Guides Gone Wild

Aaaand we are back! This is Part 2 of my conversation with Nicolle Littrell of DoryWoman Rowing.

Yesterday in Part 1, we talked about how Nicolle got into rowing in the first place, how she found herself the proud owner of Sorcière, her Swampscott Dory, and how her son almost disowned her in the process - if you haven’t listened yet, load it up, we have some fun there!

Today, we pick up our story at the point that Nicolle has her boat, but finds herself without a job during a global pandemic.

Given the circumstances, I think a lot of folks, myself included, would curl up in a ball and lick our wounds for months, but Nicolle got right back on the horse, or should I say right back in her boat, and decided the time was now to start her business, DoryWoman Rowing.

If you’re having visions of rowing through the lightly falling snow, you should head over to the  DoryWoman Rowing website to see if your vision matches up with reality, because Nicolle has some very cool footage up on her home page right now of just such magic! You can, and should, also follow Nicolle @dorywomanrowing on Instagram, DoryWomanRowing on Facebook, and come back to your podcast player in a few days to  hear a little bit from her on the water, actually doing her stuff!

More links from our conversation:

• What is a bowline knot?
• Heck yeah, sturgeons jump!
• Alissa Wetherbee on Guides Gone Wild
• International Dory Races
• Ida Lewis
• Front Street Shipyard (Belfast, ME)
• Boat hook
• Mermaid fender by Taylor Made

Final reminder - if you're a Maine Guide or tour/experience provider, create your free Navitour profile now!

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I’ve got a fun little series coming to your earbuds to end this week with my new friend Nicolle Littrell of DoryWoman Rowing.

If you’ve listened to this podcast before, it probably won’t take you too long to realize why Nicolle’s story resonated with me - I’m not entirely unfamiliar with what happens when a woman collides with midlife and realizes she wants something entirely different than what she’s been up to the last few decades…

This one covers a lot of ground, so I’ve broken it up for you. Today we're mostly talking about how Nicolle got into rowing dories in the first place (since that’s not exactly an obvious outdoor activity choice for most people), and also how she basically manifested her way into her first boat….. was it pure will, or witchcraft? I’ll let you be the judge.

In Part 2, we'll be getting into the nitty gritty of Nicolle starting her business, and becoming a registered Maine Guide along the way. Some interesting insights in that one, if you've contemplated taking the Guide test.

Come back tomorrow to see what happened after Nicolle set her mind (and her oars) to starting her own business!

Or if you can’t wait that long, you can book a rowing session with Nicolle right now on her website, and also check her out on the socials, she’s @dorywomanrowing on Instagram and Facebook.

A few links from this part of the conversation:

• Emily MacCabe on Guides Gone Wild
• Come Boating (Belfast, ME)
• What is a pilot gig?
• What is an Annapolis wherry?
• Swampscott Dory
• The Compass Project
• Warren Island State Park

A parting thought!:
If you haven’t created the free profile for your guiding or trip business on Navitour yet, now is the time to get in touch with them, they are cranking up their consumer marketing efforts at the end of March, just in time for warm weather bookings!

• Shay Bellas of Navitour on Guides Gone Wild
• Set up your free guide profile on Navitour

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Jackie Lastinger of The Girls Trip Adventure Co. is my guest today - representing one of the very few so far that I’ve had the good fortune to meet in real life BEFORE I actually interviewed her.

Jackie organized a super-fun Shred Rebels gals snowboarding event at Sugarloaf this winter that my daughter and I signed up for, and it turns out that amazing day she pulled together for close to 30 women was the first step in her full-fledged return to the adventure leader world.

Listen in to find out how this barely car camping Georgia gal turned her back on the familiar, so-called ‘normal’ life plan, and started patching together the people, places and experiences that she intuitively knew would bring her joy. Next thing you know, she’s making snow and driving a groomer at Sugarloaf, among other things.

