Guides Gone Wild

Today I’m joined by one of the most fun and inspiring mother/daughter teams around, Charlotte and Georgia Clews.

Charlotte is a Registered Maine Guide, Wilderness First Responder, ultrarunner, twin, grad student, thru hiker, business owner, all.the.things. Oh, and the mom of two teen girls, so at least we have one thing in common….

Charlotte has done a lot of adventuring with her daughters, but raised the bar particularly high with her last thru-hike. When she and her younger daughter Georgia got bored with the isolation of quarantine, instead of just finding something new on Hulu to binge, they opted for Plan B and decided to attempt the Arizona Trail, which had never been thru hiked by someone as young as Georgia before. 

It’s not often I get FOMO from a middle-schooler, I’ve been quite happy watching that part of my life disappear in the rear view mirror, but Georgia Clews has got me wanting to vlog from the desert. Until I see my first tarantula, then who am I kidding, I’d be out.

I thought this conversation would be a great follow on from my last episode with Lindsey Lapointe of Seacoast Hikes - because we know Lindsey and her kids will be doing something like this in another decade.

Must see TV!:

• Charlotte and Georgia’s amazing Arizona Trail recap video (Must See TV!)
• Many more adventures documented on the Clews family YouTube channel

And a small portion of the megazillion links you can find over on the newly re-designed Guides Gone Wild website (check it out!!)

• Arizona Trail
• What is a ‘zero day’?
• What is a javelina? Ocelot?
• Wait, there is such a thing as a pack rat?
• Mt. Lemmon (AZ)
• Mica Mountain (AZ)
• Marden’s

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Today I’m thrilled to be talking to Lindsey Lapointe, aka The Freelance Adventurer, and the brilliance behind the Seacoast Hikes Instagram page. 

The struggle can be oh-so-real when you’re trying to get little kids outside with you (and simultaneously trying to salvage some sliver of fun for yourself). Even the most experienced outdoorswoman can find herself struggling on a new-to-her trail when it’s buggier or harder or wetter or longer than expected, and her little wing-people start coming off the rails.

Despite years of experience leading older kids on outdoor trips, Lindsey hit this wall of frustration herself when she had her second child and tried to keep up her hiking habit with two kids < 3. Not only did Lindsey manage to bust through that wall, but she’s taking us all with her with Seacoast Hikes and Nature Walks, Volume 1 (and hopefully soon Volume 2!) which I’m excited to be talking about with her today.

Make sure to grab yourself a copy of Seacoast Hikes and Nature Walks (and start working on your patch now!)

You'll also want to checkout Lindsey's blog and follow her on the socials, @SeacoastHikes and @FreelanceAdventurer, for helpful videos of recommended hikes and tons of tips and inspiration. Whether you’re hitting the woods with your kids, your friends, or just your dog, you’ll find something to learn or love.

Copious links from our convo (head on over to GuidesGoneWild.com for even more!):

• Appalachian Mountain Club
• Hike It Baby
• SELT
• Great Works Regional Land Trust
• Crank the Kanc
• Mt. Washington Bicycle Hill Climb
• Whale Camp (Grand Manan, NB)
• Urban Forestry Center (Portsmouth, NH)
• Kim Bennett and Sandy Moore, authors of Paddling Southern Maine, on Guides Gone Wild
• Black Diamond aluminum trekking poles
• Steep and Cheap
• Lindsey’s Field and Stream article on trekking poles
• Kahtoola Microspikes 
• Hillsound Microspikes

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Today I have the distinct pleasure to bring you my new friend Ashley Waters of Ashley Waters Yoga.

I was introduced to Ashley through another new friend, Shay Bellas of Navitour -- which is awesome enough for someone who loves the whole women-supporting-women thing. And then when I started talking to Ashley and she copped to failing out of Jazzercise, I knew she was my people!

Ashley’s based in South Portland, but she was doing fully-remote yoga long before COVID made that everyone’s business model. Ashley Flowers Yoga fuses Ashley’s passions for nature and movement, taking her practice onto the water, as well as out into parks and fields (once in a while even sharing space with some four-legged friends!)

Ashley’s training and experience as an educator shines through in this conversation, as she gives me a much needed primer on yoga styles, and provides a somewhat plausible explanation for the charms of goat yoga.

