The Trail Less Traveled

Rolf Shenton grew up living in the bush and farming in Zambia. He is passionate about regenerative farming and preserving biodiversity. Rolf is the founder of  Grassroots Trust Limited , a non-profit focused on helping communities shape a viable future. They use and promote holistic management framework to guide decision making and hope to contribute to a regenerating environme...

Join us at the Rabbit Stick traditional skills gathering for an interview with Ray Young and Tom Lucyens. Two retired survival instructors for the U.S. Air Force. Specially, Ray and Tom teach Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE).   SERE is a training program that prepares U.S. military personnel, U.S. Department of Defense civilians, and private m...

Bridget Mulindi Meyer was born and raised in NSongwe village, exactly one kilometer from rapid number ten on the Zambezi River. Bridget is an environmentalist and humanist with an exceptional singing voice and a heart of gold. Bridget is dedicated to helping others and has extensive knowledge of the balance required in order to maintain a healthy ecosystem for communities and wildlife in Zambia.&n...

Bob Meyer, "Big Water Bob" grew up in the U.S. and came to the Zambezi River in the early 1980s to guide whitewater and train locals. His connection with the Zambezi River can be described as love at first sight. Bob is married to Bridget Meyer, whom he met on the Zambezi River. They both live in the village where Bridget was born and raised exactly one kilometer from rapid number ten on the...

Recorded on the edge of the Lower Zambezi River at Chiawa Camp. This interview features a conversation with Juliet Zulu, a consummate hospitality professional who has worked in the industry for 26+ years, including at some of Zambia’s top safari camps. Voted Miss Tourism 1992, Juliet still proudly waves the flag of Beautiful Zambia, having more recently been mentioned as a legend of the Victoria F...

"When Fabio and I first met, I was on vacation and he was at work. I was en route to Kuna Yala, an autonomous indigenous zone on the Caribbean coast of Panama, on a solo trip. As it happened, he was captaining a charter boat there, which offered an affordable way to cruise Kuna Yala. We met in the dark at 5:30am in Panama City waiting for the bus out to the jump-off point for the boat. We spent ju...

This is part II of II. Recorded in sea kayaks floating in the Sea of Cortez. Gary Steele has had a long career as a backcountry guide, blacksmith, outfitter and woodsman and has been leading traditional outdoor skills workshops for years. Learn more and purchase his book, Moving Forward by Looking Back - Memoirs of a Wildman by visiting: https://www.gettinprimitive.com/ Show premieres Sunday night...

Gary Steele has had a long career as a backcountry guide, blacksmith, outfitter and woodsman and has been leading traditional outdoor skills workshops for years. Learn more and purchase his book, Moving Forward by Looking Back - Memoirs of a Wildman by visiting: https://www.gettinprimitive.com/ Show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) o...

This interview was recorded in a cedar forest on the edge of Jocko Creek during a light rain storm. I sat with an old cowboy named "Dude" who recalls what it was like to grow up living off the land, milking cows for $1/week in order to save money to buy his first pony as a teenager for $60. He rode bulls and broncs, hunting to feed his family and wasn't accepted by most other cowboys because his a...

Ceilidh O'Sullivan was born and raised on the Eastern Coast of Australia in a little town known for its delicious ginger beer and all inclusive schools for the disabled. Ceilidh was born profoundly deaf and with the help of her mother, she learned to speak well. At a young age she became obsessed with "Bush Tucker" which is a reference to edible wild foods in Australia. To this day...

Marty Essen is an American naturalist, author, photographer, and professional speaker. He has written seven books, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico, Time Is Irreverent, Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again! Time Is Irreverent...

Join us for an interview with Matt Misicka, the Executive Director of Ohio Conservation Federation. Matt is an avid hunter, angler, and overlander who also works as an instructor for the Overlanding Expo. During this interview, Matt discusses the Farm Bill, Public Lands, Chronic Wasting Disease, the Recovering America's Wildlife Act, and other conservation issues he is wor...

