Guides Gone Wild

HikingMyFeelings.org
Sydney Williams on Guides Gone Wild - a two-parter!! You can listen to me try to counsel Sydney about the dump dumps to come… ;-)
Wellness in the Wilderness on the Voice America Empowerment Channel - tune in every Tuesday at 1pm Pacific, 4pm Eastern

OK, this one is more a mini-sode than a STOKE SHORT, because Sydney is my squirrel-brained-fast-talking match, and I just love to get into it all with her.

For those who missed our episodes last winter, a quick intro is in order - Sydney Williams is the author of Hiking My Feelings and the creator of the Blaze Your Own Trail to Self-Love programs, Hike to Heal Wilderness Wellness Retreats, podcaster, YouTuber, now an internet radio sensation. I definitely recommend you head back and listen to her origin story, so I’ve linked those episodes in the show notes - today, we’re previewing 2023 events and talking meadow metaphors, boundary building, and what all inquiring minds want to know - why we think Brené swims and AOC went hiking.

I did my girl wrong by not getting this episode up before her debut on Voice America, but you’ve got plenty of time to make a date with yourself to listen in from here on out - catch her show on Tuesdays at 1pm Pacific, 4pm Eastern. And be on the lookout over at HikingMyFeelings.org, big things are coming, as you’ll hear today!

Sydney is hilarious, and a fireball who delivers her wisdom and truth bombs at, like, 200 words per minute, so take your pod player off 1.5 speed, take a deep, cleansing breath, and hold on tight.

Virtual Campfire
The Book of Boundaries - Melissa Urban
KBong Music

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We're back with a full-on convo with one of my new favorite people, Meg Pierce!

Meg was one of the leaders of the Inclusive Ski Touring Women’s Program I did with some friends last March, and we all came away from that morning feeling so fortunate that we’d had Meg, and her co-leader Torey Brooks, on our team for the session.

Meg and Torey were tireless cheerleaders - and more importantly, tech support for our equipment challenges! - and Meg got so fired up from helping groups like ours that she signed on to the Board of Directors for Inclusive Ski Touring this fall.

But even more meaningful to me is the fact that Meg champions what she calls ‘micro-adventures’, and embraces sucking at things with both arms. Never mind 'go big or go home'; Meg's enthusiasm for beginners (and beginning!) is apparent in everything she does and gets involved in.

This conversation is just the tonic we need to fuel us through the dark days of December.

Follow Meg @megpierce65 on Instagram, check out Meg’s contributions to the Norrøna blog, and make sure to keep tabs on the Inclusive Ski Touring site to find out more about their programming as they release their 2022/2023 schedule. Who knows, I might just see you at one of their Women's Programs, since I'm HOOKED!

SO. MANY. LINKS!:

• Mt. Abram (ME)
• Steve the Bike Guy (MA) - Women’s Rides
• Telemarkdown (New Durham, NH shop owned by the Fey Brothers)
• Maine Outdoor Film Festival - Tumbledown Program (limited time access, watch soon!)
• Gunstock (NH)
• Pin Binding (vs. Frame Binding)
• Last Skier Standing
• Meg’s article on micro-adventures
• Blue Hills Reservation (MA)
• Ashland Town Forest & Cowassock Woods (MA)
• Ashland State Park (MA)
• Callahan State Park (MA)
• Lincoln Woods (MA)
• Whitehall Pond/Rutland State Park (MA)
• Patagonia Capilene T-Shirt
• Crocs

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NaviTour.com
NaviTour on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok
Become a NaviTour guide!
Shay's first appearance on Guides Gone Wild - hear all about the earliest days of NaviTour!

Today Shay Bellas of NaviTour crushes the concept of the STOKE SHORT! with the shortest stoke we’ve brought you so far!

I caught up with Shay as she was on the run (literally hours before Thanksgiving) to hear about all the fun stuff NaviTour is rolling out for 2023, as well as a few of the many VERY cool adventures and experiences people are booking through NaviTour for the upcoming winter season.

If you’re a New Englander looking for a fun and unique way to experience our area, you need to check out NaviTour.com. And if you’re a guide offering tours or experiences, let Navitour help you get the word out and do some of the heavy-lifting for you!

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TeensToTrails.org
Life Happens Outside Challenge® - check out the 2022 winning schools!
Alicia Heyburn - the OG Guide Gone Wild!

Hey there Wild Ones, today is Giving Tuesday - what better day to take it way, WAY back to the literal first interview I ever did for this podcast - yes, that’s right, today we are checking in with Alicia Heyburn, the Executive Director of Teens to Trails.

