Guides Gone Wild

Before you launch into Part 2 of my conversation with Rebecca Sperry, aka Socked In….. if this is the first time you’ve listened to Guides Gone Wild, or if you missed my last episode, I HIGHLY suggest you go back and listen to the last episode first.

This is the second part of a long-form conversation I had with Rebecca, and while you don’t necessarily need to hear her back story to appreciate what you’re about to hear, it will (for sure) give you even more context and make this episode that much more powerful and inspiring.

I also want to throw a trigger warning out there. Rebecca and I talk about cancer in this one. A LOT.

Please, please, follow Rebecca @SockedInHikes on Instagram, and from there you can access all of her good stuff from her bio links. 

And please, PLEASE, get your mammograms and other preventative tests. A lot of us, myself included, put stuff on hold during COVID, but it’s time to stop making excuses, pick up the damn phone, and get on the schedule.

I hope you’ll share this episode with friends or family members who might need to hear Rebecca’s message, or direct them to RebeccaSperry.com. Don’t forget, she writes about all the things over there - hiking AND heroism. 

A few more links to whet your appetite (come on over to GuidesGoneWild.com for the complete list):

• Tommy Corey (“Twerk”)
• Hiker Trash Vogue on Instagram
• Monique (short film)
• What is BI-RADS?
• Katadyn Water Filters
• CNOC Outdoors (trekking poles, water bladder)
• Metacomet-Monadnock Trail (CT/MA/NH)
• Wapack Trail
• Pemigewasset Wilderness (NH)

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This week I’m doing something unprecedented in our short Guides Gone Wild history, I’m presenting a part one, and I’m going to keep you on the edge of your seats until Monday to hear the rest of the story.

My guest for the next two episodes is Rebecca Sperry, otherwise known as Socked In, from the phenomenal blog and Instagram account Socked In Hikes.

As you’ll hear in this conversation, Rebecca has gone through A LOT in the last 5 years. I’d originally set my sights on her for the podcast because of the inspiring, raw, truth-telling way she has been attacking a recent health crisis during COVID. But as I was editing our audio to prepare the episode, I realized that Rebecca’s ‘story before the story’ was just as compelling and inspiring.

Hearing Rebecca’s first-hand account of the mindset shifts and setbacks and cleared hurdles that led to her becoming a prolific solo hiker, the ways she has allowed her definition of achievement to evolve, is an amazing story in and of itself. And if you meet Rebecca this way, and then spend a few days letting some of the stuff she shares knock around in your brain, it’s going to make the stories she shares in Part 2 all that much more amazing and inspiring.

Listen in, let it marinate in your brain a bit, and be sure to come back on Monday for the rest of the story....

Selected links from our conversation (TONS more over at GuidesGoneWild.com!):

• RebeccaSperry.com
• Mt. Osceola (Lincoln, NH)
• What is peak bagging?
• The Trek (blog)
• Belknap Range (NH)
• Sounds Like a Search and Rescue Podcast - (check out Rebecca talking White Mountain waterfalls with the guys on Episode 8)
• “The 67” (highest peaks in New England)
• Guthook (trail guides, app)
• Garmin Explorer
• Mountain Forecast (weather site)
• Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway (NH)
• Tully Trail (MA)
• Grafton Loop (ME)
• Mt. Isolation (NH)

Want to take on Katahdin with some kick-*ss guides? Hit up Jes and Tallie of Great Mountain Guide Service, featured on Guides Gone Wild Episode 16!

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Today we’re diving back into some of my favorite topics: outdoor business building, life-long learning, and personal evolution! My guest is Jen Deraspe, owner of a lovely off-grid retreat property called Nurture Through Nature, located on Pleasant Mountain in Denmark, Maine.

Jen is truly the hostess with the mostest when it comes to all she offers through NTN - healing arts workshops and retreats, wellness coaching, qi gong, sauna, as well as more (so-called) traditional outdoor pursuits like camping, hiking and paddling.