Part II of II featuring Larry Evans, aka The Fungal Boogieman!! We just couldn't get enough... so we're featuring him on two episodes. Stay tuned for a BIG announcement regarding a new partnership which will allow us to continue connecting people with place through storytelling, art, history, culture and wildlife conservation! We will make the announcement on Monday, September 25th. Be sure t...

Larry Evans, aka The Fungal Boogieman, has taught mycology since you had to explain what that is. He’s authored dozens of articles, notably, “Soil Carbon and You”. His YouTube channel Fungal Jungal samples his adventures in Russia, Asia, and North and South America; after 15 years of visiting and nearly 2,000 collections placed in the Bolivia National Herbarium, he wrote a...

Chris Servheen has been working on grizzly bear recovery since 1975. He is the president and board chair of the Montana Wildlife Federation.  Chris retired in 2016 after 35 years with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, where he served as the agency’s first and only Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator. In that role, he oversaw the management of grizzlies across the lower 48 states,...

Neva Hassanein is a Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montana. For this episode, she interviews her mentor, friend and professor whom she studied with in East Africa.  Paul’s formative years were spent in the Belgian Congo—ay a time when most of Africa was the possession of one or another of Europe’s nations.  For more than four decades, his life expe...

Brad Lourens grew up in Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. As a child, he spent most of his free time at the ocean and during the holidays he would spend time in the bush with his father. He was a part of the Junior Honorary Rangers, where he would assist rangers in the parks. He studied to be a guide in 2007. As a level 2 trails guide, he often takes clients out on game walks wh...

Mandela interviews two of her clients while rowing them across a glacial lake connecting the Alsek River drainage. Scott and Heather have run over one hundred rivers around the world and they reflect on protecting rivers in South America as well as climate change and the importance of connecting with people wherever you go.  Scott's conservation connection and focus is the Futaleufú Rive...

Dr. Bruce Stein s a scientific expert on biodiversity and wildlife conservation, and serves as the National Wildlife Federation’s chief scientist. The author of numerous publications on conservation biology, endangered species, and climate change, he is also a sought-after speaker and instructor. Since joining the National Wildlife Federation in 2008, Stein has spearheaded the organization’s work...

Recorded while floating down the Selway River in the heart of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, we invite you to join us for an interview with Mark Martin. Mark is a river and fishing guide in Idaho who serves as a salmon and steelhead advocate for the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association. Mark is also a writer, conservationist and backcountry skier. Mark...

Neva Hassanein is a Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montana, where she has taught since 2000. Neva earned her Doctorate in Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin and her Masters degree from the University of Oregon. Neva is author of the book, Changing the Way America Farms: Knowledge and Community in the Sustainable Agriculture Movement. Her recent scholars...

This episode was recorded inside an old Land Rover Defender 110 (the portable recording studio) parked in front of the Roxy Theater during the International Wildlife Film Festival. We sit down with the crew behind the award winning wildlife documentary, Kangaroo Valley! Journey to a secret valley in Australia, where a nervous baby kangaroo named Mala faces hungry dingoes and winter snows in this c...

Dawn Kish  received her first camera, a Nikkormat, when she was 17 years old from her mentor Sue Bennett. For over 25 years she has been shooting adventure, commercial, and conservation photography. “If it is outside,” says Kish, “I’ve probably photographed it.” She creates photos of her journeys, whether they are stories of Native Americans in her Arizona homeland or hanging off a...

Lara Tomov is a filmmaker and communications consultant, who keeps her ear to the ground for messages that can improve the well-being of human communities and the ecosystems they're a part of. Her work as a cinematographer has taken her around the world with productions for Travel Channel, Discovery, and independent documentaries.  After growing up in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, th...

Joshua Lisbon is a tracker, tanner and teacher who works as the director of education at MPG ranch. He is the co-founder of the Montana Folk School. You can learn directly from Joshua and other amazing teachers by visiting MontanaFolkSchool. ORG Joshua has designed and implemented wilderness and experiential-based education programs for various agencies since 2001. In his free time, Joshua en...