In addition to being my newest lifestyle design idol and a badass snowboarder, Jackie has launched The Girls Trip Adventure Co. and is hosting her first trip this summer. Since we recorded this, Jackie has actually sold out Catalina and the Channel Islands - woo hoo! -but I know what that means.... She's got her maps and calendar out in the snowmaker’s warming hut getting her next trip offering nailed down before mud season!

So follow Jackie and The Girls Trip Adventure Co. on Instagram, and head over to her fancy new website, and subscribe to be notified as soon as new adventures are posted so you don’t miss out on more fun!

More links to inspire YOU into action!:

• “Tall” Ashley on Guides Gone Wild
• Trans-Catalina Trail
• Channel Islands National Park
• Hiker Babes
• The Broken Fiddle Hostel (Damascus, VA)
• Stone Mountain (GA)
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• South Sister (OR)
• What is ‘scree’?
• Mt. Hood (OR)
• Beech Mountain Ski Resort (NC)
• Cataloochee (NC)
• Sugar Mountain Resort (NC)
• Tahoe Rim Trail
• Havasupai
• “Learning to Drown” (documentary short)
• Randy Sun Waterproof Socks

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You may sense from the lack of what my daughter calls ‘my annoying intro’ that this week is a departure from normal - and you are correct!

After 90 something consecutive weeks of posting an interview, I’m actually on vacation with my family this week, and since I double dropped my epic conversation with Sydney Williams on you last week, I decided to take a quick break to refresh and re-set today!

Never fear, I’ve got a bunch of great women queued up for the next several episodes, who’ll get you inspired to blast out of your comfort zone and try something new or go somewhere different. Or both! But you’re just gonna have to wait a few more days.

I hope you'll support the podcast by following us on Instagram and Facebook, or you could pop over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and leave us a rating and review.

OR, in my opinion, the best possible way to support Guides Gone Wild is to share it with your friends who need a little kick in the pants to start adventuring with you! Send them the link to your favorite episode from the Guides Gone Wild website, all of the audio is available there, or just look for the share icon on your podcast player and shoot some inspiration right into your buddy’s messaging app - easy peasey!

Tthank you for your patience while I enjoy a little free time this week, I hope you’ll come back next week and join me when I jump back into the wild!

Links:

• @GuidesGoneWild on Instagram
• @GuidesGoneWild on Facebook

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And we are back! Yes, it’s Part 2 with Sydney Williams of Hiking My Feelings.

If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, I highly recommend you go back and do so, we laid down lots of groundwork yesterday that will make today’s conversation an even richer one for your eardrums.

BUT - if you’re more interested in the origin story of Hiking My Feelings than the story of the brains and breakthroughs behind it, you can still absolutely listen to this one on its own and get a ton of value.

Sydney brings the truth bombs fast and furious. So grab your flak jacket and start Hiking YOUR Feelings for real - the Blaze Your Own Trail to Self-Love program kicks off with a free workshop this Sunday, February 20th - make sure to visit Hiking My Feelings for more info or to sign up.

And lest you think the value stops there....more links galore!:

• Hiking My Feelings - on Instagram - on Facebook - on YouTube
• Take a Hike Diabetes
• Sydney Williams on Life In Motion
• Sydney Williams on Misfits & Moguls
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Women Who Hike
• Outdoor Journal Tour
• Better Help
• Kula Cloth 

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My guest this week, Sydney Williams, may be familiar to some (and if you listened in on my conversation with Victoria Amico of Plus Sized Outdoors a month or so ago, this name should definitely be familiar to you!)

Sydney Williams is the founder of Hiking My Feelings (the group) and the author of Hiking My Feelings (the book). And yes, you will have to listen to a little bit of fan girl blathering from me, because Sydney is a rock star and I have huge respect for what she’s creating and supporting in the outdoors.

Sydney and I could’ve talked for a week, there’s that much to dive into, and this conversation wound up being a long one. So I’m doing something a little different this week.