If you haven’t listened to episode 2, you should definitely go back and do so, although it’s a little rough listening to my barely coherent self trying to interview the ever eloquent and interesting Alicia.

Fast forward two and a half years, and Alicia and the team at Teens to Trails are still doing fantastic work getting more Maine teens - and now pre-teens - not only outside through school or community based outdoor clubs, but as you’ll hear, up at the crack of crack dawn to see the sunrise once in a while - go figure!

Whether you’re listening to this on Giving Tuesday or some random Friday, I’m going to hope a few of you will resonate with the mission of Teens to Trails and head on over to Teens to Trails.org to make a donation or sign your school up for outdoor club support - or both!

And remember, there’s ALWAYS an upside, to down time, outside!

A few more fun links:

• Maine GearShare
• Camden Hills State Park
• Mt. Battie

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East Mountain Designs website
@east_mountain_designs on Instagram
Mischa’s original Guides Gone Wild episode

Hope you all managed to get out there and support a few small businesses over this past weekend, like East Mountain Designs, the micro-business my friend Mischa Ostberg has created, selling beautiful pieces of art that she crafts from recycled climbing rope and gear.

Mischa’s first time on the pod was back in August of 2021, when she was a fairly new transplant to Maine and just getting her art business off the ground. It was so awesome to catch back up with her and see her so settled and successful. Mischa is still cranking out unbelievably beautiful and creative pieces, and letting her talent be the conduit for learning more about the Indigenous peoples whose homelands we occupy, with the goal of supporting these cultures with her work.

A few more links you might want to check out:

• N’dakinna Story Map
• Wabanaki Modern
• Native Land Digital

And make sure to check out Mischa’s piece once it’s hung at the North Conway REI Store!

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Step away from that cash register, Wild Ones!
Just kidding (kind of)....

It’s Black Friday, which means Cyber Monday is right around the corner, so I’m back with another Stoke Short, this one from my recent guest Meg Carney, The Outdoor Minimalist.

Tune in for a quick update on her book, her newly nomadic life plan, and a few tips to help us keep our heads on straight even as we dive head-first into this season of crazy commercialism!

To help yourself stay focused on the goal (and not all that fun-looking-but-unnecessary gear candy on the way to the checkout), listen to Meg's podcast while on the go, and be sure to check her Instagram for more tips and tricks to embracing a 'less-is-OK' philosophy in the new year!

And don't miss Meg's full episode: Meg Carney on Guides Gone Wild (Oct 2022)

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Carter's XC Ski Center

Wooden Ski Day

Jes Carter on Guides Gone Wild - October 2020

WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!?!?!!
You’ve probably noticed something different - different day, short little pod, weird title, yada yada yada.

Long time listeners might remember the Guide's Gift Guide lists I’ve done in the past around the holidays... well, as is my usual approach, I’ve waited until the last minute, so that ain't happening - but I think the solution I’ve come up with is more fun than ever!

Watch this space - or should I say listen in - I’ll be spending the next few weeks virtually visiting lots of my previous guests - the Guides Gone Wild OGs!! - and letting THEM tell YOU about all of the cool things they’ve been up to this year, and what they’re planning for 2023 that YOU are definitely going to want to know about now! 

Don’t let yourself fall entirely down the dark rabbit hole of conspicuous consumption this holiday season - let these ladies feed your stoke instead! 

Get your calendar out and start planning some wild and wonderful things for yourself and your adventure besties! End the year with a bang, or start 2023 with amazing new things to do on the horizon!

Today we’re kicking off with Jes Carter from Carter’s XC Ski Center in Bethel, Maine. Jes was one of my first 20 episodes, way back in October 2020! She and Carter’s XC Ski Center have been going strong all through the pandemic nuttiness, and today she’s got some great deals to share for Black Friday and the month of December - and don't forget to join her for Wooden Ski Day on Sunday, January 22nd!

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Today we turn our focus to everyone’s favorite four-legged adventure partners! My guest is Traci Bisson, the founder of Golden Dog Adventure Company based in Barrington, New Hampshire.

I think we all know someone (or LOTS of someones!) who got a new puppy during lockdown….. Traci Bisson noticed that trend as well, even while the pet care business she ran was wilting on the vine while everyone was forced to stay home and take care of their own sh*t (literally, in the case of dog owners), far away from other people.

So as the world started opening back up, and all these pandemic puppy owners started trying to take their pooches out into the big, scary 'social' world again, Traci saw a unique opportunity. She started a dog walking meet-up, which quickly morphed into Golden Dog Adventure Company, a multi-faceted, fast-growing startup that provides all the information and incentives dog owners need to get out and have safe and social fun with other dogs AND their people, in nature!

