Guides Gone Wild – Details, episodes & analysis

My guest today is Amy Wight Chapman, aka @hikelowandlocal and the author of a beautiful family memoir, Just Like Glass. 

Amy inspires me for so many reasons - the biggest, hugest reason being that she honors herself. She is creative, and knows she enjoys moving her body, so she keeps those two flames flickering at all times, even when she’s challenged by all the same things the rest of us are: family, injury, work, all the obligations that suck up our time and energy whether we want them to or not…

Amy’s book Just Like Glass: A Family Memoir is a one or two sitting affair, because you get sucked in from the start. Having grown up in a stoic New England family myself, Ruth’s approach to what was probably the biggest tragedy of her life reminded me so much of women I knew in my childhood. 

I laughed, I cried, I told everyone I know who’s in a book group about this book, because this family really got to me. And I’m going to leave it at that, so you head to your favorite book store and request this title, if it’s not already carried, or head to amywchapman.com and hit the Buy Now button to order it directly from the Bethel Historical Society like I did.

Be sure to stick around until the end to be completely and utterly impressed by Amy’s movement streak. I’m telling you, this is the episode you need to be reminded to honor yourself in all the smallest ways, it makes such a huge difference!

Get to know Amy and the places she loves!:

@hikelowandlocal

Order Just Like Glass: A Family Memoir from the Bethel Historical Museum!

AmyWChapman.com Substack

Museums of the Bethel Historical Society (Bethel, ME)

Buck’s Ledge Community Forest (Woodstock, ME)

Moody Mountain (Woodstock, ME)

Community Concepts (ME)

Maggie’s Nature Park (Greenwood, ME)

Lapham Loop (ME)

True North Adventureware

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Are you like me, struggling with the overwhelming urge to punch something about 25 times a day right now, for sure every time you read a news headline?!!? Time to put your foot down. Literally!

Today I'm catching up with Serena Ryan of Summits in Solidarity, to learn about the latest iteration of the grassroots hiking initiative she co-founded that continues to break down barriers to outdoor access by raising critical funds for BIPOC-led organizations.

The 2024 Summits in Solidarity Hike-a-Thon launched March 20th with an ambitious goal: collectively hiking 5,000 miles between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice to raise $50,000 for two remarkable organizations: MANA (Maine Association for New Americans), that supports immigrants in connecting with nature and community resources; and Unlikely Riders, that creates welcoming mountain sport spaces for BIPOC Vermonters in skiing, snowboarding, and beyond.

My 2025 hike-a-thon is underway, and I hope you’ll pop in @GuidesGoneWild on Instagram or Facebook to follow my progress this spring!

There will be no talk of FKTs or thru hikes or 24 hour traverses, and I might not even go to the White Mountains, because I honestly don’t have time for that right now! Instead, I’m going to be getting ALL of my 75 pledged miles on my local trail systems - a few of the hikes I intend to do are less than a mile long! 

Whether you support my hiking efforts, do your own thing solo or with a team, or donate to win some swank raffle items, it’s all good! Join me in supporting Summits in Solidarity, Maine Association for New Americans, and Unlikely Riders this spring over at summitsinsolidarity.org.

A few more useful links:

• Solidarity Night - June 7th - Join me!
• The Notch Hostel (N. Woodstock, NH)
• Hear the origin story of the Notch Hostel and Summits in Solidarity from Serena on Guides Gone Wild
• Read more about white supremacy, the impacts of colonialism and privilege here
• “Me and White Supremacy” Challenge - save the date for February, 2026
• Kokanee Trail Half Marathon (CA)
• Hayduke Trail (UT, AZ)
• Hyperlite 35L backpacks
• Arc’teryx Boston
• ULA Circuit Backpack (Serena’s current favorite!)
• Stio
• ”Finding Philip” Carcia - @findingphilip
• Presidential (“Presi”) Traverse (NH)
• The Roost Hike in Evans Notch (ME)

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Today I’m welcoming one of my wild new Western Maine friends, Julie Sloan, an owner and the lead instructor at Maine River Runners (https://www.maineriverrunners.com/) in Bethel, Maine.

