She Explores

This is the story of how Gretchen Powers and Alexandra Roberts became adventure partners. It's also about what it means to be an adventure friend, and how you might find one, too. Sponsored by Escape Campervans Women Featured in this Episode: Gretchen Powers and Alexandra Roberts Hosted and Produced by Gale Straub In this episode, you'll hear: How Gretchen and Alex met and why they weren't fast fr...

Your stories of spending time solo in the outdoors. Including a bikepacker, a so-called fat hiker, an aspiring astronaut, an extrovert, two med students, and a backcountry paddler, in short - you and me. It's been almost 2 years since we last asked you about how you adventure solo in Episode 8 of She Explores, Alone on the Trail . Gale asked for new submissions and she received more than she could...

Ultrarunner Mirna Valerio is a role model for many because by doing what she loves, she shows others what is possible. She’s modeling being a black, fat girl running, moving her body up and over mountains. Which begs the question - what are you modeling for others? Women featured in this episode: Mirna Valerio, AKA " The Mirnavator ." Mirna is a full-time ultrarunner, author, and public...

Sheri Tingey has been making gear in the outdoor industry for the past 50 years, and she's done a lot of it with her own two hands. Learn about what drives her to solve problems, how she learned the important lesson of slowing down, and what happened after she re-started her career in her 50's by founding Alpacka Raft . Sheri started out making custom ski apparel in Jackson Hole in the late 1960's...

A beginner's guide of sorts to advocating for land we can all love and enjoy. This week, we’re back camping with Amanda Machado, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), and 13 women who are passionate about learning about championing public land. Women featured in this episode: Special reporter Amanda Machado (learn more at brownenvironmentalist.org ); Laura Torres, Megan Hernbroth, Am...

Ever feel like you're alone in your relationship with the outdoors? Join a group of women who are leading by example in their communities by spending time outside and breaking ground for others to do the same. Amanda Machado shares her experience camping with the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) for a special night near Los Angeles. Because it was rainy, the group huddled until tarps...

Could a hike a week change your life? Interview with Karla Amador, co-founder of 52 Hike Challenge. We talk about why she chose to hike 52 times in a year, how It helped clarify what she wanted out of work and life, and how a feeling of accomplishment can carry with you long after the trail. Women featured in this episode: Karla Amador Hosted by Gale Straub In this episode, you'll hear: How Karla’...

Kareemah Batts is a cancer survivor and the founder of Adaptive Climbing Group. After finding climbing after losing part of her leg to cancer, Kareemah wanted to share the feeling she has on the wall with others. She's done with sympathy, she just wants to climb. Women featured in this episode: Kareemah Batts Hosted by Gale Straub Featured in the midroll: Maggie Peikon Join the She Explores Podcas...

Jenny Bruso is the founder of Unlikely Hikers. Her work is rooted in her belief that there is room for every body on the trail. Jenny is queer, fat, and femme, and she's passionate about cultivating a safe space in the outdoors for people of all backgrounds and body sizes. Unlikely Hikers is just two years old, but its positive reception proves that the time is right for outdoor media and meetups...

Simone Martin-Newberry is a plant person. And the attention she pays to flora has led to her discovery that contrary to what most media would have you believe, nature is everywhere - especially if you're open to finding it. Simone is naturally curious. She speaks with a deep reverence for the natural world, whether she finds it within the bounds of her longtime city of Chicago or when using her va...

In climbing, it's key trust yourself and your community. Discover what it's like to attend the Flash Foxy Women's Climbing Festival through the ears of a beginner. Jaymie Shearer takes us to Bishop, CA to climb, contemplate, and learn some life lessons. Women featured in this episode: Jaymie Shearer, Shelma Jun, Claudia Gallegos, Shelma Jun, Tristin Vaughn, Savannah Norris-Jenkins, Jolie Varela, a...

Those moments on the trail when you just have to laugh because it's the only way forward. Live storytelling of mishaps in the outdoors and an interview with Marielle Cowdin of Oregon Wild. Recorded at the Columbia Flagship store in Portland, OR. Women Featured in this Episode: Marielle Cowdin, Amy Faust, Stephanie Smith, Stacey Arnold, and Stephanie Makris Hosted and produced by Gale Straub . In t...