This is 'Part I' of our conversation, I’ll be dropping the rest tomorrow - load them both up and listen in as you head out for your long weekend adventures. But consider yourself forewarned - this conversation has plenty of salty language and adult theme landmines, so if you’re with your kids, you might want to pop in the earbuds first.

Although once you’ve listened, you might want to share with your tweener daughters anyway, because there are so many messages here that are important for women and girls to hear.

Make sure you check out Sydney's Blaze Your Own Trail to Self-Love program that will be kicking off with a FREE workshop on Sunday, February 20th! Sign up at  Hiking My Feelings, and get ready to feel loved and supported as soon as this weekend.

You can also follow Sydney and Hiking My Feelings on Instagram or Facebook, and join one of their Virtual Campfires on YouTube.

More links from our conversation:

• Take a Hike Diabetes
• Victoria Amico of Plus Sized Outdoors on Guides Gone Wild
• Penelope Trunk
• SXSW (South by Southwest)
• Peter Shankman
• Trans-Catalina Trail
• Stonewall Peak

And don't forget to tune back in tomorrow for the rest of the story!

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I'm coming in HOT today with my guest, Tiffany Soukup.

Tiff is a fireball of energy and positivity, and will probably be #lifegoals to any of you who aspire to a life filled with travel and the outdoors.

Tiff and her husband are Park Rangers (aka Park Managers) within the Vermont State Park system, and have also served as the managers of the AMC’s Little Lyford Lodge & Cabins in Greenville, Maine for several winters. Although not this winter - and we’ll get into why in our conversation.

But if that wasn’t interesting enough, Tiff is also an inveterate world traveler during the stick and mud seasons, a photographer, a writer, and the #1 evangelist over at VagabondWay.net, as she terms it, a site about "a deliberate way of living, allowing the freedom to travel".

And because we covered some ground, links for everyone!!:

• @VagabondWayTiffany on Instagram
• VagabondWay on YouTube
• Tiff’s shrew article
• National Student Exchange
• Chef Christopher Bates
• AmeriCorps
• New Zealand Working Holiday Visa
• Great Walks of New Zealand
• Vermont Youth Conservation Corps
• Elmore State Park (VT)
• Ranger Emma (National Park Service) on Guides Gone Wild
• Sayon Lodge State Park (VT) 
• Spruce Mountain (VT)
• Camp Plymouth (VT)
• Dark Sky Initiative
• Gourmia Travel Kettle

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Ignore that pile of snow by the driveway, today we are talking SUMMERTIME…… and summer camp! Like, unbelievably awesome summer camp that makes me FOMO even as an adult!

Amanda Hatley of She Summits Co. was on the pod waaaay back in September of 2020. At the time, as you’ll hear, Amanda was reeling from the impact that COVID was having on her new business -- but she was walking her talk, being brave, and figuring out her next pivot(s).

Fast forward to February, 2022 - She Summits is no fly by night startup.

Despite, or maybe I should say in spite of, all that is going on in the world -- ever-changing COVID restrictions, the Great Resignation, the uncertainty that’s been overwhelming pretty much every area of our lives -- Amanda and her She Summits team executed on a 2021 season of life changing, next level camp experiences.

Backpacking through and exploring all the hidden corners of Acadia.
Hiking the AT, summiting Katahdin, white water rafting.
Even kayaking with day campers in the Bangor area.

And She Summits Co. will be firing on all cylinders again in 2022, with day and overnight camps for girls in 1st through 12th grade. They even have a Junior Maine Guide program for 4th to 12th graders, how cool is that? Get out there, girls, we need more Guides Gone Wild in Maine!

She Summits Co. is so buttoned up. Their camp programs and trips are amazing, and they take great care to hire exceptional people and give them tons of training and support. I hope you will join me in spreading the word about this amazing organization, right now - because as anyone with kids knows, if you want to secure some safely supervised, electronics-free summer outdoor activity for your kid, you have to have it planned out by February break these days... #kidding not kidding.

Get over to SheSummitsCo.com and check it out, share it with your friends and family - let’s make this the best summer ever for Amanda, her company, AND the budding wild guides in your lives!