If you’re like me and are in desperate need of some flexibility, but get intimidated by all the Sanskrit and woo-infused class descriptions and just decide to stay on the couch, this conversation is definitely for you. And who knows, somewhere in her explanation of Vinyasa vs. Shivananda, maybe you’ll pick up some tips to help you cure your awkwardly placed poison ivy...

You can check out all of Ashley’s goodness through her website, or 'Om Demand' on her YouTube channel (yup, she did that!), or if you really just want to see lots of pictures of cute goat frolic, find her on Facebook, or @youcancallmeflowers on Instagram.

And of course, she’s one of the guides profiled over at Navitour.com - Shay’s startup travel company has hit the ground running this spring, and has lots of fantastic trip and tour leaders featuring their fun offerings on the Navitour platform, so I hope you’ll check it out as you’re making your summer-in-Maine plans!

A few more links from this hilarious conversation:

• Ashley Flowers Yoga on Navitour
• Habitat for Humanity 
• Portland Paddle
• Madeline L’Engle
• What is the Sun Salutation?
• Smiling Hill Farm
• Nubian goats
• Shay Bellas of Navitour on Guides Gone Wild

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As someone who prides herself on being a try-er of all things (and mistress of none), I’m fired up to bring you today’s guest, Alice Bean Andrenyak of Alice’s Awesome Adventures. Because Alice not only tries it all, she masters it all, and then finds 10 people to teach it to!

There’s really not much that falls outside the guardrails of Alice’s power alley. She’s a Maine Master Guide, which means she is a registered guide in all areas that Inland Fish and Wildlife oversees (sea kayaking, hunting, fishing, and general recreation). She served on the board of examiners for Maine Guide licensing. She’s a firearms instructor. She’s got some serious chef skills.

Basically, if it’s possible to do it in Maine, Alice can teach you how, bring you to a great place to do it, and give you a history lesson on the drive over.

Alice and I talk about the challenges of solopreneurship, how Maine tourism continues to evolve, what makes turkey vultures cool, and why she just can’t say NO when faced with a new opportunity or new activity to master.

Check out all of Alice’s tour and guiding offerings and all the wonderful links and resources she’s curated for curious travelers at AMaineGuide.com, and follow her awesome adventures on Facebook and Instagram.

And if you want to check out Malaga Island this summer with Alice, let me know on Instagram or Facebook, or come over to the Guides Gone Wild website and drop me a line - I'd love to pull together a trip with whoever is interested!

More links from our chat:

• AMaineGuide.com
• Alice’s Awesome Adventures on Facebook, Instagram
• Maine Guide Q&A with Guides Gone Wild (featuring Alice’s student Travis!)
• How to identify a turkey vulture
• Malaga Island
• Maine Coast Heritage Trust
• What is mignonette?
• What are periwinkles?
• Maine Oyster Trail
• Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
• Peaks to Portland

As always, special thanks to founding sponsor Evans Notch Lodge!

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My guest today, Anyssa Lucena of Genuine Climbing, is a FIRE BALL!

Anyssa’s story starts out as a familiar one - high achiever spends decades checking off all the boxes of what she’s been taught is a ‘good life’, just to wake up one day wondering who she’s become and how the heck she got there.

But unlike a lot of folks who then spend decades more using life as an excuse not to have one, Anyssa started taking small actions, and tried to flame up a little flicker of interest she’d had in climbing, way back when.

I am so thrilled to introduce Anyssa to you today, because it doesn’t matter whether you’re interested in climbing or not, you’ll definitely get fired up just listening to her. Whether you’ve been stalled by mom guilt, mindset, or needing to meet an adventure partner, Anyssa’s story will tweak your narrative and give you some new ideas for small but meaningful actions you can take today.

I freaking love Anyssa, and I’m craving more of her energy and encouragement already - so even though I’ve probably climbed all of five times in my entire life, I’ll definitely be joining her Confident Climber’s Challenge. I am always in need of a kick in the pants to motivate me, I’m woefully in need of some mindset work, and -- bonus --maybe I’ll even get inspired enough to join one of the ladies’ nights at my local climbing gym, and really build some skills.

It’s not too late for you to join me for the Confident Climber’s Challenge  -- $21 for 21 days, what have you got to lose?!?