What happens when we take risks when we’re spending time outside? How does it pay off and when does it backfire? These are your stories of taking risks in the outdoors. Women Featured in this Episode: Hallie Seay Shelby Stanger, Host of Wild Ideas Worth Living Claire Giordano, Instagram & Portfolio Karen Wang, Instagram & Portfolio Megan Bixel Brooke Weeber, Instagram Sheree Angela Matthew...

Sarah Menzies is all in. Whether it's her adventure documentary film career or her relationships, Sarah is fully committed to following through on giving back to others. Sarah’s story is about what she would do for her many loves, and in turn, and what they would do for her. The filmmaker behind the short pieces, "The Mirnavator" and "A Steelhead Quest," Sarah's first full-leng...

What happens when we go offline for a camping and hiking trip in the Olympic Peninsula with a plein air painter and a food blogger? We get really inspired. In a lot of ways, this is a simple episode about making friends offline. But it’s also about the headspace you cultivate when you step outside and how that makes room for thought and inspiration. And it’s also about experiencing an outdoor spac...

Jessi Johnson is a bowhunter and a public lands advocate. This week we're presenting a story from the HumaNature podcast about how one backcountry trip lead her on a heartbreaking odyssey. You can see photos and videos from Jessi's hunt, and more information about her nonprofit work, at HumaNaturePodcast.org . You can also hear more stories about human experiences in nature there, too. The story w...

Sisters Alex and Sage Herr have been summiting peaks in the White Mountains since they were 5 years old. Now 15 and almost 13, respectively, their enthusiasm for hiking has remained the same as ever. Proof that for all the activities we grow out of in life, there’s no saying you have to grow out of hiking. Gale met up with the girls and their mom, Trish, for a winter hike of WIldcat Ridge. After h...

We often live with timelines in our minds. We’re really good at building a narrative for ourselves: "by this age, I want to do have accomplished______." Maybe it's a list of mountains to climb, or debt to repay, or a family to grow - we all tuck dreams in the back of our minds. And yet the older we get, the more we realize that life gets in the way. Many of us end up looking in the mirro...

Caro Luevanos-Garcia believes the key to closing the gaps between generations can be found in the outdoors. And she also believes the inverse: that people across generations can find the outdoors with the help of each other. Caro started hiking, backpacking, and running when she retired from a career in corrections at the age of 50. Now 56, she’s run 26 half marathons in 18 states. She loves backp...

A book is often just a jumping off point to talk about other topics we care deeply about. In this episode, we bring mountain guide and writer Charlotte Austin's Adventure Grapes Online Book Club to life. Along with Charlotte and outdoor author Shawnté Salabert, host Gale Straub discusses questions of gender roles in the outdoors and adventure narratives, as well as the outdoors' role in mental hea...

When Annette says that she has something in common with a murderer, she’s right. And she also has something in common with a tourist from Japan, as well as the American landscape. Annette doesn’t hold anything back - at her core, she’s a journalist. She investigates her own story like she investigates that of all the subjects in the book. Each person came alive through her diligent research, resul...

What is it like to enjoy the outdoors after the age of 50? We asked and you answered. 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 extraordinary for their willingness to share, try new things, and encourage others to do the same. Women Featured...

Interview with Jaylyn Gough, Navajo outdoors woman and founder of Native Women's Wilderness. Jaylyn has found strength and healing in the outdoors. She talks about why she shares her connection with the land with other Native Americans, how non-natives can support her work, and her long term vision for Native Women's Wilderness. Our conversation is inextricably linked to trauma, but it is also fil...

Nicole Brown is founder of Women Who Hike. In October, she set out to hike Southern California's three highest mountains in 24 hours. Nicole was confident leading up to the challenge, but very little went according to plan. Learn about the power of her community, living (and hiking) with a chronic autoimmune disease, and committing to a challenge, even when success might just be out of reach. Lear...

After 15 years working a practicing lawyer, Marinel de Jesus decided to leave her legal career to pursue her love of the mountains and run her trekking company, Peak Explorations, full time. Marinel’s is a story of great cultural expectations: after a childhood growing up in the Philippines, Marinel moved to Seattle at the age of 13. Her parents instilled in her the importance of stability: findin...