Verna is Navajo, a mother of four, and days away from running a 50-mile ultra run. She started running after having her second child 12 years ago. Hear about Verna's journey as a runner and how it’s underlined her resilience as a person. Now she's bringing native women together by uplifting their running journeys, too.

Featured in this episode: Verna Volker

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Smartwool & Stio

Join the She Explores Podcast community on Facebook
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In this episode, you'll hear:

• About growing up Navajo in Northwest New Mexico
• How Verna took up running after her second child
• The ways running has emphasized Verna's resilience
• Why Verna shares the stories of other native runners through her Instagram: @native_women_running
• Verna's annual virtual run to raise awareness for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women
• Why Verna places an emphasis on safety (not fear) when running
• What excites her about the future of Native Women Running

Resources

• Verna Volker: Instagram
• Native Women Running: Instagram
• Native Women's Wilderness: Instagram & Website
• Red Earth Running Co: Website
• About the inaugural virtual run for MMIW
• About Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women
• Urban Indian Health Institute
• Women's Running: The Importance of Running in Native American Culture
• Learn more about the land you're exploring on: Native-Land.ca 
• She Explores Landing Page

Sponsors and Discount Codes

• Smartwool: Learn more at Smartwool.com
• Stio: Get 25% off your order when you use the code 'EXPLORE' at checkout

Episodes air weekly on Wednesdays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

Music is by Swelling, Josh Woodward, Kai Engel, and Monplaisir using a creative commons attributions license.

Chi Pham wants you to know that you can fuel your body for success as an outdoor athlete, and it doesn't have to fit in the little boxes you see on social media. Because being focused on health and wellness doesn't mean there's just one way to live your life, Chi is committed to showing up, keeping it real, and encouraging other women to be themselves above all else.

In this episode, we talk about how Chi took her training outdoors, how she slowly started fueling her body to help achieve her goals (rather than feeding into toxic diet culture), and the power Instagram can have on what we think 'fit' looks like.

Featured in this episode: Chi Pham

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Smartwool, Nature Gnaws, and Ritual

Join the She Explores Podcast community on Facebook
Visit She-Explores.com

In this episode, you'll hear:

• When Chi started identifying as an athlete, and when she took her athleticism outdoors
• What Chi enjoys most about a triathlon (hint, she likes a challenge!)
• Why she loves trail running
• How a bike accident helped put her physical insecurities in perspective
• When Chi realized her restrictive eating was taking a toll on her training
• The power Instagram can have over what we think is healthy and what fit looks like
• Why Chi is frustrated by the sameness of her EXPLORE feed on Instagram
• Why Chi is happy not to weigh herself anymore
• About her forthcoming trip to Vietnam to spend time with family and rediscover her roots

Resources

• Chi Pham: Instagram & Blog
• Vacation Races
• She Explores Landing Page

Sponsors and Discount Codes

• Smartwool: Learn more at Smartwool.com
• Nature Gnaws: Sign up for their Gnaw Box subscription service and get your first month for $1 by using code "SHEEXPLORES" at checkout. Head here.
• Ritual: Get 10% off your first three month at Ritual.com/explore

Episodes air weekly on Wednesdays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

Music is by Kay Orange.

Music is also by Swelling, Josh Woodward, Kai Engel, and Lee Rosevere using a creative commons attributions license.

Katt Greaser shares her experience on a recent caving trip to Scapegoat Wilderness area in Montana, and encourages you to try the sport, too.

Featured in this episode: Katt Greaser

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Merrell  & Deuter

Join the She Explores Podcast community on Facebook
Visit She-Explores.com

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How Katt got into caving
• Why Katt got a later start (in her eyes) on hiking, camping, and caving
• Recordings from Katt's caving trip in the Scapegoat Wilderness area in Montana
• What you need to get started caving
• What it feels like in the cave
• The benefits of challenging yourself in a sport like caving
• What Katt will carry with her from the trip

Resources

• Katt Greaser: Instagram
• What is caving?
• Northern Rocky Mountain Grotto

Sponsors and Discount Codes

• Merrell: Learn more at Merrell.com
• Deuter: Learn more about Deuter Aviant travel line at Deuter.com

Episodes air weekly on Wednesdays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

Music is by Liam McNally.

