Have you ever wondered what it might be like to do a long thru-hike? Or what it might be like planning for such a trip? And are you starting to feel maybe just a little overwhelmed by everything that’s out there?

Well, don’t worry because in this episode, Episode 9 of We the Wild Ones, I had the chance to talk with just the person to put your fears at ease. Chris Denu, aka The Bold Nomad, has done a lot of hiking. And I’m not just talking day hikes here. Chris is from Vermont, like me, and has since moved out west to bigger mountains. He quit his job in 2016 and has been living nomadically since. Some of his big adventures include hiking the Continental Divide Trail in 2017, trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp, hitting 44 of the 50 state high points, and a lot of international travel.

It took us a few weeks, months, to finally catch up, a bit tricky since we are both living on the road and cell service can be a little spotty sometimes. But we finally made it happen!

Notable Points

• Best tips for getting into hiking
• Biggest things learned while on the CDT
• Managing life on the road
• Making family trips into adventures
• Getting outside your comfort zone and say yes

Questions:

What’s one non-essential item you can’t live without?

• Cell phone, although cell phones seem more essential now, Ipad for watching Netflix. Coffee.

If you could have one useless superpower, what would it be?

• Instant recovery, could do a big day and then another big day without feeling the effects. Then I could just keep going day after day.

What’s your best tip for living an adventurous life?

• Just say yes. Say yes to opportunities, figure out how to pay for things later, commit to it and figure out the details later. 

Resources:

The Bold Nomad

• Instagram @theboldnomad
• Website: www.theboldnomad.com
• Email: chris@theboldnomad.com

We The Wild Ones

• Instagram @we.thewildones
• Website: www.wethewildones.com

Hiking Info

• Continental Divide Trail website
• Highpointers Club website

This is part two of the Strong Like a Girl episode and I might be even more excited to share this one than I was the first. Kristine finishes her thoughts on climbing, and what it has given her, not just externally like friends and adventures, but internally and how it has made her a stronger person. Five or so other strong ladies also submitted their voices and stories, and they can probably tell you a lot better than I can paraphrase.

I know for me, strong like a girl means so many things. It’s about doing the thing, no matter what the thing is, even when people doubt you can do it, even if you doubt you can do it. It’s being scared but doing the thing anyway, it’s putting yourself out there and doing things that are uncomfortable. It’s changing plans when the plan doesn’t go the way you thought it would. It’s being kind and open to new ideas or different experiences. 

Climbing has made me stronger, physically, mentally, emotionally. I’m more confident in myself, more confident in my abilities, and more open to talking with people, whether that’s just chatting with someone at the crag or actually admitting to myself and others that I’ve got more than just surface problems. 

The ladies who shared their stories have different ways that climbing has changed them, what it has done for them. They come from different backgrounds, different cultures, different lifestyles, and yet we are all united by this one thing. By this one dumb sport.

Over the past winter, I finally found a girl gang I could climb with consistently at the gym. And it’s such a different feeling climbing with just women. We got to talk about all the girl things that maybe you might not talk about with a male partner. There was no feeling of competition against each other, only ourselves and so much encouragement. 

This experience over the winter, got me thinking about how cool it would be to have a podcast episode about all the strong climber lady crushers out there. So, I spammed the climbing Facebook forums I was a member of, pestered my friends for voice submissions, and repeated the process.

And the submissions I have gotten are amazing. So amazing that I’ve decided to split this episode into two parts. In part one, Kristine shares her struggles climbing with her male partner and how she learned to no longer try for his approval after a few cutting comments shook her confidence in herself. She struggled to have confidence in herself even after doing some tougher climbs with her partner. Kristine told her partner that she was submitting to this podcast and he took a moment to apologize for the comments he had made in the past. Sometimes, maybe more for us ladies than the men, words like that stick with us. One comment about how we can’t climb, how we aren’t strong, or whatever it may be, stick with us for a while. It’s like anything, one bad comment derails all the other good comments we might have gotten. 

And you’re not alone in this feeling. 

Thanks to Max Kerner for the music and Kayne for my logo!

Show Resources:

We The Wild Ones

• Instagram - @we.thewildones
• Website - www.wethewildones.com

Quinn Connell has led a pretty exciting life, but I do have to send some thanks out to Becky, his girlfriend, and my climbing partner, for getting us in touch. Quinn is a multi-sport athlete and is currently living in New England, which as we all know has a lot of great things going for it, but also at the same time not much. This has kind of made Quinn into the multi-sport athlete he is today. From kayaking to skiing, to rock climbing and most recently paragliding, he's done a lot.

We sat down and chatted about just a few of the adventures he's been on plus a few adventures he's currently planning for in the very near future. He gives some good advice on how to be more adventurous as well as some pretty great stories of kayak adventures, or we could maybe even call them expeditions.

For all the time it took us to coordinate schedules to make the interview happen, it was definitely worth it. 

The Three Questions I ask Everyone:

• What’s one nonessential item you can’t live without? – Time outside
• If you could have one useless superpower, what would it be? – Never losing things
• What’s your best tip for living an adventurous life? – Just commit, a plane ticket is a click away, all it takes for something o being a conversation to actually happening. Shift your mindset from it being a someday to being a that day.