Maine River Runners came to town the summer of 2023, and jumped right in to the local business community with their fleet of kayaks, canoes, stand up paddleboards, and accessories for rent, as well as a lesson program and shuttle service that brings paddlers up and down the Androscoggin from their riverfront home base in Bethel.

But this is no ‘Julie-come-lately’ story - even though her business just celebrated its first birthday, Julie Sloan has more than 20 years of experience teaching (both in classrooms and on the water), and holds certifications in swift water, coastal kayaking, SUP yoga teaching, and as an ACA Paddle Sports Safety Facilitator.

Julie’s story is one that fills me with joy because she has managed to meld her many interests and curiosities into a life she loves, that’s also creating so much good in the world and in her community as a result.

So get that river adventure on your calendar ASAP!:

• Maine River Runners : https://www.maineriverrunners.com/
• Evans Notch Lodge

Are you a registered Maine Guide itching to get your community and clients on the water this summer? 

• Let’s talk paddle retreats!: https://www.evansnotchlodge.com/retreats

Or are you a land-lubber looking for some fun (and fabulous fundraising!) hiking opportunities this summer? :

• Join or Support the Guides Gone Wildcats hike for Alzheimer’s - July 27th
• Join or Donate to a Summits in Solidarity hike: https://givebutter.com/SummitsInSolidarity

Or has Julie inspired you to start your own outdoor business? Check out my Guide for Guides on Liability Insurance and Social Media Marketing!

A few more links from our conversation (come on over to GuidesGoneWild.com for the complete list):

• Ari Leach - Blackbird Guide Services
• Androscoggin River Watershed Council
• HALA inflatable paddle boards (CO)
• Zapstix Surf Shop (NH)

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I’ve got a fun little series coming to your earbuds to end this week with my new friend Nicolle Littrell of DoryWoman Rowing.

If you’ve listened to this podcast before, it probably won’t take you too long to realize why Nicolle’s story resonated with me - I’m not entirely unfamiliar with what happens when a woman collides with midlife and realizes she wants something entirely different than what she’s been up to the last few decades…

This one covers a lot of ground, so I’ve broken it up for you. Today we're mostly talking about how Nicolle got into rowing dories in the first place (since that’s not exactly an obvious outdoor activity choice for most people), and also how she basically manifested her way into her first boat….. was it pure will, or witchcraft? I’ll let you be the judge.

In Part 2, we'll be getting into the nitty gritty of Nicolle starting her business, and becoming a registered Maine Guide along the way. Some interesting insights in that one, if you've contemplated taking the Guide test.

Come back tomorrow to see what happened after Nicolle set her mind (and her oars) to starting her own business!

Or if you can’t wait that long, you can book a rowing session with Nicolle right now on her website, and also check her out on the socials, she’s @dorywomanrowing on Instagram and Facebook.

A few links from this part of the conversation:

• Emily MacCabe on Guides Gone Wild
• Come Boating (Belfast, ME)
• What is a pilot gig?
• What is an Annapolis wherry?
• Swampscott Dory
• The Compass Project
• Warren Island State Park

A parting thought!:
If you haven’t created the free profile for your guiding or trip business on Navitour yet, now is the time to get in touch with them, they are cranking up their consumer marketing efforts at the end of March, just in time for warm weather bookings!

• Shay Bellas of Navitour on Guides Gone Wild
• Set up your free guide profile on Navitour

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Jackie Lastinger of The Girls Trip Adventure Co. is my guest today - representing one of the very few so far that I’ve had the good fortune to meet in real life BEFORE I actually interviewed her.

Jackie organized a super-fun Shred Rebels gals snowboarding event at Sugarloaf this winter that my daughter and I signed up for, and it turns out that amazing day she pulled together for close to 30 women was the first step in her full-fledged return to the adventure leader world.

Listen in to find out how this barely car camping Georgia gal turned her back on the familiar, so-called ‘normal’ life plan, and started patching together the people, places and experiences that she intuitively knew would bring her joy. Next thing you know, she’s making snow and driving a groomer at Sugarloaf, among other things.