Traci and Golden Dog have some fun and fur-tastic events on tap for the holiday season, so I hope you’ll head on over to Golden Dog Adventure Company to check out their adventure schedule, or hook up with the Golden Dog Community on Facebook  for tips, tricks and suggestions for new places to explore.

When you're done looking at all the fun pooch pix, we've got some more links for you!:

• Golden Dog Adventure Company on Instagram
• Dog Skijoring at Gunstock
• SUP YO Adventures - (and that time SUP YO Adventures founder Jana Olenio was on Guides Gone Wild!)
• Wellness Pet Company 
• Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park (NH)
• Bark Ranger Program
• Yellow Dog Project
• Stash n’Dash Harness (from my hometown adventure doggo product company, Kurgo)
• Lots of identification options for ‘dogs in need of space’

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Today we are both getting the benefit of some amazing connections I made at the recent Maine Outdoor Economy Summit hosted by the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation and Maine Outdoor Brands. It was a fantastic event, and I finally got the opportunity to meet (in person!) several of the women I’ve talked to for this pod in the past, which was so, so awesome! I also got connected to some new friends, thanks to the event, including today’s guest, Jaimie Crawford.

Jaimie has her own freelance marketing agency called PRESSED, through which she is doing a ton of great branding and promotional work for the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce. One of her pet projects this year has been the Hire a Guide initiative, which profiles local outdoor guides on the chamber website and encourages visitors to maximize their engagement with the local expertise and economy.

We’re going to dive into all of this today, and along the way, Jaimie drops a ton of great tips that anyone who’s building a business or brand, or trying to engage with new people or a new audience, will find extremely valuable.

Talking with people like Jaimie gets me all fired up and excited for the future of the outdoor economy in northern New England! I hope you’ll head over to the Visit the Mt. Washington Valley website to check out the Hire a Guide profiles and tons of insider tips and recommendations on the Learn from a Local, Live like a Local pages.

Lots-o-links!:

• MWV Pledge
• Shay Bellas of Navitour on Guides Gone Wild
• Jenny Kordick of Maine Outdoor Brands on Guides Gone Wild
• Maine Outdoor Economy Summit
• King Pine - Purity Springs Resort
• Cranmore - Hannes Schneider 
• Skiing Hut-to-Hut in the Maine Wilderness (NY Times 11/16/21)
• The Icelandic Pledge
• The Valley Originals 
• The White Mountain Independents 
• Wander the Whites
• Hike Safe
• Front Side Coffee Roasters
• The Met
• Debony Salon
• EMS guides - Keith Moon, Anne Parmenter
• Petzl light
• Polly Mahoney on Guides Gone Wild
• Mahoosuc Guide Service 

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Today we’re checking back in with Jackie Lastinger from The Girls Trip Adventure Co.

If you’ve been dropping in on this pod from time to time, you might remember my first conversation with this through hiker turned shuttle driver turned snowmaker, back in March. At the time, Jackie had just launched her dream company, which she aptly named The Girls Trip Adventure Co. (because she’s a girl, she wanted to go on more adventure trips, and she wanted to bring more girls with her... so she figured she’d start a company to do it all!)

And did she send it? Hell yeah she did!

So today we're hearing all about her inaugural trips to Catalina and the Channel Islands and Big Bend, and we'll get a preview of all the cool spots she’s got on the itinerary for 2023.

We also talk about the challenges - the ones she expected, as well as the ones that came out of left field and could’ve kicked her butt.

This is an inspiring check in with a young woman who made up her mind to meet her challenges head on and create a life for herself that meets no one's expectations but her own.

So if you're finally ready to start emptying out that bucket list, head on over to The Girls Trip Adventure Co. website or Instagram page and sign up for a trip of a lifetime!

Other cool links and places from our conversation:

• Chisos Basin Campground (TX)
• Chisos Mountains (TX)
• Terlingua (TX)
• Sotol Vista (TX)
• Emory Peak (TX)
• Alyeska Resort (AK)
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park (TN/NC)
• LeConte Lodge (TN)
• Clingmans Dome (TN)
• Acadia National Park (ME)
• Katahdin (ME)
• South Sister (OR)
• Catalina Island (CA)
• Channel Islands National Park (CA)
• Fern Canyon (TX)

P.S. - It’s not too late to join host Jen, Ari Leach of Blackbird Guide Service, and our Guides Gone Wild community friends at Evans Notch Lodge for our (Cast) Iron Chef Weekend, November 4-6, 2022. Don’t worry, this is not a competition at all, just a great excuse to make fires and stir up some deliciousness that we can all enjoy at the end of a day spent outside. Come on over to the Guides Gone Wild site for all the details, we hope to see you in a few weeks by the fire!

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