And in case you needed more convincing - She Summits Co. has been nominated for The Most Exciting Start Up of 2021 by UpStart Maine! Big deal, people!!

Vote for She Summits Co. in the comments HERE
and by clicking HERE to select She Summits Co. from the list of nominees in the pop-up poll.

Let's make summer 2022 the best yet!

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Today we’re going to try to break this arctic freeze streak we've been stuck in lately with a blast of FIRE from my guest, Christsonthy Drellos of Blue Sky MTB.

Christsonthy is the powerhouse mountain biking coach and instructor that Trish and I went on and on about back in the September 16th episode, when we recapped our amazing Vertical experience. If you are even vaguely interested in mountain biking OR fly fishing, I recommend you go back and listen to that one, so that I can make sure you come with us and amplify the fun for next year’s Vertical event!

And if you are slightly MORE than vaguely interested in mountain biking, you will love this conversation with Christsonthy. She is a certified mountain bike instructor and coach, and a positive force of nature.

Like, every sentence on her website ends in an exclamation point, and she’s smiling ear to ear in every picture you’ll see.

But that is entirely her persona - she and Blue Sky MTB bring the fun, whether to her base in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, or her winter home trails in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Christsonthy drops some great technique tips and gear recommendations, and her laugh is infectious, so drop on into this episode and get airborne with Christsonthy Drellos of Blue Sky MTB! And of course, make sure to follow Christsonthy @blueskymtb.

A sampling of the things we talk about (come on over to the Guides Gone Wild website to see the rest!):

• Vertical 
• Kingdom Trails - Sidewinder Trail (side note, we all need to tell Christsonthy to do some POV videos on her favorite Kingdom Trails for YouTube next summer so I can replace this bruh video with her!)
• What is enduro racing?
• Transition Women’s Weekend East - Angi Weston
• Highland Women’s Weekend
• Village Sport Shop (Lyndonville, VT)
• Appalachian Mountain Bike Club (Knoxville, TN)
• Ergon Grips
• Swiftwick Socks

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Today I’m joined by Victoria Amico, the brilliance behind Plus Sized Outdoors - a curated online resource and blog for hikers, an instructional YouTube Channel, and now, an inspiring PCT Thru Hike you can follow along with starting this spring!

Victoria and I met cute during a Zoom class hosted by our mutual friend Emily Holland, the host of the Nature Untold podcast, and a former guest of this very pod. When Victoria talked a little bit about what she was working on, I started private messaging her, just to find out that she’s also currently living 30ish miles from me here in Mass. Next thing you know, we are on a socially distanced library date to chat all things outdoor inspiration, and I knew right then she was THE ONE…. for an upcoming episode!  (OK, yes, I know, overkill on the rom-com metaphors).

Anyway, Victoria’s story is one of repeated disappointment and rejection while following "the path" that most of us have grown up thinking we needed to be on.

That kind of beat down takes its toll, as we discuss, but Victoria has lived up to her name and come out the other side victorious, ready to take on some huge things, and support lots of friends in the process.

I hope you’ll also head over to plussizedoutdoors.org, where you’ll find her beautiful site with all the fantastic resources that I go on and on about in this episode, I promise you’ll be just as impressed as I am.

And the rest of your required reading from this episode:

• @Plus_sized_outdoors on Instagram
• Plus Sized Outdoors on YouTube
• Hiking My Feelings donation page
• The Trevor Project donation page
• Victoria’s PCT blog on The Trek
• Mt. Major (NH)
• Unlikely Hikers - Jenny Bruso
• She Explores Podcast featuring Sam Ortiz
• Hiking My Feelings - @hikingmyfeelings
• Sydney Williams
• Virtual Campfire featuring Victoria
• Rocky Mountain National Park
• Four Pass Loop
• Maroon Bells
• PCT (Pacific Crest Trail)
• What is ‘Type II/Type III’ fun?
• REI Garage Sale
• NEMO Hornet 2-person tent

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