Guides Gone Wild

Today I'm thrilled to introduce you to my other-end-of-Notch neighbor, Lori Steere of the Butter Hill Hideaway.

Lori first came onto my radar when I saw a few posts she did on Instagram, talking about how she kind of impulsively bought a property in the middle of nowhere because of some indescribable connection she felt when she saw it. I have a bit of a history of impulsively dumb real estate purchases myself, so I was hooked, and kept following along as she started fixing the place up for rentals, and later started adding tent sites and making the property into a woodsy wonderland.

I finally ambushed Lori for an interview last month - I’d started messaging with her, and invited her to stop by when she was heading through Evans Notch on the way back from helping out a friend. She was a little caught off guard when, all of a sudden, I was trying to mic up someone (her) I had barely just met, but she was a super good sport and rolled with it.

Over the last few years, Lori has turned her acres of overgrown hillside farmland into a cozy homestead for her family, and a peaceful, amenity-filled camping experience for complete strangers. But like all good Guides Gone Wild stories, there were a few twists, turns, broken bones and electrical fires along the way….

I think if I keep doing this podcast for much longer, I’m never going to want to spend a weekend at home ever again - even though it’s getting mighty frosty in the mornings around here, I am DYING to get up to Butter Hill to spend a weekend hiding out in Lori’s super-cool tent village. If you are too, be sure to follow Butter Hill Hideaway on Instagram and Facebook, and get your getaway booked asap!

Some links from my ambush of Lori:

• Star Gazer @ Butter Hill Hideaway Tentrr listing
• Denver Tent Company
• Hardy Farm
• Fryeburg Fair
• Toad Hill
• Coos Cycling Club
• Granite Backcountry Alliance - Baldface Glade
• Hub North
• Learn more about Tentrr
• Evans Notch Lodge

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Today I've got a question for you....
What would happen if, instead of fitting your outdoor passions around your 'real' life, you made a conscious effort to make your real life support and sustain your outdoor passions?

We’ve been examining different approaches to this challenge the past few weeks - first there was 'Tall' Ashley Leedberg, who literally walked out on her so-called 'real life' to start over in the outdoor industry. Then there was Briana Sullivan, who's negotiated a way to take a few extended breaks from the real world in order to do some thru hiking.

Today we’re talking to Carrie Hoffman, who has made her passions for yoga and outdoor, eco-friendly living into her full-time profession as a yoga teacher, adventure leader and eco-retreat owner. It hasn’t been all savasana, though - Carrie’s life adventure has taken some pretty crazy hairpin turns. 

Whether it’s outwitting a bunch of raiding baboons, towing cattle tanks of fresh water for guests, or fighting her way through recovery toward sobriety, Carrie has proven more than woman enough to get sh*t done. I loved letting her positive spirit wash all over me, and I think you will, too.

I hope you enjoyed this one - if you dig hearing about the ins and outs of outdoor hospitality, you might also enjoy my episode with Serena Ryan of The Notch Hostel in North Woodstock, NH.

And you won't want to miss Carrie’s guest-star-turn on the Nature Untold Podcast. Load up your audio with goodness for your next treadmill sesh right this second!

Check out Carrie’s retreats on the web at BiggerLifeAdventures.com, or @biggerlifeadventures on Instagram or Facebook, or even TIK TOK, you social media pioneer, you!

And get a close-up view of Carrie's beautiful bell tents and tiny structures @GrandCanyon EcoRetreat on Instagram, although fair warning, once you see how amazing her spot is, you might just find yourself booking a trip to the desert soon.

Some links from our chat:

• Laguna Campground (CA)
• Burning Man
• Joshua Tree National Park (CA)
• Prison Yoga Project
• Rim to Rim (Grand Canyon)
• Little Birdie Key Chain
• Grand Canyon Eco Retreat listed on HipCamp

Want to (re)treat yourself closer to home? Check out our sponsor, Evans Notch Lodge!

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I'm bringing you a fun little (or should I say teeny) little diversion today with my encore guest Briana Sullivan.

Briana first joined me last December, when I interviewed her and her daughter Cambyr about their AT trek, completed during the craziness of early COVID pandemic. (If you haven’t caught that one yet, make sure to go back later, I’ve got it conveniently linked up for you here.)

I’ve been wanting to bring Briana back because: 

A) she and Cambyr were good to their word and did a Camino de Santiago trek this summer that I have been FOMO-ing for months; and

B) I wanted to have an excuse to visit her floating tiny home, now that we’re all vaxxed up and before the weather got too cold to risk a Merrimack River paddle in my janky old Loon.

