She Explores

Sisters Julie Hotz and Shelly Blacketer grew up together in rural Texas but took very separate paths. Living 1,500 miles away, they decided to train for their first race together: a half-ironman. This episode is kind of about that race, but it's more about two sisters coming together in a novel way.

You might remember thru hiker and filmmaker Julie Hotz from our second podcast episode, "On Fear: Human Powered Travel." We talked with Julie about hiking the PNT, PCT, and bike packing from LA to Glacier. She was on the precipice of big life changes: going completely freelance and deciding to call LA home. In some ways, this episode picks up where we left off.

Learn about how pain can be integral to growth, the subtle bonds that tie family together, and why it's important to do hard things.

Sponsored by Oru Kayak

Learn more about this episode on the episode page at www.she-explores.com/podcast

Music is by Lee Rosevere

How has your dad shaped your experiences in the outdoors? Prompted by a message from a new father, we asked you to share your stories and received a breadth of responses. We found that our dads have had a profound impact on our relationship with the natural world, even in his absence. Included in this episode are 21 voice memos from women of all ages and backgrounds. It's a big Venn Diagram - some overlap, but each is uniquely her own.

Learn more via the episode page at www.she-explores.com/podcast

Sponsored by Oru Kayak

Music by Lee Rosevere, Kai Engel, Komiku, Mise, PC One, Nihilore, Chris Zabriskie

Bridgette Meinhold is selling landscape artwork to help save her backyard: Bonanza Flats, 1,350 acres of alpine meadows near Park City, Utah. Bridgette, fellow residents and nonprofits have until June 15th to close a $15M gap to help the town secure the land and conserve it.

Bridgette's passion for Bonanza Flats comes at a time when public land in the United States is at risk. Currently, twenty-two National Monuments are under review by our Secretary of the Interior. These lands are over 100,000 acres - 10x the size of Bonanza Flats - yet when Bridgette approached us with her city's fundraising effort, it crystallized a reality: work is being done at a local level to protect land. There's a lot we can do on the ground to make a difference when we're feeling frustrated by headlines. Listen to Bridgette's story and get inspired to take a look at your own backyard.

Learn more via the episode page at www.she-explores.com/podcast

Sponsored by Oru Kayak

Music by Lee Rosevere

Striking out on your own means a whole lot of hustling. We interview Sarah Knapp, the founder of OutdoorFest and Mappy Hour about how she got started, how she finds time, and how she's learning to appreciate an accomplishment before moving onto her next goal.

After graduating from NYU, Sarah applied to work at a ski resort in Alta, Utah. She wanted to immerse herself in the 'ski bum' lifestyle and surround herself with people who were as into skiing as herself. Sarah found herself at home in the outdoor community, and brought the drive to share that feeling with others back to New York.

Learn about how Sarah started OutdoorFest, a 10 day outdoor adventure festival in New York City and Mappy Hour, a growing happy hour for urban outdoorists.

The opening story in this podcast was contributed by Sara Aranda, founder of Bivy Tales. Special thanks to Sara for her openness and vulnerability in sharing her experiences with anxiety.

To contribute to our Father's Day episode, head over to She-Explores.com/podcast/your-voice to read the prompts and submit your recording.

Sponsored by Oru Kayak.

The podcast we recommended at the end of the episode is called "Wild Ideas Worth Living."

Find out more about She Explores on our website, She-Explores.com, and via Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Music is by Soft & Furious, Nihilore, Drake Stafford, and Komiku via Creativecommons.org.

Interview with Shelma Jun, founder of Flash Foxy, the Women's Climbing Festival, and the Never Not Collective. We talk with Shelma about the ripple effect of starting small in a place that she knew: the climbing community.

Learn more via www.she-explores.com/podcast

Piece in the beginning "Ode to Every Woman Who's Ever Been Called Outdoorsy" by artist Madison Perrins.

Sponsored by Oru Kayak

Music by Mise, Kai Engel, Lee Rosevere, Chris Zabriskie, and Little Glass Men.

Interview with "Wild and Weightless" founder Kristen Ales. We talk about her personal experiences at a young age with binge eating disorder and anorexia, how she's quieted that voice in her head, and how she's driven to help others with eating disorders through wilderness therapy.

Note: This episode mentions eating disorders. And while it's constructive in many ways, depending on your background, this could be triggering. If you are in need of help, call the National Eating Disorder helpline at 1-800-931-2237.

Learn more via the episode page: www.she-explores.com/podcast/wild-and-weightless

Visit Wild & Weightless site.

Sponsored by Oru Kayak

Music by MindsEye PC-One Soft and Furious Chris Zabriskie Little Glass Men

On April 20th, we headed to Carbondale, CO for our first adventure film festival. We talked to its founder, Julie Kennedy, and five creative women who find inspiration in its community. We learn about the trends in adventure filmmaking and the importance of seeking out the people and places that motivate you to create.

Featuring Julie Kennedy (Founder of 5Point), Anya Miller (Creative Strategist at Duct Tape Then Beer), Haley Thompson (co-director of the film How We Grow), Aisha Weinhold (founder of No Man's Land Film Festival), Sonya Pevzner (blogger behind The Pevzdispenser), and Sarah Uhl (artist and former event director for 5Point).

Sponsored by Oru Kayak

Learn more via she-explores.com/podcast

Music by Mise & Chris Zabriskie

Haley Robison, CEO of the hammock and tent company Kammok, believes in the power of play, type 2 fun, and most importantly: showing up. We interview her about how her twenties took her from being a consultant at Bain to a wilderness guide to getting her masters. Now a CEO at an outdoor startup, Haley shares her insights on breaking into a new industry and finding comfort in the uncomfortable.

Learn more at www.she-explores.com/podcast

Sponsored by Oru Kayak

Music by Lee Rosevere, Soft & Furious, Chris Zabriskie, and Little Glass Men via freemusicarchive.org

We interview Outside Magazine's deputy editor Mary Turner and art & photography director Hannah McCaughey about their women's XX factor issue. It's a special edition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Outside Magazine, but it's not the start or end of women's content on Outside. We talk to Mary and Hannah about the changing shape of outdoor content and why the timing was right to "finally" make an all-women's issue.

Sponsored by Oru Kayak.

Music is by Lee Rosevere, Little Glass Men, & Tours via freemusicarchive.org.

Learn more via she-explores.com/podcast

A discussion on the ways spending time outside impacts our mental health. We interview Florence Williams, author of "The Nature Fix" and Sonya Pevzner, who blogs about anxiety and depression as it relates to the outdoors. In addition, we hear from listeners about their experiences with depression and anxiety and the ways you've found healing through outdoor activities as simple as walks in nature and as challenging as canyoneering for the first time.

At the end of the show, we also have a mini interview with Jen Gurecki, the founder of Coalition Snow, about her kickstarter.

Sponsored by Oru Kayak

Learn more via She-Explores.com/podcast

Music is by Sro, Kai Engel, MindsEye, RoccoW, and Lee Rosevere via freemusicarchive.org.