Humans Outside

Planning a visit to one of the many national parks or federally protected lands? You'll be in good company. Visiting these spaces is more popular than ever before.

So how do you make sure the company isn't too good? How do you avoid the crowded spots, still get to have that bucket list trip and make the most of the journey?

Matt and Karen Smith are national park travel experts because they've been there, done that, and share their journey in their podcast "Dear Bob and Sue" and books of the same title. Their show is packed with practical, clear advice on visiting the parks, and in this episode of Humans Outside they bring that help here.

In this episode hear:

• The biggest mistakes national park visitors make
• The wonderful parks experience you might be missing
• The best way to avoid big crowds

Listen now!

Connect with this episode:

Visit Matt and Karen's website Follow Matt and Karen on Instagram Follow Matt and Karen on Facebook Join the Humans Outside Challenge Follow Humans Outside on Instagram Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Some of the good stuff:

[3:01] Matt and Karen's favorite outdoor spaces

[6:38] How they got into visiting national parks

[11:30] What is it about the national parks that we love so much?

[13:26] How the heck can you afford that?

[16:46] Biggest national parks mistakes they see

[21:31] Their favorite parks

[25:41] How to avoid seeing too many people

[32:33] Where you really should go

[34:23] Their best tips for making the most of any national park trips

[40:00] Matt and Karen's favorite outdoor memory

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What would happen if you spent a handful of hours attempting to do every available outdoor activity in a certain area?

That's the question I asked before a Do All The Things day I just did with a friend. We loaded up our cars with outfit changes, equipment and nowhere near enough snacks, and headed into Hatcher Pass for a packed five hours of outdoor fun.

Here's what happened.

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

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Some of the good stuff:

[:35] The siren song of a challenge, even it's just one day

[1:09] Can we even do all the things?!

[2:16] A tiny edit, and then we set forth

[2:26] (Don't get me started on my people and these ski passes)

[2:52] Here starts the activity check-check-check

[5:17] A few ta

With four years of running this podcast behind me, I've been thinking about what I have learned from this journey and the many, many guests I've interviewed.

Inspiration. Thought-provoking lessons. A change in perspective. All of my interviews and outdoor hours have left a mark on me.

But this year, those are not my favorite takeaways. Instead? It's all about connections like the ones I talk about in this episode of my Outdoor Diary.

Listen now!

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

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Nature for Everyone: Working for Outdoor Inclusivity and Respect (Brandi Small, inclusivity advocate and hiker)

She Went Outside to Finish Her Dad's Epic Bucket List and Found Big Things About Herself (Laura Carney, author and bucket list chaser)

Canoeing the Entire Mississippi River to Shatter Barriers (Cory Maria Dack, Canoe guide and inclusivity advocate)

She's Conquering Trails with a Rare Brain Disease (Crystal Gail Welcome, BIPOC and disabled thru-hiker)

Some of the good stuff:

[:35] Four years = a lot of takeaways

[1:33] But my favorite thing right now? Connections

[1:35] And here's a bunch of my favorite examples, near and far

[3:15] My other favorite connections? It's you, of course.

When life comes at you hard -- pain, trauma, injury, loss, grief -- the outdoors is there just waiting for you to use it for healing. You just have to go outside.

That's what Denali Strabel, a semi-professional mountain runner and life-long Alaskan has found as she navigates the wide variety of victories and challenges life has thrown at her. From addiction to the loss of her identical twin sister, Rubye, Denali knows that by keeping the mountains a part of her, she can move through pain.

In this episode Denali gifts us a rare window into what it's like to actively move through grief after loss while still in the thick of it as she's daily making the decision to heal and move.

Hear Denali share how the mountains, ocean and running have been key in helping her with this challenge and so many others -- and learn how you, too, can lean on heading into nature to get through the hard stuff.

Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

Follow Denali Strabel on Instagram

Follow Rubye Blake (Denali's identical twin) on Instagram

In honor of Denali's nephew, Gunnar

Visit Denali's website

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Some of the good stuff:

[3:20] Denali Strabel's favorite outdoor space

[5:45] Denali's outdoor story

[8:35] What it's like to grow up in Seward

[12:31] About Mount Marathon

[16:05] Using nature to recover

[22:25] The importance of reconnecting with the outdoors

[29:53] All about Rubye Blake, Denali's identical twin sister

[35:44] What it's like to lose a twin

[44:22] Advice for dealing with grief when you're in the thick of it

[53:44] Denali's favorite outdoor memory

It's a question I've heard several times over my more than 2,300-day outdoor streak: 'what do you do if you're sick?'

Since I've never missed a day, and I've definitely been sick more than once, you can easily guess that I still go outside. And fortunately the benefits I find there -- even though getting out in it takes extra effort -- make it all worth it. Of course they do.

