Humans Outside

There's something funny that happens when you start spending more time outside: what you want out of life changes, too. In this episode Amy reflects on how spending time outside has shifted her priorities, and why her birthday is the perfect pause point to reflect on that shift.

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Some of the good stuff:

[:45] Have you noticed this about heading outside?

[:55] How it started for me

[1:28] How the mission creep started

[1:54] The shift from time to time, money and energy

[2:30] Why I'm thinking about this now

[3:00] What I used to do

[3:15] What I wanted to now

[4:20] And here's what's next

There's dreaming, there's preparing and then there's doing. When it comes to big outdoor goals and adventures, dreaming and prepping take the most time -- but the doing is where you get to see if you have what it takes after all. In this week's Outdoor Diary Amy dives into the race she's been preparing for all season, why she decided to try the shorter distance instead of again tackling the race she dropped out of last year and how it all went. Listen now.

Some of the good stuff:

[:46] A little bit of background on my race

[1:34] What happened last time

[2:26] What I picked instead and why

[3:14] It started like this

[3:40] What you can see there

[4:15] What I was hoping to do

[4:40] What actually happened

[5:10] The sweet reward

[5:20] Tiny little snafu and rescue

[5:35] Zero stars to the burger place

[5:45] Bugs are rude

[6:00] 50 again?

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

If you have a kid or have been a kid, you've probably heard or uttered this phrase at some point over the summer. And even as adult, you may have lingered over the feeling of boredom, then quickly pivoted to something like picking up your phone or switching on the TV to ease that discomfort.

In this 'best of' episode we hear from author Michael Easter on his book The Comfort Crises: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self and why getting bored in nature makes you happier.

Some of the good stuff:

[2:31] Michael Easter's favorite outdoor space

[4:47] How Michael became someone who likes to go outside

[7:18] What, exactly, the middle of nowhere in Alaska is like

[10:41] Why being open to stuff matters

[15:47] What it's like to be out there for 33 days

[18:41] Why do we get bored?

[23:43] What does boredom do to your brain?

[27:47] What's the intersection of discomfort, boredom and going outside?

[30:37] Why does it make us happier?

[33:05] Why do we shy away from risk and boredom?

[36:19] How do we insert boredom into our lives?

[38:52] How to get bored and stay bored

[44:07] Michael's favorite and most essential outdoor gear

[50:37] Michael's favorite outdoor moment

Connect with this episode:

Visit Michael Easter's website

Buy The Comfort Crises affiliate link

Follow Michael Easter on Instagram

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

We do our best to roll with nature's punches, but we're definitely not ready for this warm, sunny and green relationship to be over. It's only July, after all. But when push comes to shove, perhaps the ticking clock is inspirational. Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Some of the good stuff:

[:46] My buddies, the leaves

[1:25] What should be happening with my leaves

[1:50] A startling discovery

[2:12] We're going to talk about it anyway

[2:26] What is "termination dust?"

[3:00] The bad news

[3:11] This brings us back to the leaves

[3:30] What that makes me do

[4:00] Please send good vibes thanks

Things are going summer crazy here at Humans Outside as we milk every hot second we can from the season. That's why this week we've only got two things: one suggestion and one ask for help. Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Email Amy at [email protected]

Some of the good stuff:

[:46] What we've been up to

[1:04] A midsummer habit suggestion

[1:43] Why you should spend some cash

[2:25] We really need your help with this

As a part of our annual summer break, we're re-publishing some of Humans Outside's best episodes. This one certainly qualifies.

When Amy started her daily outdoor habit in 2017 she had no idea there was a whole world of others already tackling an outdoor effort of their own, formed around a different idea known as the 52 Hike Challenge. Through that program participants pledge to complete 52 hikes over a year.

The things its co-founder, Karla Amador, has learned over both her own journey of hiking and by helping people around the world participate in the challenge are about more than just hiking 52 times. They are also perfect for anyone looking to build and keep a new and challenging outdoor habit like the daily one we focus on at Humans Outside.

In this episode of Humans Outside Karla shares what she's learned about outdoor habits by helping people complete their 52 Hikes, her own journey to spending time in nature and the insight and health it has given her.