AND -- if you’re local enough to the Gunks, you can sign up for guiding and coaching with Anyssa through the Genuine Climbing website. But if you aren’t driveable to upstate New York, I’d still recommend you take a look, she’s got tons of online options for learning and coaching, and free resources for budding and experienced climbers alike. And while you’re online, come visit me here, here or here and drop me a line, let me know what’s been inspiring you lately!

A few more links from our convo:

• Confident Climbers Club 
• 21 Day Confident Climbers Challenge starts May 16th!
• The Gunks - AAC Campground
• Eco-Challenge
• Outward Bound
• Meetup
• AMGA
• Kyle Cease - Kylego

Special thanks, as always, to our founding sponsor Evans Notch Lodge!

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Today my guest is Hillary Pride, RDN, LD, NASM-CPT... we’ll get into what the alphabet soup is all about, but what’s important to know up front is that Hillary is a surfer, runner, knitter, weaver, recipe creator, wooden spoon drummer - just an overall cool person with a refreshing perspective on food, fitness, and the integral role that just plain fun should play in all of it.

Hillary drops some amazing tips for fueling yourself for a big day on the water or the trail, shares some great recipes, and just generally got me excited for a summer filled with fresh fruit and produce, and maybe a surf lesson (or ten).

Hillary downplays it, but her blog has so many great recipes and tips, I hope you’ll check it out. And make sure to follow her over on Instagram @eatswithpride AND @craftsea. Hillary weaves beautiful fabrics, has been knitting a wardrobe of adorable sweaters this past winter, and is awesome about tagging where she gets her patterns from, so if you are the crafty sort, make sure you've got @CraftSea on your feed!

Now for my big announcement - as of this week I’m going to take the Guides Gone Wild Podcast to biweekly for a little bit.

But don’t freak out, this isn’t the end, or even a pause!  The Guides Gone Wild Podcast hit 100 episodes a few weeks back (WOOT!), so we’ve spent a lot of time reflecting and checking out the survey responses we got last month. Some of the feedback indicated that there was SOOO MUCH content now that it was hard to keep up with it all. And newer listeners hadn't had time to go back and get inspired by all the amazing women who talked to me early on - whose inspiration and messages are just as important now as they were in 2020 or 2021!

Plus, I’ve got to be honest, between work commitments and the podcast, I’ve been spending a lot less time adventuring myself lately, and have been having a hard time carving out the space I need to build out some of the cool stuff I want to do with Guides Gone Wild. I want to get some more in-person fun going with all of you, so I’m going to slow the pod roll a little, stop talking about it and actually make it happen!

Links from my snack-chat with Hillary:

• Eats With Pride blog
• @eatswithpride on Instagram
• Hillary’s crafty side:  @craftsea
• Hillary’s energy bite recipe on Outside Online
• Mariani Dried Mango (no sugar added)
• Orgain Plant-Based Protein Powder
• Stephen Wells (@stephen.wells)
• Greg Long
• Sea to Summit Spoon

See you back here in two weeks!

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Today we’re heading back over to the Green Mountain State to talk to my new multi-passionate friend, Cail Casserly.

Cail was one of the women who acted as ‘caboose’ at the Vertical mountain biking event my friend Trish and I went to back in September. So needless to say, we had some great interactions with Cail, since Trish and I were proudly bringing up the rear on our hardtails all day.

She's a pretty quiet sort in person, very lovely and eloquent and unceasingly supportive, but not exactly spreading all her cards on the table. I was already interested in talking to her – and then come to find out, a lot of the cool things I saw on her social media after I met her were actually brand spanking new – as in, she started a lot of these initiatives the weekend we met her!

You’re not going to believe it either when you hear how fast she's been ramping up on all fronts. Cail is the personification of what I aspire to – taking one little step, then another, letting her curiosity and the universe take her where they would. Just six months later, she’s got a job she loves, with people she loves, supporting communities she loves… what’s not to love?!?

Cail is studying to be able to teach at university, but she doesn’t need a masters degree to start teaching us some lessons about trusting our gut and creating space and community.

Much love and many links with this one:

• Dirt Church Brewing - Anna Cronin
• Rasputitsa (mother of the Vertical event)
• Trish & Jen Go To Vertical
• Heidi Myers on Guides Gone Wild
• Onion River Outdoors (Montpelier, VT)
• Pride Rides Vermont
• Stonecoast Program at University of Southern Maine
• Little Bellas
• Outright Vermont
• Unlikely Riders
• Sterling College (VT)
• NEMBAFest

And a final note about Finding Granite, my new digital partner -  if you’re a small business owner or solopreneur or side-hustler with an online presence, you should absolutely check out the Finding Granite digital marketing blog for practical advice that will get you the results you need. Sign up, and start getting smarter about your digital presence today!