I’m still not sure it was the smartest move to be paddling out to visit her in the dark, which I wound up having to do, and I’m still going to have to go back during the day to appreciate the tiny completely, since Briana was having issues with her solar battery and only one party light that rotated between fuschia, blue and green was working while we chatted…. But since I talk a big game about everyone else getting wild, when the opportunity presented itself, I went for it!

As you might remember from the first episode we did, Briana is a whirlwind of energy on her down days, so you won’t be surprised by the enthusiasm she brought to a conversation about some of her recent favorite things. Enjoy!

Selected links from our convo (want the full list? Come on over to Guides Gone Wild and check out the episode page!):

• Follow Briana on Instagram 
• Briana and Cambyr talk about their AT trek
• El Camino de Santiago - Camino del Norte - Camino Primitivo - Camino Francés (*NOTE: I’m sharing links from this site because it has a decent overview of the various options, but reader beware, I have no idea whether the specific tour companies they recommend are good/bad/indifferent. Get a taste of it here, do your own research, and enjoy!)
• Picos de Europa
• Compostela
• What is a ‘tramily’?
• What is an ‘albergue’?
• Finisterre
• Guthook Guides for El Camino
• Mapy.cz
• Cub mini wood stove

And don't forget to follow us on Instagram @GuidesGoneWild for all the inspiration!

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My guest is Lauren Humphrey, the Community Outreach and Development Director for an nonprofit called Outside Perspectives that partners with youth development organizations in Connecticut to create immersive wilderness experiences for kids.

As we talk about in this episode, Lauren first came onto my radar when she was the Northeast Regional Coordinator for an organization called Adventure Mamas. So given all this, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that we’re talking about getting your kids, my kids, any kids into nature today.

Oh, and I didn’t mention that Lauren was also a special ed teacher, so she drops some amazingly tactical advice for those of us who’ve got some littles or not so littles we’re trying to convince to be our outside sidekicks.

But what surprised me was the added benefit/inspiration that Lauren’s story brought me that I wasn’t even counting on - basically, here’s a woman who moved cross country twice, picking up new activities and interests along the way…. Except when she’d get settled in her new home, she’d have to start all over again finding people who shared her passion to get out and climb or bike or snowboard with.

It’s all about the community, people, can you relate?

I hope you’ll head on over to outsideperspectives.org, check out all the great work this program is doing in Connecticut, and maybe do your part to make Lauren’s new development gig a tiny bit easier??

You can also check out Outside Perspectives in the wild, literally, over on Instagram or Facebook - Lauren’s already doing a killer job of sharing beautiful images and inspiration from this year’s trips, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store for the upcoming winter season!

Places and things worth checking out (or at least Lauren and I think so!):

• Misquamicut (RI)
• Adventure Mamas
• The Gunks (NY)
• Keene Valley (NY)
• Alander Mountain (MA)
• Nalgene
• JUNK Headbands

FINALLY- if you want to borrow a page out of Lauren’s playbook and be a beginner again, AND have a shit-ton of fun doing it, my good friends the Two Maine Mermaids have a cold water challenge going on from now through the end of 2021 featuring lots of great Insta-worthy ideas for chilly dipping, whether in honor of the upcoming full moons or accompanied by hot cider, cocoa, or something a little stronger…
Check out my episode with Kelsey and Caitlin here, or head to TwoMaineMermaids on Instagram to get more info on this fun (and f-ing freezing) challenge!

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Today I’m joined by Jennifer Klein - make that DR. Jennifer Klein! - the Director of Outdoor Experiences for the Trustees of Reservations, an innovative land trust that shares a Massachusetts home base with 'that other Jen' (yours truly).

Whoever is behind the Trustees' lovely web presence deserves a lot of credit for their copywriting skills, because one of the first headings you see does a fantastic job of summing up what the Trustees of Reservations stands for - People. Places. Perpetuity.

Before we dive in, a quick history lesson - let’s take it back to the late 1800s, when the so called 'robber baron' industrialists were focused on extracting economic value from nature, and gridding out open spaces with railroads and buildings. A landscape architect named Charles Eliot recognized the benefits of preserving natural spaces for use for something other than lining pockets, and ideated and created the country’s first land trust, which was then called the Trustees of Public Reservations. As Eliot and others observed at the time, the ‘public’ was urbanizing fast, factory jobs were replacing farming, and they believed that the ability to spend time in nature would provide a very necessary respite from hectic, dirty, loud city life.

Now let's fast forward back to my new friend, Dr. Klein. She's no small-town-girl-livin'-in-a-lonely-world.... (you're welcome for that brain worm!) Dr. Jen grew up a city girl, spending vacations with her grandmother, enjoying the natural wonders of.... downtown Detroit. Cue record scratch.

So how did Jen Klein become interested in nature or outdoor recreation at all? That’s why we’re here, folks!