Thanks to Max Kerner for the music and Kayne for my logo!

Show Resources:

Mentioned Links

• The Stikine River – Kayaking trip
• Pakistan Trip - pop Quinn an email with any questions
• World Class Kayak Academy - website
• Late Night Show - episode

Get in Touch with Quinn

• Email - qconnell@gmail.com
• Instagram - @huck_quinn

We The Wild Ones

• Website - wethewildones.com
• Instagram - @we.thewildones

Peter Driscoll has had somewhat, or a lot what, of an adventurous life. From heading off on a cross-country road trip in a somewhat safe RV with his friends to biking across the US to working in Hai Phong, Viet Nam he has definitely not settled for an average life. I was introduced to Pete through my dad as they currently work together at the same high school in Vermont. 

Pete and I spend a little (maybe too much) time reminiscing on our travel days, and I promise I did cut a bit of it out, so you don't have to listen to us ramble on. We chat about some of the many adventures he has been on and how he was a little selfish in his 20s, something I think might be important for all of us. He talks about comfort zones and how the magic happens when you step outside of it and how he tries to be a little bit uncomfortable every day, even if that means wearing shorts through a cold Vermont winter.

I had a great time chatting with Pete and hope you get a little inspired from this episode to find your own adventures, no matter how big or small. If you do have questions for either Pete or me, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

There's adventure out there for everyone, you might just have to get a little comfortable with being uncomfortable. 

Thanks to Max Kerner for the music and Kayne for my logo!

Show Resources:

Pete's Instagram

• Peter Driscoll @hcanesfitness

We The Wild Ones

• Website wethewildones.com
• Instagram @we.thewildones

Sources Mentioned 

• Operation Varsity Blues   Netflix documentary exposing college admission scandals

Winnie the RV

• Website winnietherv.com
• Instagram @winnietherv

In today's episode, I ramble on for a few minutes about podcast life and ideas for some upcoming episodes. I give my advice for living a life more adventurous as well as answer a few randomly generated questions. 

If you, or someone you know, would be a good fit for an interview on the podcast, I'd love to hear from you. I want to be able to share your adventures rather than mine!

Show Resources

Talked About Links

• Don't Keep Your Day Job - podcast
• 100 Questions to Ask - link

Subscribe and Review

• Apple Podcasts
• Audible Podcasts

Social

• We The Wild Ones  - website
• Instagram

After committing to running a marathon and then vowing to never do it again, Joe Cerniglia has broken that vow. Since then, not only has Coach Joe taken part in the Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon, and numerous others, he has competed and finished as an Ironman seven times. He is currently working with the Hartford High School Boys Basketball team in Vermont as a performance enhancement coach. Performance enhancement utilizes psychological skills to improve the abilities of athletes who use them. These skills involve self-talk, goal setting, mental rehearsal or imagery, and mindfulness.

Joe and I chat about learning to let go of the past and, as crazy as it sounds, committing to be ready to die in scary moments. You can either panic and worry about that tiny percent that you might die, or you can embrace it and accept that is a small possibility. Take a really negative thought and being able to turn it into a positive. 

Thanks to Max Kerner for the music and Kayne for the logo!

Show Resources

Contact Coach Joe

• Long Trail Multi Sport - website
• Coach Joe - website 
• Contact Joe - coachjoe520@gmail.com

Subscribe and Review

• Apple Podcasts 
• Audible Podcasts

Social

• We The Wild Ones  - website
• Instagram

In today’s episode, I met up with a fellow gym climber after we happened to start chatting a little about how much climbing has given both of us. Alicia is an open transgender woman who found climbing in a darker part of her life while she was transitioning. Climbing was this immediate attraction for her, one of those things that just feels right. We actually got started talking while sitting at the bottom of a climb at the gym we both go to and how meeting people to climb with is hard, especially with covid, and especially more so being transgender.

Alicia shared her story of her transition with me and we chatted a little about her journey and her climbing journey. 

Please note there is a mention of depression and suicidal thoughts at minute 6:30 so feel free to skip over that second if you find it triggering. 

Also if you or someone you know needs to talk, please, please don't be afraid to get in touch with Alicia or me. I have linked several support groups and help lines below. 

Thanks to Max Kerner for the music and Kayne for the logo!

Show Resources:

• Transgendered Facebook group - For everyone who identifies as transgender, and the people that support them
• Transgender Vermont Facebook group - Supporting and building community between transgender and gender non-conforming people, as well as significant others, friends, families, and allies, in Vermont
• Five Best Online Support Groups
• Burlington VT area LGBTQ2+ Rock Climbers - A rock climbing group for anyone in the Burlington Vermont area who identifies as LGBTQ2+ or supporters
• Trans Lifeline - Trans Lifeline provides trans peer support for our community that’s been divested from police since day one. We’re run by and for trans people

Subscribe and Review

• Apple Podcasts
• Audible Podcasts

Previous Episode: 

• Change Episode

Social

• Website- wethewildones.com
• Instagram - @we.thewildones