I’ve had Nurture Through Nature on my radar for a long time, since my early days of yurt obsession (like 15 years ago?!?), so it was a true honor and privilege to get a back-stage pass to hear Jen’s stories about living more intentionally, listening to her heart and honoring her feelings, taking leap after leap into new and different things, and starting over again and again.

She’s also my new Maine-resourcefulness idol, as you’ll hear! (Got some cable? Drop it here!)

You can get all the details on Jen and her team, her Spirals of Wellbeing coaching services, her adorable yurts and cabins, and everything else NTN has to offer at NTNRetreats.com.

Some more fun links from the meeting of the Jens:

• LL Bean Discovery Programs
• Mooselookmeguntic Lake
• Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robins and Joe Dominguez
• Humanure
• The Work of Byron Katie
• Qigong (and make sure you subscribe to Jen Deraspe’s YouTube channel for some great sequences to get you started on your own healing journey!)
• Kripalu
• Insight Timer app

Get inspired, take some action, and let me know all about it!
Shoot me a message through the Guides Gone Wild website, Instagram, Facebook, or just shoot me an email: [email protected].

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We are coming up fast on June 19th, which marks exactly one year since I pushed ‘publish’ and officially released Guides Gone Wild into the world and pretty much threw up in my mouth.

I hope you are all also aware that June 19th is also Juneteeth. Some think Juneteenth is a holiday celebrating the so called end of slavery, but it actually commemorates the day that a group of slaves in Galveston, Texas were finally informed by Union troops of the fact that they’d been, at least statutorily, emancipated by President Lincoln over two years prior.

Juneteenth is a celebration, but also a very sobering reminder of how far we still have to go as an American society to achieve true emancipation from the social, cultural, political, academic, financial, white-centering factors that have anchored systemic racism so firmly in our country.

So today I’m bringing back Serena Ryan to the pod. Serena first visited us last November on Episode 24 to talk about white mountain hiking and her business, the Notch Hostel in North Woodstock NH. Serena is also one of the founders of a racial justice movement called Summits in Solidarity, which is organizing its second annual education, awareness and fundraising event that culminates with a hike day on June 26th. I mentioned Summits in Solidarity briefly when I talked to Serena last year, but we didn’t get a chance to get into it then, and I felt like it was high time.

One BIG thing worth noting - Serena and I talk about being an ally and an accomplice, and Serena shares some great resources for getting more informed and involved in social and racial justice initiatives. But please, please keep in mind - listening to a couple of white women prattle on about these issues is not enough. You really need to seek out, and LISTEN TO, the voices of the people who are directly impacted by our continent’s 500 year history of colonialism, racism, and white supremacist ethos.

Serena’s got some suggestions on her Resources page,  but that should only be your jumping off point. I hope you’ll get your 28 Day Challenge underway, and head on over to SummitsInSolidarity.org to join the movement and most importantly, donate to support the great work that Panther and the Cowasuck Band are doing in NH to bring black and indigenous people’s voices and experiences forward.

Link to fundraiser: https://gofund.me/4da20409

And other links from our conversation:

• NH P.A.N.T.H.E.R. (Plymouth Area Network To Help End Racism) - Black Excellence Fund and Storytelling Project
• Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People's work to Save & Preserve Indigenous Sacred Places
• Notch Hostel
• Outdoor Afro
• Outdoor Voices Podcast
• Me + White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad
• Pose (Netflix)
• Disclosure (Netflix)
• Green Mountain Club
• North Country Social Justice Collective
• Anti-Racism Daily

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Eavesdrop as my friend Trish and I head to/from the recent BOW (Becoming an Outdoors Woman) Spring Mini. As a first-timer, Trish shares her perspectives on what she thinks she's in for, and what she wound up getting out of the day. Plus we re-hash some of our glory days, like 50-somethings do. And of course we take a stab at all the significant questions of our time:

• Does taking a day for yourself mean you don't love your family?
• Is it Lake Christopher or Bryant Pond?
• Do I have the loudest car in America?
• Are mini-marshmallows acceptable bait?
• Should Trish get chickens?

and much more.... 