I hope you’ll check out the Trustees at thetrustees.org, and if you’re a full-fledged or proximate Masshole, please join me in the HikeTrustees Facebook group so we can get more intel on some fabulous spaces we haven’t yet discovered.

And speaking of discovery - I just KNOW you’d love to support the Guides Gone Wild podcast, and help more people discover all the cool, amazing women we talk to every week! PLEASE tag a few friends on one of our inspiring Instagram posts, or scroll down right here on your player and share your favorite episode!

Some more fun links for your browsing pleasure:

• Who was Charles Eliot?
• What is a quinzhee hut?
• deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
• Doyle Community Park (Leominster, MA)
• Ashintully Gardens (Tyringham, MA)
• Ravenswood (Gloucester, MA)
• Crane Beach (Ipswich, MA)
• World’s End (Hingham, MA)
• Fruitlands Museum (Harvard, MA)
• Darn Tough Socks

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This week, we’re chatting with Ashley Leedberg, otherwise known as Tall Ashley, who’s a paddling and rec guide, yogi, mistress of the SUP, snowmaker, and all around badass - but none of those reasons were what got me to start internet stalking her for real.

I set out on a mission to meet her when I happened to read an Instagram caption she’d written in February of 2020 that was like a gut punch. You'll have to listen in to hear all of her actual words, but this line pretty much sums it up: "Never let your comfort zone become home to complacency."

BAM! She doesn’t realize it, but that post was one of a million little things that came to me at around the same time, that led to me starting this podcast and dreaming of a Guides Gone Wild community. Talking to her (finally) for the pod got me thinking again about the stuff that really matters.

But please don’t think this one is all seriousness - Ashley is a hoot, super fun and creative and up for anything. She was a blast to talk to, I know you’ll love her too.

Do we get a little salty? Yeah, we do, but you would too if you were talking about being wet and cold all the time, with no bathroom access, and only a Kia Soul to sleep in at the end of a long day...

So there you have it, more than a few teasers here - listen in and get the full fantasticness!

Make sure you follow Ashley’s kickass Instagram, @TallAshley, and if you want to become the proud owner of some super cool wood art home decor, keep an eye on her @WithTheGrain207.

More fun links from our conversation:

• The Heath in Saco, ME
• Portland Paddle
• Wandering Root Farm (the home of Hannah, “the bad-ass farmer from the Waterford area”)
• Sunday River
• Midcoast Kayak (Damariscotta, ME)
• St. Croix River
• Kinko gloves
• Sno-Seal
• Birch Bog Farm - check out Tracyn Thayer’s earlier GGW episode!
• What is a WWOOFer?
• Steep and Cheap

We've got lots of fun and adventure in the works over at GuidesGoneWild.com, make sure you come over and subscribe so you'll be the first to hear about it!

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How many times have you put on a piece of athletic or outdoor gear and been totally annoyed at the fit, colors, lack of quality, etc? Probably a bunch, but if you’re like me, you yank the waistband up to your boobs and just go on your merry way complaining.... or if you’re REALLY like me, you take off the offending garment, grab a snack or a beer (or both), and flop on the couch/bail on whatever the activity was that you were going to be uncomfortable or look like a doofus doing.

Thankfully, Kelley Cullenberg and Sarah Doscinski aren’t like me. At all.

A decade ago, when the track teams Kelley and Sarah were coaching asked for some sassy team tights to run in, they found some options, but each one was worst than the last - the fit would be off, or they would fall apart immediately, or the full-length tights would be like capris on their runners.

Instead of just going back to buying the blah black or navy ones that were the norm, these two enterprising women decided to make their own. Never mind that they had basically zero experience designing or stitching garments. And basically zero spare time.

That scrappy side hustle is now Spandits, a fun and functional Maine brand that has achieved a national footprint through its devoted brand ambassador evangelists and its internet and social media presence.

You can find Spandits online at Spandits.com, as well as at selected retailers. Also make sure to follow Spandits @spandits on Instagram and Facebook, and who knows, you just might see some familiar faces from previous episodes of the podcast popping up in their feed!

Useful links from our chat:

• Watch Kelley and Sarah compete on Greenlight Maine!
• What is Title IX? (‘Cause she’s NOT talking about clothes!)
• Sarah Canney of Run.Rise.Retreats on Guides Gone Wild (and maybe even sport your new Spandits at Sarah’s next Rise.Run.Retreat in Wolfeboro NH on October 14-17!)
• Krista Alderdice of Blue Collar Runners on Guides Gone Wild
• Common Ground Fair (Unity, ME)
• Learn all about rollers! And sticks!

Check out Spandits Ambassadors Acadia Gantz and Alissa Wetherbee on Guides Gone Wild too!