Music is also by Lee Rosevere using a creative commons attributions license.

With the help of listeners and Backpacking 101 author Heather Balogh Rochfort, we share stories of first-time backpackers and advice to get started. 

Whether you're a seasoned backpacker or a beginner, there's inspiration and a little trail magic (not the thru-hiking kind) to be found in this episode.

Woman featured in this episode: Voice memos: Maggie Rehberg, Holly Bullis, Jennifer Jansen, Lindsey Falkenburg, Victoria Wang, Laura Navar, Tori Morrison, Marie Vanderpool, Lori O’Connell, Sarah Grothjan, Alexandra Goldman, Meg Dagon, and Julie Hotz.

Interview with Heather Balogh Rochfort on getting started backpacking.

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Merrell, Deuter, and Rooted

Join the She Explores Podcast community on Facebook

Visit She-Explores.com

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Stories of listeners' first time out backpacking
• The story of host Gale Straub's first backpacking trip
• Conversation with Heather Balogh Rochfort, author of Backpacking 101, about practical advice for women who are new to backpacking, including:
  • Safety
  • Hygiene
  • What to pack
  • Leave No Trace
• Advice from listeners about what they wish they knew when they got started, as well as specific advice for fellow solo backpackers
• A bit of cheerleading you didn't know you needed to take the final step towards your first backpacking trip!

Resources

• Beginner backpacking resources mentioned:
  • The 10 Essentials
  • The 7 Leave No Trace Principles
  • Bear Safety:
    • NPS Bear Safety Tips
    • Bear Spray and Other Options
  • Personal Hygiene
    • Backpacking with your period
    • Going to the bathroom
    • Kula Cloth
    • Moon Cup
• Heather Balogh Rochfort: Instagram, Blog & Books - Backpacking 101 & Women Who Hike
• Listeners Featured:
  • Maggie Rehberg: Instagram
  • Holly Bullis: Instagram & Website
  • Jennifer Jansen: Personal Instagram & Wanderluv Maps: Instagram & Website
  • Lindsey Falkenburg: Instagram & Tandem Trekking Blog
  • Victoria Wang: Instagram & Teacher Life Pod
  • Laura Navar: Instagram
  • Tori Morrison: Instagram & Tickled by Travel Blog
  • Marie Vanderpool: Instagram & Photography Site
  • Lori O'Connell: Instagram & Feed N Flow - Outdoor Adventure and Keto lifestyle blog
  • Sarah Grothjan: Instagram & Website; She Explores Podcast Episode - Apple Podcasts & Spotify
  • Alexandra Goldman: Instagram & the Ladies of the JMT facebook group she referenced 
  • Meg Dagon: Instagram
  • Julie Hotz: Instagram, Website, and Unrooted Podcast

Sponsors

• Merrell: Learn more at Merrell.com and check out the Moab-2 Mid Hiking boots
• Rooted: Get 15% off your order by heading to Rooted.nyc/explore and using the code 'Explore' at checkout
• Deuter: Learn more at Deuter.com and check out the backpacking bag Laura took to the Eastern Sierras

Episodes air weekly on Wednesdays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

Music is by Kai Engel, Lee Rosevere, Meydän, and Josh Woodward using a creative commons attributions license.

Sometimes the hardest thing isn’t running an ultra marathon or topping out at a climbing competition, it’s showing up for yourself in small ways, taking a step back and figuring out what you need so you can figure out who you are. For a long time, Emilee Struss identified as a climber and an endurance runner. Persistent injuries have made her dig into the hard work of self-love.

Featured in this episode: Emilee Struss

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Merrell, Deuter, and ThirdLove

Join the She Explores Podcast community on Facebook

In this episode, you'll hear:

Resources

Sponsors and Discount Codes

Episodes air weekly on Wednesdays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

Music is by Kai Engel, Lee Rosevere, Josh Woodward, and Meydän using a creative commons attributions license.

Sara Wolman is an interpretive park ranger for US Fish and Wildlife in King Salmon, Alaska. Find out how she's building a career, fostering community, and raising a young child in the rolling tundra, and what you do to help gather valuable scientific data to help tell the story of environmental change.