In addition to being my newest lifestyle design idol and a badass snowboarder, Jackie has launched The Girls Trip Adventure Co. and is hosting her first trip this summer. Since we recorded this, Jackie has actually sold out Catalina and the Channel Islands - woo hoo! -but I know what that means.... She's got her maps and calendar out in the snowmaker’s warming hut getting her next trip offering nailed down before mud season!

So follow Jackie and The Girls Trip Adventure Co. on Instagram, and head over to her fancy new website, and subscribe to be notified as soon as new adventures are posted so you don’t miss out on more fun!

More links to inspire YOU into action!:

• “Tall” Ashley on Guides Gone Wild
• Trans-Catalina Trail
• Channel Islands National Park
• Hiker Babes
• The Broken Fiddle Hostel (Damascus, VA)
• Stone Mountain (GA)
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• South Sister (OR)
• What is ‘scree’?
• Mt. Hood (OR)
• Beech Mountain Ski Resort (NC)
• Cataloochee (NC)
• Sugar Mountain Resort (NC)
• Tahoe Rim Trail
• Havasupai
• “Learning to Drown” (documentary short)
• Randy Sun Waterproof Socks

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You may sense from the lack of what my daughter calls ‘my annoying intro’ that this week is a departure from normal - and you are correct!

After 90 something consecutive weeks of posting an interview, I’m actually on vacation with my family this week, and since I double dropped my epic conversation with Sydney Williams on you last week, I decided to take a quick break to refresh and re-set today!

Never fear, I’ve got a bunch of great women queued up for the next several episodes, who’ll get you inspired to blast out of your comfort zone and try something new or go somewhere different. Or both! But you’re just gonna have to wait a few more days.

I hope you'll support the podcast by following us on Instagram and Facebook, or you could pop over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and leave us a rating and review.

OR, in my opinion, the best possible way to support Guides Gone Wild is to share it with your friends who need a little kick in the pants to start adventuring with you! Send them the link to your favorite episode from the Guides Gone Wild website, all of the audio is available there, or just look for the share icon on your podcast player and shoot some inspiration right into your buddy’s messaging app - easy peasey!

Tthank you for your patience while I enjoy a little free time this week, I hope you’ll come back next week and join me when I jump back into the wild!

Links:

• @GuidesGoneWild on Instagram
• @GuidesGoneWild on Facebook

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And we are back! Yes, it’s Part 2 with Sydney Williams of Hiking My Feelings.

If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, I highly recommend you go back and do so, we laid down lots of groundwork yesterday that will make today’s conversation an even richer one for your eardrums.

BUT - if you’re more interested in the origin story of Hiking My Feelings than the story of the brains and breakthroughs behind it, you can still absolutely listen to this one on its own and get a ton of value.

Sydney brings the truth bombs fast and furious. So grab your flak jacket and start Hiking YOUR Feelings for real - the Blaze Your Own Trail to Self-Love program kicks off with a free workshop this Sunday, February 20th - make sure to visit Hiking My Feelings for more info or to sign up.

And lest you think the value stops there....more links galore!:

• Hiking My Feelings - on Instagram - on Facebook - on YouTube
• Take a Hike Diabetes
• Sydney Williams on Life In Motion
• Sydney Williams on Misfits & Moguls
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Women Who Hike
• Outdoor Journal Tour
• Better Help
• Kula Cloth 

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My guest this week, Sydney Williams, may be familiar to some (and if you listened in on my conversation with Victoria Amico of Plus Sized Outdoors a month or so ago, this name should definitely be familiar to you!)

Sydney Williams is the founder of Hiking My Feelings (the group) and the author of Hiking My Feelings (the book). And yes, you will have to listen to a little bit of fan girl blathering from me, because Sydney is a rock star and I have huge respect for what she’s creating and supporting in the outdoors.

Sydney and I could’ve talked for a week, there’s that much to dive into, and this conversation wound up being a long one. So I’m doing something a little different this week.

This is 'Part I' of our conversation, I’ll be dropping the rest tomorrow - load them both up and listen in as you head out for your long weekend adventures. But consider yourself forewarned - this conversation has plenty of salty language and adult theme landmines, so if you’re with your kids, you might want to pop in the earbuds first.

