Wild Ideas Worth Living

Jason Hardrath is a runner and mountaineer based in southern Oregon. He holds over a hundred records for being the fastest person to complete trails and climb mountains around the country. In 2021, he broke the record for the fastest known time to summit the 100 tallest peaks in Washington State known as the Bulger List— and he did it in only 50 days.  Connect with Jason:  Website Instagram  Episo...

Cory Maria Dack is an outdoor adventure guide and she recently completed a thru-paddle of the entire Mississippi River. It took her 134 days to canoe from the headwaters of the river in Minnesota all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. At the end, she didn't necessarily feel a sense of victory. Instead, she felt joy and gratitude for her new relationship with the river and the people she met along the...

Dane, Patrick and Tanner Gudauskus have spent a lot of their lives in the water riding some of the most epic waves. They've traveled the world for competitive surfing and taken the leap into free surfing all alongside each other. Dane, Patrick and Tanner are now giving back to the surf community through their company, Positive Vibe Warriors.  Connect with the Gudauskas Brothers:  Positive Vibe War...

 In 2021, Vasu Sojitra became one of the first adaptive athletes to ski down Denali, and he's made groundbreaking descents in the Grand Tetons and the Bear Tooth Mountain Range. As the first adaptive athlete to be represented by the North Face, Vasu has used his platform to speak out about representation and intersectionality in the outdoors. Connect with Vasu:  Website  Instagram  Read: Why I Get...

Alysia Montano is a professional runner who's competed at the highest possible level.  She's a two-time world champion and an Olympian. She's breaking the barriers that limit a woman’s choice to pursue and thrive in both career and motherhood.  Connect with Alysia:  Website  Instagram Alysia's nonprofit &Mother: Website  Instagram  Episode sponsors:  Check out Danner’s all-new  Mountain 600 Leaf G...

At a young age, Chris Sharma was considered a climbing prodigy and won multiple competitions. He established some of the most challenging routes around the world, and pushed the sport forward technically and culturally. Recently, Chris and his longtime friend, fellow climber and actor, Jason Momoa, came up with the idea to produce a competitive reality show based on rock climbing. Their creative b...

BJ Griffin is a musician and freediver from Virginia Beach. Freediving is where you hold your breath and dive deep underwater to explore the ocean. For BJ, freediving has drastically impacted his life. It's improved his health and lung capacity. It's helped him develop a meditation practice, and it's even influenced his life as an artist. Connect with BJ:  Tiktok Instagram  Website   Dive for Peac...

In 2020, Emily Pennington set off on the trip of a lifetime. Her goal was to visit every national park in the United States. Emily wasn’t sure what she’d find out there in the wilderness, but she needed a change - she was burnt out from her life in Los Angeles and reeling from personal losses. The time was right for Emily to quit her job, hit the road, and find her way outside. Connect with Emily:...

In 2022, Cal Dobbs became the first known transgender person to triple crown, which means he hiked all of the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail. Cal's next wild idea involves running across the U.S to raise awareness for trans rights.  Connect with Cal:  Website  Instagram  Resources:  REI statement: Join us in supporting the trans community and LGBTQ+ equality Hu...

Garrett McNamara is one of the best big wave surfers on the planet. In 2011, Garrett broke a world record when he rode a 78-foot wave in Nazare, Portugal. Nicole McNamara is Garrett's manager, his spotter, and his wife. The power couple have figured out a way to live a life that grounds them while focusing on what they love– surfing and family.  Connect with Garrett & Nicole:  Garrett's website  M...

Wild Ideas Worth Living's host Shelby Stanger gives us a behind the scenes look at her wild journey to becoming an adventure journalist, host of an REI Co-op podcast, and now author of her brand new book, Will to Wild .  Connect with Shelby:  Website Instagram  Grab a copy of Shelby's new book, Will to Wild  Watch the Wild to Wild trailer  Episode sponsors:  Listen to  Finding Mastery podcast Host...

In honor of those who are raising the next generation of wild ones. Host Shelby Stanger shares insights from past guests on how to raise adventurous kids, and tips about how you can make it easier to get outside with your family. Connect with guests:  Chris Fagan's Instagram Stacy Bare's Instagram Katie Arnold's Instagram Evelynn Escobar's Instagram Lindsey Konchar's Instagram Resources:  Lindsey...