Sara reached out because every day, she's confronted with a story that's just not getting enough attention: marine mammal and bird dieout on Bristol Bay - - and what it could mean for the rest of the world.

Featured in this episode: Sara Wolman

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Merrell, Deuter, and Ana Luisa

Join the She Explores Podcast community on Facebook

In this episode, you'll hear:

Resources

Sponsors and Discount Codes

Episodes air weekly on Wednesdays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

Music is by Kai Engel, Lee Rosevere, Josh Woodward, and Meydän using a creative commons attributions license.

How can you do what you love without losing yourself in the process? Putting your voice out there can be a very vulnerable thing: just take it from Outside Voices podcast host Sarah Shimazaki. We talk about the very real struggle of how to balance work, passion, and your own wellbeing.

The stories you tell, the podcasts you listen to - they say a lot about you. In this episode, we’ll learn about Sarah through her work on Outside Voices as well as how that work makes her feel. Sometimes she wants to pull herself apart from it (and sometimes that’s the healthiest thing) but what she chooses to focus on says a lot about what she cares about: that the outdoors belongs to all of us.

Featured in this episode: Sarah Shimazaki

Featured in the Outside Voices Trailer: Ahjani Yepa, Olivia VanDamme, Adam Hymans, Evelyn Shimazaki and Bam Mendiola

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Merrell, GreenerWays Organic, and Ritual.

Join the She Explores Podcast community on Facebook

In this episode, you'll hear:

Resources

Sponsors and Discount Codes

Episodes air weekly on Wednesdays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

Music is by Kai Engel, Lee Rosevere, Josh Woodward, and Meydän using a creative commons attributions license.

Conservation photographer Krista Schlyer describes the almost 2,000-mile border between the US and Mexico as a vibrant landscape teeming with life. Raising awareness for its biodiversity has become an integral part of her life’s work and is the focus of a new documentary film she directed, Ay Mariposa, which came out in May.

We hear a lot about the border wall in the news, but we don’t often talk about the wildlife and landscape that its construction impacts.

Note: We want to emphasize that while there’s a lot of talk about flora and fauna in this episode, it’s not to discount the very human elements of the US/Mexico border - it’s simply to highlight what exists alongside it.

Featured in this episode: Krista Schlyer

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Merrell, Rooted, and ThirdLove

Join the She Explores Podcast community on Facebook

Visit She-Explores.com

In this episode, you'll hear:

Resources

Sponsors and Discount Codes

Episodes air weekly on Wednesdays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

Music is by Kai Engel, Lee Rosevere, and Meydän using a creative commons attributions license.

Sharlene Jones is allergic to exercise (literally) but because hiking feels like home, fear of what could happen isn't enough to keep her from hitting the trail. Instead, she's developed a familiarity with her body that makes it possible to keep moving forward.

It's hard to say what the bigger challenge from the universe was: the exercise-induced anaphylaxis or winning the lottery to hike Mount Whitney after being diagnosed. Either way, Sharlene Jones is not one to back down from a challenge.

Featured in this episode: Sharlene Jones

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Merrell

Join the She Explores Podcast community on Facebook

Visit She-Explores.com

In this episode, you'll hear:

Resources

Sponsors and Discount Codes

Episodes air weekly on Wednesdays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

Music is by Kai Engel, Lee Rosevere, and Meydän using a creative commons attributions license.

We humans have a habit of getting in the way of wild animals, but wildlife rehab is one way we can give back. Sirena Rana Dufault has spent nine of the last ten years volunteering at Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tuscon. She shares why it's needed, what happens when an animal is taken in, funny stories along the way, and the beauty of the release.

As Sirena mentions in the episode, Wildlife Rehabilitation Northwest Tuscon is a completely self-funded facility that relies on donations. If you'd like to help support the work they do there, head to their website and donate, or give them a follow on their Facebook page to stay in touch.

Woman featured in this episode: Sirena Rana Dufault

Hosted by Gale Straub

Sponsored by Merrell and Ritual

Join the She Explores Podcast community on Facebook

In this episode, you'll hear:

Resources

Sponsors and Discount Codes

Episodes air weekly on Wednesdays-- subscribe wherever you listen so you never miss an episode.

Music is by Kai Engel, Lee Rosevere, and Josh Woodward using a creative commons attributions license.