Buckle your seatbelts (literally, we're in the car) and get ready for a wild (and loud) ride!

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Today I have the distinct pleasure of being able to fawn all over the woman behind one of my most favorite things in the world. I feel like I talk about the BOW, Becoming an Outdoors Woman, at least once every 3 or 4 episodes, and Emily MacCabe, who is the Director of Information and Education for Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, is the wo-MAN when it comes to BOW.

Emily grew up loving the outdoors, and thought she’d have to become a game warden if she wanted to make a career out of that. Good thing for all of us that she got into education and communications along the way - Emily’s happier, because she gets to stay in her warm bed when some knucklehead hiker gets lost on a winter night; and any of us who’ve enjoyed a BOW day or weekend are happy, because we’re able to push ourselves and try new things through the program that Emily helped steward and grow over the past 15+ years.

One minute we’re talking parenting, the next it’s Northwoods Law, and then she talks me into a trip to Montana and drops a gear recommendation that had my credit card out before I was even off the Zoom call… so much good stuff.

If you're as excited about BOW as I am, I hope you'll keep an eye on Becoming an Outdoors Woman - Maine for upcoming dates and offerings.

And while you're online, check out these other fun links from our convo:

• University of Maine 4-H Camp & Learning Center at Bryant Pond
• Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW)
• Unity College
• GGW Episode 20 with Judy Camuso, Commissioner of Maine IFW
• Northwoods Law
• Love Maine Adventures
• GGW Episode 06 with Danielle Dorrie
• SustainME program
• Camp North Woods
• Thermacell

Stay tuned, we might just be dropping some more BOW goodness in the next day or so... ;-)

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I’m in dynamic duo mode again this week for a fun convo with the powerhouse promoters behind "The Send" newsletter, Katie Wolitarsky and Katherine Englishman.

Katie Wolitarsky is a PR pro who landed (willingly!) in Maine after stints in Denver and Jackson Hole and isn’t looking back, but instead is steeping herself in all the creative, foodie, beery, outdoorsy excellence her new home has to offer.

Kat Englishman is the personification of All.The.Things..... Writer, copywriter, yoga teacher, surfer, and now one of the (co-)super stars of the "WeGo" video segments produced by Maine magazine.

K2, as I’ve taken to calling them, have created a fun little value-filled nugget of an email newsletter called The Send that has been the highlight of my inbox since I subscribed last year. The Send has it all, from catchy subject lines and cool photos, to discount codes and easy-peasy-links to every cool thing K2 digs up - you’re going to want to make a special new Gmail folder to save them all in for your every-Friday reference!

"Hey honey, what should we do this weekend?"
"Um, I don’t know, probably whatever The Send says"......
Can I get a heck yeah?!?

So what are YOU doing this weekend? No plans yet? Get on over to sendthenortheast.com and get yourself some cool ideas already!

You should also make sure to follow The Send on Instagram (@sendthenortheast ) too, so you are in the know when all the cool, in-person sh*t starts happening again all over New England - it’s soooo clooooose!

More Send-iliciousness (Send-eliciousness? Does it even matter?!?):

• Outside Business Journal
• Protect Our Winters (New England)
• Tandem Coffee Roasters (Portland, ME)
• Maine Outdoor Brands - Oh, wait, that sounds familiar…. Because we talked to Jenny Kordick of MOB back in December on GGW Episode 28!
• Outdoor Recreation Industry Confluence Accords
• MADE - Maine Ad + Design
• Chris Davis
• Pine Point Beach (Scarborough, ME)
• Higgins Beach (Scarborough, ME)
• Casco Bay
• Skida (headbands, neckwear, hats, and other great stuff)
• Hyperlite Versa (fanny pack)
• T-Bag Maine (custom fanny packs from Maine Guide Travis Clough)

Still time to sign up for the BOW Spring Mini!