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This week I welcome back my friend Trish for a reunion episode, because we literally just got home from a super fun event in the Northeast Kingdom with a bunch of bad ass women and we can’t shut up about it already...

We spent the weekend at the Vertical event, organized and hosted by Heidi Myers of Rasputitsa and Mary Zider and Ande Smith of Colavita, which on the face of it, was about gravel and mountain bike riding and fly fishing. But as you’ll hear, there was SO much more going on, and we left with a whole lot more than sore legs and tushies.

If Trish and I have done our job right, you will end this episode on the edge of your seat wondering how you can get in on all of the Vertical fun the next time, so you'd better start following @rasputitsagravel on Instagram, and keep up with all the good stuff on the Rasputitsa Gravel website.

So many AMAZING sponsors and supporting brands helped to make the Vertical event amazing - it takes a village, people! Huge gratitude to Colavita, Dirt Church Brewing, Barr Hill Gin, Stowe Cider, Topo Chico, Orvis, BlueSky MTB, Kingdom Trails, Jasper Hill Farm, Northwoods Stewardship Center, Rishi Tea, Indigo Sole, Caroline’s Dream, Pete and Gerry’s, live music from Rutabaga Collective, and amazing local food options For The Love of Food and Auntie DeeDee’s.

Last but not least, if you haven’t yet listened to my episodes with all of the amazing women who were directly involved in this weekend, you really should get on that RIGHT THIS SECOND!:

• Heidi Myers of Rasputitsa fame
• Cori Brago 
• Jenn Minery
• Sabra Davison

Grab a friend, get out there, and start getting a little wild!

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I'm coming at you today with an interesting case study in risk taking, or should I say, the perception of risk taking.

My guest this week is Erin O’Toole. Erin’s an avid rock climber, as well as an entrepreneur; and not just some kind of internet digital entrepreneur, she actually founded and runs a small manufacturing company called Oterra Designs.

Now, I’m not sure which would scare me more, hanging from a granite rock face, or saying sayonara to my stable 9-to-5 to start a product company right before a global pandemic shutdown; both sound pretty terrifying to me. But as you’ll hear, Erin is taking it all in stride, and is enhancing the outdoor pursuits she loves with beautiful, functional and meaningful products.

One person’s risk is another person’s affirmation of life, after all. Every new challenge you undertake and persist through will leave you with a story to tell. So enjoy this storytelling with the brave and creative Erin O’Toole of Oterra Designs.

Check out Oterra online at Oterradesigns.com, and @Oterra.designs on Instagram and Facebook. And of course, come on over to the episode page on GuidesGoneWild.com for lots of great climbing links, and more inspiration from climbing rock stars Laurie Watt and Wendy Eliot, or creative rock stars like Mischa Ostberg.

And if you’re interested in hearing more about our upcoming the Guides Gone Wild meet-ups we’ve got in the works, drop your email into our contact form and I’ll make sure to keep you in the loop as plans firm up!

A few links from my conversation with Erin:

• What is sport climbing? ‘Trad’ climbing? Bouldering?
• Hyperlite Mountain Gear
• Cannon Cliff (NH)
• Cathedral Ledge (NH)
• Shag Crag (ME)
• Blair Woods - Pawtuckaway State Park
• Salt Pump Climbing (ME)
• Alpenglow Adventure Sports (ME)

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Today I’m honored to introduce you to Bonnie Holding, who is - literally - a legend walking among us.

Despite hating bugs and bad weather,  Bonnie has been a Maine Master Guide for over 30 years, and was the first ever female recipient of the Wiggie Robinson Legendary Maine Guide Award in 2019. But that wasn’t even the reason I was most interested in talking with her.

For many years, Bonnie has also been the Maine program coordinator for an absolutely wonderful organization called Casting for Recovery, which creates opportunities for women who have or have had breast cancer to get together for small group retreats where they learn how to fly fish. As you’ll hear in this conversation, these retreats are both all about the fishing, and not at all about the fishing.

Bonnie is not only a legendary guide, but the personification of the eclectic mix of knowledge, skills and interests that successful women outdoor guides possess - equal parts entrepreneur, creative, short-order cook, tech support, community builder, teacher and hospitality pro. Oh, and did I mention she does fine art commentary as well?!?

I hope you’ll check out Casting for Recovery.org, the site has links and info for all of the local chapters around the country. You can also follow Casting for Recovery Maine specifically on Facebook.

Other links from our convo:

• Maine BOW (Becoming an Outdoors Woman) Program
• What is lymphedema?
• Fly Fishing in Maine - video of FFIM’s hosted event with Casting for Recovery
• Maine Sporting Camp Association
• What is a pack basket?
• Leatherman

And more fly-fishing goodness with Bri Dostie, Cori Brago and Fly Girl Global!

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