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My obsession with travel continues this week with my return guest, Tiffany Soukup.

I've had the distinct pleasure of talking to some fantastic adventure tour leaders over the last few weeks - if you haven’t already, make sure you tune in to the episodes with Jana Olenio from SUP Yo Adventures and Jackie Lastinger of The Girls Trip Adventure Co.

But what if you want to solo travel, or DIY your adventure? My friend Tiff is going to drop some total value bombs this week to help you out!

Tiffany joined me back in February to talk about her interesting approach to lifestyle design, which has evolved into spending part of the year working for Vermont State Parks, part of the year working for the AMC, and the rest of the year traveling all over the world. But in that episode, we barely scratched the surface of how she actually makes those travel portions work from a cost and logistics standpoint, so that’s what we’re diving into today.

So if you’re curious about how to find and use discount sites and reward programs, how to find the best value in accommodations, how to plan, how to prep, and most importantly, how to get out of your own goddamn way when you start freaking out or making excuses about why you can’t do something or go somewhere - this is the conversation for you!

Make sure you check out Tiffany’s travel-oriented site, VagabondWay.net, where she’s got a zillion more resources and articles that will help you save money and scratch your adventure travel itch - whether your adventure is to the other side of the world or the other side of the neighborhood.

You can also subscribe to the VagabondWay on YouTube, or follow @VagabondWayTiffany on Instagram to live vicariously through Tiff's travels until you’re ready to venture out yourself.

Some resources from our conversation:

• Tiff’s viral Maned Wolf video
• Agoda
• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• Sayon Lodge State Park (VT) 
• Little Lyford Lodge (ME)
• Gorman Chairback Lodge - AMC (ME)
• Fetch Rewards
• Ibotta
• World Nomads
• IMG International Health & Travel Medical Insurance

Before we go, special thanks to our founding sponsor, Evans Notch Lodge, and our new partner, FindingGranite.com - if you’re a small business owner or solopreneur or side-hustler with an online presence, you should absolutely check out the Finding Granite digital marketing blog for practical advice (without the BS jargon) that will get you the results you need. Head to FindingGranite.com, sign up, and start getting smarter about your digital presence today!

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My recent obsession with water sports and adventure tours (preferably at the same time) continues with today’s guest, Jana Olenio.

Jana is the wizard who spent the last decade growing SUP Yo Adventures from a handful of women doing yoga on a weird floating thing most people around here had ever seen before, to a four-season adventure excursion operator and 10-location SUP yoga mobile studio… oh, with a lovely six-bedroom retreat center at their disposal in the White Mountains.

And did I mention she also has a completely unrelated full-time job?

I’ve been following SUP Yo Adventures for a long time, so get ready for some fangirling. And I'm even more into her now that I’ve had a chance to meet her, even if virtually over zoom - Jana’s “why” is so powerful, and she gets so much joy and fulfillment from bringing people together around common interests, I know you’ll be into her too.

Jana’s entire business is built around doing things that make her feel good, then finding some of the other people whom she can help feel good in the same way. Just because you don’t see something being done, doesn’t mean there aren’t other people out there who’ll want to do it with you. Put it out there, be authentic, and you will attract the right people.

A simple idea, although a little complicated in the execution, now that she’s juggling five million good things! But so inspiring. It always comes back to her 'why'. And I’m so excited to see where she’s taking everyone next.

Check out all of the upcoming SUP Yo Adventures and classes at SUPYoAdventures.com, on Facebook, and Instagram. Whether your jam is ziplining in the tropics, or sip-lining some local brews after a paddle, there’s something for you.

Links from my chat with Jana:

• SnowGa with SUPYo Adventures
• Bartlett Village House (NH)
• Black Mountain (NH)
• Attitash Mountain Resort (NH)
• Kahtoola microspikes

And don't forget to head over to Guides Gone Wild to see some pix of Jana's SUP acrobatics on the water!

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As promised, come along for a row with Nicolle Littrell of DoryWoman Rowing...
Listen in as we tour Belfast Harbor, talk technique, and enjoy a beautiful winter day on the water!

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