Some of the good stuff:

[2:23] Karla Amador's favorite outdoor place

[4:18] How Karla became a person who likes to go outside

[6:09] Nature as a healing tool

[7:12] How the 52 Hike Challenge was born

[13:41] What derails hikers from their goals

[18:21] Advice for building the habit

[25:16] Habit pitfalls

[31:20] The healing gift of being out in nature

[32:55] How to avoid those habit pitfalls

[37:46] How to get involved in 52 Hikes

[43:23] Karla's favorite and most essential outdoor gear

[44:35] Karla's favorite outdoor moment

Register for the 52 Hike Challenge

Follow 52 Hike Challenge on Instagram

Follow 52 Hike Challenge on Facebook

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

How do you know where a good adventure stops and something that's just not worth it starts? And can you tell when you're avoiding something because it's uncomfortable or if you're avoiding it because it's miserable and unnecessary, unrewarding suffering?

Those are the questions Amy is asking this week as she scraps a long-planned adventure while thinking about things she's done that sound bad but end up being great in the end. So how can you make that decision?

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Read the Comfort Crises

Hear Michael Easter on the Humans Outside

Some of the good stuff:

[:45] As you know, I like predictability

[1:05] But sometimes I don't

[1:25] Another thing to know

[1:40] One of the best things about going outside

[2:20] The problem with all of this

[2:45] What I am not doing while I record this

[3:30] Things I'm considering

[4:00] There really is a line

[4:07] But sometimes it's not clear

[4:30] This one is really over the line

[4:45] Is there a good answer?

[5:30] The real key

What if instead of a "to do" list you made the opposite: a "not to do" list? Coming up with the things that should go on it is an exercise in self-awareness and the gift of perspective. And where can you really find that? Outside, of course! In this episode Amy discusses how she developed her "not to do" list and why heading into nature helped her make it happen.

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Some of the good stuff:

[:59] Why this matters

[1:05] A little bit of background

[2:15] The magic of unplugging trips

[2:45] My love of "to do" lists

[3:18] What is a "not to do" list?

[4:00] What belongs on a "not to do" list

[4:25] How I created my list

[4:45] Some stuff Im not going to do anymore

[5:40] What belongs on your list?

It's summer break time at Humans Outside, which means it's the perfect time for some "Best Of" episodes.

Today, LGBTQ outdoor advocate Mikah Meyer is known for his work representing his community and advocating for inclusion in nature. But that hasn't always been the case. In fact, when Mikah set out on his journey to become the youngest person to visit the over 400 National Park units in the U.S., inclusivity advocacy wasn't his goal at all.

MIkah's story is not just one of growing into an advocacy role, it also is a perfect demonstration of how immersing ourselves in nature can help us discover what we really want to be doing with our lives and who we want to be doing it for. In this powerful interview Mikah reveals the steps on that journey, empowering us to find out our own whys just like he did.

Some of the good stuff:

[3:55] MIkah Meyer's favorite outdoor space

[7:11] How MIkah became someone who likes to go outside

[9:30] The importance of the stories we tell ourselves

[10:43] Mikah's original 'why'

[17:20] Changing goals

[20:09] Finding his focus of advocacy

[26:05] Finding a vocation

[29:21] The role of nature in making that happen

[36:13] How that practice can help everyday life

[37:45] What's next for Mikah

[44:07] Mikah's favorite and most essential outdoor gear

Connect with this episode:

Visit Mikah's website

Follow Mikah on Instagram

Follow Mikah on Facebook

Follow Mikah on Twitter

It took months of planning, but Amy and her family headed out for a three-day, totally unplugged adventure in a dream Alaska spot: a wild lagoon off the coast in an Alaska State Park. From otters to birdsong, kayak trips to perhaps too many days without a shower, this adventure was a picturesque keeper in Halibut Cove Lagoon of Kachemak Bay State Park. Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Hear Charles Wohlforth on Humans Outside

Hear The 3-Day Effect by Florence Williams

Some of the good stuff:

[:45] An important question

[:55] Why we were MIA

[1:25] All the planning for this

[2:00] How we got there and tide problems

[3:05] About the public use cabins in Alaska

[3:45] About the Halibut Cove Lagoon Overlook Cabin

[4:12] Here's something weird about this place

[4:45] Wildlife center and some wildlife sounds for you

[5:50] What we did out there

[6:05] The 3-Day Effect and how to learn more about that

[6:50] Why these trips matter for me