In this episode I talk about how (and why) I get outside even when I'm sick and down for the count. Listen now!

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

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Some of the good stuff:

[:35] You can tell when I'm sick -- probably

[:59] But then you might assume this

[2:11] I gotta get out there, but it's winter, so…

[2:37] The best thing about the 20-minute minimum

[3:10] Plus, then I'm grateful

One of my favorite benefits of spending time outside is how doing so daily has worked to better my relationships, giving me space to grow them in the context of nature.

But did you know nature can also help when a relationship ends -- that it can literally be a part of healing heartbreak? In this Best Of episode we hear from best-selling author Florence Williams about her up close and personal study on that topic.

You might remember Florence from her work on one of her previous books, The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative. She joined us to talk about the book in a previous episode of Humans Outside. In her new book Heartbreak (and the immersive audio book) Florence pairs her own experience with the kind of research she's known for, and in the process lays out a map for using nature to heal from a broken heart.

Connect with this episode:

Read or listen to Heartbreak by Florence Williams (affiliate link)

Hear Florence Williams' previous episode on Humans Outside

Listen to Amy and Luke Bushats with Florence on the Outside Magazine podcast

Follow Florence Williams on Facebook

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Some of the Good Stuff:

[4:33] Florence William's favorite outdoor space

[5:46] All about Florence's heartbreak

[7:00] The not entirely secret story of Amy's heartbreak

[8:53] Why heartbreak becomes a book

[12:58] Why she decided to try a nature cure

[17:01] What she tracked for her project

[23:00] Exactly how to heal heartbreak by going outside

[29:00] Can healing happen close to home?

[32:55] Why this is all actually really simple -- but not immediate

[40:05] One surprising thing Florence learned

It was a sad closing to the week in my house as we said "goodbye" to our dog of 12 years. We brought so much joy to each other. But it was time to let her go.

Chloe was there when I first started spending time outside for nature's sake, so remembering her in an episode seemed like the least I could do to honor her place in our lives and the joy dogs bring so many of us.

She was a very good girl. Terrible breath; but such a good girl. This one is for her.

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

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Some of the good stuff:

[:42] It was harder than I thought it would be

[1:30] What kind of dog is she?

[2:04] All about best good girl, Chloe

[4:18] Ever tried to write news stories while a dog snores?

[5:19] Please, pet a dog

Every now and then you run across something that captures your imagination while giving you a connection to an outdoor experience you loved. That's exactly how I felt the first time I came across one of the National Park posters designed by amateur parks historian Ranger Doug Leen and his team of artists and creators. The colors, design and connection to the past reminded me of all of the work and drama that went into protecting the lands I had come to love -- and why doing so is important.

Many other collectors and park enthusiasts feel just as I do about the prints -- and the mystery and chase around creating them. In this episode Ranger Doug, so-called 'Ranger of the Lost Art,' tells the story of chasing down the historic park prints, creating new ones in their style and why these connect visitors to the national parks they love.

Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

All about Ranger Doug's art

Buy the Ranger of the Lost Art table top book

Follow Ranger Doug on Facebook

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Some of the good stuff:

[2:10] Talking to Doug Leen from here

[3:44] Ranger Doug's outdoor story

[5:53] A career that took him all sorts of place

[7:48] How he became 'Ranger of the Lost Art'

[16:21] What these posters look like

[20:27] Why people like the posters

[22:29] How the posters connect us with the parks

[27:22] How people can support this work

[30:17] Doug's favorite outdoor space

Wondering if you really do have time for that epic outdoor adventure in the middle of your otherwise normal life, or not quite sure if you can make it happen?

That's how I felt recently while trying to balance my desire to head out for an ice skating trip to a glacier with having 1 million surely very important things to do. Did I actually have time? Would I be dropping too many balls by going? The answer, of course, was that, yes, I had time. You have time to add some fun to your schedule, too. And in this episode I share some ideas for making it happen.

Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge Follow Humans Outside on Instagram Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Some of the good stuff:

[:35] My brain said no but my heart said go

[1:32] The work I've been doing on my brain

[2:31] Epic things come when you make the time

[2:44] A series of three helpful tips for making time for epic stuff during normal life

How do you handle zero-fun outdoor time? Push through and get the goal anyway before calling it quits? Wrap it up and head back to the car? Beat yourself up about quitting? Know that it's OK? This week on a mountain adventure with a few friends I found myself having zero fun time. The whole thing just didn't feel right. And I was big done. So what did I do?

Listen now.

Connect with this episode:

Join the Humans Outside Challenge

Follow Humans Outside on Instagram

Follow Humans Outside on Facebook

Some of the good stuff:

[:46] OK, so I like a challenge

[:59] But even I have to draw a line

[1:55] So I started trying to work with my nervous system

[2:48] But you know what? No.

[3:44] Here's the permission we didn't need but we have anyway