Although once you’ve listened, you might want to share with your tweener daughters anyway, because there are so many messages here that are important for women and girls to hear.

Make sure you check out Sydney's Blaze Your Own Trail to Self-Love program that will be kicking off with a FREE workshop on Sunday, February 20th! Sign up at  Hiking My Feelings, and get ready to feel loved and supported as soon as this weekend.

You can also follow Sydney and Hiking My Feelings on Instagram or Facebook, and join one of their Virtual Campfires on YouTube.

More links from our conversation:

• Take a Hike Diabetes
• Victoria Amico of Plus Sized Outdoors on Guides Gone Wild
• Penelope Trunk
• SXSW (South by Southwest)
• Peter Shankman
• Trans-Catalina Trail
• Stonewall Peak

And don't forget to tune back in tomorrow for the rest of the story!

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I'm coming in HOT today with my guest, Tiffany Soukup.

Tiff is a fireball of energy and positivity, and will probably be #lifegoals to any of you who aspire to a life filled with travel and the outdoors.

Tiff and her husband are Park Rangers (aka Park Managers) within the Vermont State Park system, and have also served as the managers of the AMC’s Little Lyford Lodge & Cabins in Greenville, Maine for several winters. Although not this winter - and we’ll get into why in our conversation.

But if that wasn’t interesting enough, Tiff is also an inveterate world traveler during the stick and mud seasons, a photographer, a writer, and the #1 evangelist over at VagabondWay.net, as she terms it, a site about "a deliberate way of living, allowing the freedom to travel".

And because we covered some ground, links for everyone!!:

• @VagabondWayTiffany on Instagram
• VagabondWay on YouTube
• Tiff’s shrew article
• National Student Exchange
• Chef Christopher Bates
• AmeriCorps
• New Zealand Working Holiday Visa
• Great Walks of New Zealand
• Vermont Youth Conservation Corps
• Elmore State Park (VT)
• Ranger Emma (National Park Service) on Guides Gone Wild
• Sayon Lodge State Park (VT) 
• Spruce Mountain (VT)
• Camp Plymouth (VT)
• Dark Sky Initiative
• Gourmia Travel Kettle

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Ignore that pile of snow by the driveway, today we are talking SUMMERTIME…… and summer camp! Like, unbelievably awesome summer camp that makes me FOMO even as an adult!

Amanda Hatley of She Summits Co. was on the pod waaaay back in September of 2020. At the time, as you’ll hear, Amanda was reeling from the impact that COVID was having on her new business -- but she was walking her talk, being brave, and figuring out her next pivot(s).

Fast forward to February, 2022 - She Summits is no fly by night startup.

Despite, or maybe I should say in spite of, all that is going on in the world -- ever-changing COVID restrictions, the Great Resignation, the uncertainty that’s been overwhelming pretty much every area of our lives -- Amanda and her She Summits team executed on a 2021 season of life changing, next level camp experiences.

Backpacking through and exploring all the hidden corners of Acadia.
Hiking the AT, summiting Katahdin, white water rafting.
Even kayaking with day campers in the Bangor area.

And She Summits Co. will be firing on all cylinders again in 2022, with day and overnight camps for girls in 1st through 12th grade. They even have a Junior Maine Guide program for 4th to 12th graders, how cool is that? Get out there, girls, we need more Guides Gone Wild in Maine!

She Summits Co. is so buttoned up. Their camp programs and trips are amazing, and they take great care to hire exceptional people and give them tons of training and support. I hope you will join me in spreading the word about this amazing organization, right now - because as anyone with kids knows, if you want to secure some safely supervised, electronics-free summer outdoor activity for your kid, you have to have it planned out by February break these days... #kidding not kidding.

Get over to SheSummitsCo.com and check it out, share it with your friends and family - let’s make this the best summer ever for Amanda, her company, AND the budding wild guides in your lives!

And in case you needed more convincing - She Summits Co. has been nominated for The Most Exciting Start Up of 2021 by UpStart Maine! Big deal, people!!

Vote for She Summits Co. in the comments HERE
and by clicking HERE to select She Summits Co. from the list of nominees in the pop-up poll.

Let's make summer 2022 the best yet!

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