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Today my guests are Ebb and Flow, otherwise known as Kelsy Hartley and Caitlin Hopkins, otherwise known as Two Maine Mermaids.

In yet another case of me disappearing down an internet rabbit hole, I somehow saw a post about an ocean swim in honor of the pink full moon in April, and the next thing I knew I was doing a deep dive into the back stories of these two creative and inspiring young women.

What started as a mood enhancing lark has attracted a groundswell of support and interest, and taken on a life of its own, creating an in-person community smack-dab in the middle of one of the longest stretches of forced solitude in modern memory.

It’s no fluke that I found these two hugely fun and entertaining…. See what I did there? (cue cymbal sound)

Find TwoMaineMermaids on Instagram, the link in their bio there will bring you to all of the good places - you can sign up for their newsletter, and also for the Full Moon Swim Series. I just might see you there on May 26th!

Or as always, you can take the easy way out and come on over to the episode page on the Guides Gone Wild website for all the links, info and goodness, we’ve compiled it all there for you.

Some other fun links from our convo:

• Examples of UK 'Dip a Day' inspiration here and here
• DryRobe
• Willard Beach
• Neoprene booties
• Neoprene swim caps

And as always, special thanks to our base camp for dry land adventures, Evans Notch Lodge!

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SPECIAL EPISODE! Today I’m letting you listen in on the awesome live Q&A event we hosted last week with three new(ish) Maine Guides - Jackie Stratton, Travis Clough and Cathy Hill.

It was so awesome to see some audience faces and names on my Zoom screen, and to moderate this fun and informative chat.

It turned out we had a few new guides in the audience, as well, so everyone was dropping value bombs and tips.... I think the soon-to-test guides in attendance got more than their money’s worth from this free event!

If you’re interested in accessing the resource list and links from the live event, head on over to the Guides Gone Wild events page, drop in your deets, and the link will be on its way to you shortly.

Get your Maine Guide journey started today at the Inland Fish and Wildlife website. And make sure to support our generous guide participants and Q&A host venue:

• Waterways Guiding
• T-Bag
• Evans Notch Lodge

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My guest today is Tami Rogers from Maine’s Outdoor Learning Center.

Anyone who has become a guide or is considering becoming a guide in Maine has Tami and her husband John to thank for the abundance of 4-7 day intensive, field-based guide training offerings that now exist in the state.

Until the mid-90s, if you wanted to go to Maine Guide school, you’d be giving up one night a week for 15 or more weeks, and you’d be sitting in some grim indoor classroom,  which could put a damper on even the most enthusiastic wanna be.

I’ll let Tami tell you the rest of the story - but suffice to say, Tami and John have prepared hundreds of people to become Maine guides since they launched their first week-long course in 1997, including Cathy Hill, who is one of my featured guests tonight on the live Maine Guide Q&A that I’ll be hosting on Zoom - it’s not too late to join us, get the link by going to GuidesGoneWild.com/events.

But let’s get back to Tami; her energy is so calming and positive and lovely, I could feel it grounding me even though we were chatting over the internet and not even in person. It’s no coincidence that she is also a professional healer.

If your interests veer more toward the realms of past life regression and restorative energy work, you’d be remiss if you didn’t check out TamiRogers.com, where you can find out more about Tami’s retreats, classes, and 1-on-1 session options.

And whether you aspire to Guide-dom or not, I know you’re going to want to get some friends together to retreat in nature with Tami at Maine’s Outdoor Learning Center by the end of this one. 

A few more fun links from our conversation:

• Wild Women’s Retreat
• Shamanic Retreat  (August)
• MOLC’s fantastic summary of the Maine Guide prep and testing process
• Backpacking wood stove options
• What is burdock?
• What is usnea (‘old man’s beard’)?

And thanks to our sponsor, Evans Notch Lodge!

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