She Explores

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 S...

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...

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 Wh...

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 Re...

Becoming a mom doesn't mean you stop going outside. We pulled together five incredible adventure moms to talk about getting out there with (and without) your kids. We ask questions like: how do you know which trails are age appropriate? How do you make time as a single mom? Where can you find affordable gear? How can you use the outdoors as a place for education? Continuing the conversation from a...

Becky Marcelliano shares how she pivoted from working as an art teacher to working her way up to be a marketing manager a marketing manager in the outdoor industry (first Deuter, then Salomon). Her interview is full of tips for breaking into a new industry, but it’s also about her openness in the face of big life changes, living with chronic illness, and an omnipresent passion for lifting women up...

Laurie Young stepped into her daughter Meghan's world by joining her on a trek to Annapurna base camp in Nepal. Together they pushed through every challenge that presented itself while learning that limits are flexible and the mother/daughter relationship is more fluid than we think. Woman featured in this episode: Meghan Young and Laurie Young Hosted by Gale Straub Made with support by Aunt Fanni...

What's it like to enjoy the outdoors after the age of 50? We're revisiting one of our favorite episodes that helps answer that question with the voices and experiences of you, the listeners. We're honored to be highlighting the wisdom and experience of women in their 50's, 60's, and 70's. These are voices that we don't hear as often in our youth-obsessed culture. All of these stories are extraordi...

Nikki Smith likes to say that she is a climber, photographer, and writer who just happens to be transgender. Professor Brené Brown inadvertently changed Nikki's course when she wrote about midlife, "it's time to show up and be seen." It was the inspiration Nikki needed to step into herself, and it's since served as a reminder of what she wants to do for others. We say "step into&quo...

Grizel Williams is a fast hiker on a crowded Appalachian Trail, just two states away from finishing. We talk life on the trail: sexism, craving loneliness, periods, food, switchbacks, and more. Grizel helps us get a feel of what the trail is like when you're in the everyday of it, and she also shares how the many people on the trail complicate her hike. Featured in this episode: Grizel Williams Ho...

Sarah Grothjan believes solo hiking is one of the safest things she can do. Sarah explains why she feels safer alone in the backcountry than she does in her off-trail life. We talk with Sarah about how a city can feel less safe than being by yourself in the woods, why she wants to change the pervasive narrative that says otherwise, and how the last five years of hiking and backpacking have helped...

Melissa Geissinger lost her house in the Tubbs fire of Northern California in October 2017. Two months later, she had her son Apollo, and life changed forever once again. We talk in the episode about the "old" Melissa and the "new" Melissa a year and a half after she and her husband were displaced by wildfire. Today she has her eyes set on hiking the length of the Oregon Coast...

What changes about the environmental movement when people of color are both the leaders and the audience? We teamed up with REI to send writer Amanda Machado to the third annual PGM ONE Summit in Philadelphia to answer that question first hand. Recorder in hand, Amanda talked to outdoor educators, social entrepreneurs, nonprofit workers, artists, healers, and activists. She shares what was healing...

Sam Ortiz has gone from a beginner to a hiker to a climber to a mountaineer to a plus-size outdoor model in under five years. Her progression has happened in part due to curiosity, timely mentors, and the best kind of fear: the kind you move up and over and end up a little bit changed on the other side. Woman featured in this episode: Sam Ortiz Hosted by Gale Straub Sponsored by Merrell Continue t...

Jen Gurecki is a serial outdoor entrepreneur who isn’t afraid to go against the norm when it comes to the businesses she’s started in the industry. With over 20 years of experience, Jen’s the CEO of Coalition Snow, editor-in-chief at Sisu Magazine, and founder of Zawadisha. She even used to co-own a river rafting company. From the outside, each company is quite different - hardwood skis and snowbo...

Cindy Villaseñor is an Enrich LA Garden Ranger who strives to live a low waste lifestyle. She also loves camping, gardening outside of work, and eats vegan. Cindy didn’t grow up doing any of these things, but keeping herself open to learning and opportunities have led her to where she is today. Cindy hasn’t left people behind in choosing a low waste and vegan lifestyle, instead, she invites people...

For International Women's Day, 20 plus-size women hiked Mount Kilimanjaro. Each had a different reason and background, but they came together to take up space on the highest mountain in Africa. One goal? To normalize fat hiking around the world. Diandra Oliver brought along a recorder to share the seven-day trek with us. Woman featured in this episode: Diandra Oliver, Autumn Stofflet, Eve, Sharon...

A celebration of motherhood, outdoors and otherwise. In this episode, you’ll hear from mothers and daughters; it's equal parts a letter of thanks and a guidebook of sorts for a life best lived outdoors. We asked: What’s your best memory with your mom outdoors? What landscapes and outdoor places make you think of your mom? What do you hope for your children’s relationship with the outdoors? What ou...

Hiking has become both a side hustle and a form of therapy for weekend adventurer Holly Johnson. We talk about how work and play blend together in her life, but also how she deliberately keeps them separate. From her first solo backpacking trip to carving out time for adventure travel outside of her 9-5 job, Holly, aka @missholldoll, is above all else a hiker. Woman featured in this episode: Holly...

This Earth Day, we’re looking on the bright side. We’re asking, how can a sense of environmental optimism keep us facing forward? What strength do we gain when we’re comfortable starting fresh - whether it’s a climbing route, in our personal lives, or in our approach to sustainability? . We climb and camp in Moab, Utah with photographer, climber, and Mountain Hardwear ambassador Kylie Fly, who kno...

Anyone else a ‘bad’ science student in high school? For those who haven’t been indoctrinated, earth science can be all intimidating facts and hard edges. Hannah Perrine Mode is an abstract artist who has found a connection to science through her artwork. Her experiences as a science communicator as part of the Juneau Icefield Research Program in Alaska have opened her up to more diverse methods of...

Shouldn't it be easier for women to use the bathroom outside? Shouldn't pants be made for female anatomy? The founders behind SheFly Apparel think so. They've reinvented pants for us to wear on the trail and elsewhere. Meet two of the three co-founders, Bianca Gonzalez and Charlotte Massey. Women featured in this episode: Bianca Gonzalez and Charlotte Massey Hosted by Gale Straub In this episode y...

Both filmmaker Sarah Menzies and The Musical Mountaineers accomplished big things after our conversations last year. Sarah debuted her film Afghan Cycles. Rose and Anastasia played music in Seattle's Benaroya Hall. We catch up and celebrate what's next. Women featured in this episode: Sarah Menzies, Anastasia Allison, and Rose Freeman Hosted by Gale Straub In this episode you'll hear: How the Afgh...

A little mindfulness goes a long way. Meet Kenya and Michelle Jackson-Saulters, founders of Outdoor Journal Tour and WE Hike to Heal. We have a lot on our minds - we often put our own needs on the backburner. Kenya and Michelle believe that self-care can look like a walk in the woods and that the effect can be multiplied with journaling and meditating. They're on a mission to help women all over t...

How has the She Explores podcast impacted you? That's what we wanted to know. So Gale’s team member and host of Women on the Road, Laura Hughes, secretly asked some of you who have been on the show in the past to share just that, and in doing so created a secret bonus episode to celebrate 100 episodes of the She Explores podcast, the She Explores community, and the work Gale has done over the past...