be four rocky, rocky years here."

Josh Menke and his wife Holly Menke, of Roseville, decided to attend the march in Ann Arbor to advocate for women's rights to access safe abortions.

"I feel it's important that women should be able to fight for their rights," Josh Menke said. "We need to just stay strong, stay resilient, keep hopeful."

MLive reporter Lindsay Knake contributed to this report.