Alyssa Ravasio is the founder and CEO of the online campsite booking platform, Hipcamp. Many people think of technology and the outdoors as complete opposites, but for Alyssa, the two have always gone together. With Hipcamp Alyssa's found a way to connect folks with campsites on public and private land. This creates more camping spots and makes it easier to find a place to hunker down under the st...

In the summer of 2022, four women, Sophia Denison-Johnston, Brooke Downes, Libby Costello and Adrienne Smith, set a new record for the fastest all female team to row from San Francisco to Hawaii. They completed the journey in 34 days, 14 hours and 20 minutes.  Connect with the Latitude 35 Row Team:  Brooke Downes Instagram  Sophia Denison-Johnston Instagram Libby Costello Instagram Adrienne Smith...

In January, 2023, Erchana Murray-Bartlett set the Guinness World record for running the most consecutive marathons. She ran 150 marathons in 150 days and raised money for Australian wildlife along the way. Erchana started at Cape York, which is in the northern tip of Australia and ran along the coast all the way down to Melbourne. Connect with Erchana:  Instagram Tip to Toe website Wilderness Soci...

Izzy Sederbaum is a trans-masculine cyclist and policy scholar who survived a rare cougar attack on a ride outside of Seattle in early 2018. Izzy was hospitalized with severe facial trauma while hateful anti-trans rhetoric filled comment sections of news articles that he had little to no control over. All the hatred pushed Izzy in a direction motivated by love. Today he's working to make cycling m...

Cecil Konijnendijk has been studying, teaching, and advising on urban forestry for more than 25 years. He is interested in how trees can improve our cities, communities, personal lives, and mental health. Cecil came up with a rule he calls 3-30-300 which has become popular among climate change activists and urban tree canopy specialists. The rule encourages seeing at least 3 trees from your window...

Cal Calamia has been a runner their entire life, but in 2018, their relationship with the sport changed when Cal came out as trans non-binary. Most races in the US only have two gender categories, men and women, and Cal doesn't fit in either one. In an effort to make space for themself and other non-binary athletes, Cal has become an advocate for gender inclusivity and races across the US. Connect...

Courtney Guerra is a culinary farmer who loves the intimacy of planting seeds, watching them sprout, and harvesting rich, colorful produce. She's grown food for some of America's top restaurants. Now Courtney focuses on bringing the positive impact of gardening and interacting with nature to her community in Southern California.   Connect with Courtney:  Website  Instagram  Take action: Upward Bou...

Christophe Zajac-Denek was just a couple of days old when he was diagnosed with a rare form of dwarfism called cartilage-hair hypoplasia. Doctors told his parents that he might never be able to ride a bike or go for a run. Today, Christophe stands at four feet, four inches tall. He can't bend his back and the bones in his legs have been surgically altered. Despite his physical limitations, Christo...

Myishia Haynes is one of the most cheerful, exuberant fisherwoman you'll ever meet. She practices catch and release fishing, and has a pretty good track record, especially when it comes to fishing for bass. Myishia has made it her mission to show the world that anyone can fish and get outside. Connect with Myishia: Instagram  YouTube Episode sponsors:  Teva Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company...

Sara Mudallal was 20 years old when she decided to try parkour. She also decided to start wearing a hijab as an expression of her Muslim identity. Over the years, plenty of people told her to stop practicing parkour because of her gender or her faith. But Sara has kept her head up, found success in the world of parkour, and inspired thousands of people to stay true to themselves. Connect with Sara...

Faith Dickey is one of the greatest highliners in the world. In 2012, Faith broke the record for the longest free solo, that's highlining without a safety harness. Then in 2014, she became the first woman to cross a highline over 100 meters long. Connect with Faith:  Instagram  Faith's company, Elevate Outdoors Guiding  Faith's TEDx Talk, Deciphering Fear From Intuition 1000 Feet Up  Women's Highl...

Melissa Kegler is an elite open-water swimmer who specializes in cold water, long distance swims. She recently broke the U.S. national distance record for IISA’s Ice Mile event. Her goal goes beyond excelling in this extreme sport. Melissa is committed to fostering an inclusive community focusing on body positivity and self-love.  Connect with Melissa:  Webiste   Instagram   Watch , Open Water: Me...

In the fall of 2022, the Oregon Symphony hired Deanna Tham as their new associate conductor. Deanna is incredibly talented and she's an expert at drawing out rich sounds from large orchestras.  When she needs to let loose Deanna goes rock climbing. You might think that scaling rock faces has nothing to do with conducting an orchestra, but for Deanna, the two disciplines have a lot in common. Conne...