Girl Gotta Hike The Podcast

Whoo-hoo! Episode 17 (aka the first of the Slackpack Series) is an entire episode dedicated to doling out some down and dirty of advice from four female thru-hikers, who love nothing more than discovering the joys of getting deeper into the backcountry. During an impromptu trek through Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, GGH host Melissa “Click” Goodwin, and her semi-regular podcast guests and trail besties, Emma “Sprout” Hileman, Lauren “Woodchuck” de la Vega and Kelley “NoSeeUm” Blosser, all discuss some of the finer (and funnier) points of what comes up on a long-distance backpacking trip.

To keep the conversation from going totally of the rails, a 10-minute timer per topic was set as the ladies took off toward Melissa’s apartment. As it goes with any good on-trail conversation with friends, their topics did ebb and flow a bit, but they still managed to cover a lot of ground on our short walk including descriptions of some on-trail lingo, recalling some special seasonal moments on our adventures, tips for trip planning and must haves for meals-- and all with a ton of laughs.

Slackpacking: Hiking a day’s worth of mileage (or more) on a long-distance trail pursuit, but without the burden of a fully loaded backpack. Heavy gear can be left in the custody of others, in order for the thru-hiker’s body to have a bit of a break from the usual grind. In the podcast sense – a fun and lighthearted episode with friends!

SHOWNOTES / USEFUL LINKS:

Gossamer Gear Discount — use code “GIRLGOTTAHIKEGOSSAMER” for 15% off your first purchase at GossamerGear.com

Link here to check out GG’s Gorilla 50 ultralight backpack!

Appalachian Trail

Pacific Crest Trail

Continental Divide Trail

Arizona Trail

John Muir Trail

The Long Trail

Northville Placid Trail

Cholula Hot Sauce

Guess what y’all? This is the 20th episode of Girl Gotta Hike the Podcast, whoop – whoop! It seems like with every new episode and every new interview, this podcast actually inspires me to want to get outside and adventure more, and I hope that it’s been doing the same for you!

On this landmark episode, I go for a day hike in Denver with long-distance backpacker, author, fellow podcaster, and fellow New York State native, Juliana Chauncey, trail name, Chaunce. Many of you may recognize Juliana’s voice as the co-host of Backpacker Radio, the crème-de-la-crème of backpacking podcasts. Juliana’s been hosting BPR alongside my long-time trail buddy, Zack “Badger” Davis, ever since its inception, 4 years ago. But she’s been a part of the greater theTrek.co family for even longer, when, in 2017, she became the popular backpacking website’s first vlogging contributor during her Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike.

Post PCT, Juliana’s gone on to traverse the Appalachian Trail, the Colorado Trail, and the John Muir Trail, among others, and has kept herself busy in non-hiking-seasons by editing videos, writing a guidebook, raising Harper, (her cutie-pie Australian Shepherd), and oh yeah, keeping down a 9 to 5.

Throughout the episode, we talk about how she got interested in the outdoors to begin with, what brought her to Denver, how she wrote her book, “Hiking From Home: A Long Distance Hiking Guide for Family and Friends,” at a Starbucks in just one month, and a new podcast project she’s got coming our way, which, let me tell you, sounds like it’s going to be nothing short of amazing!

Useful links:

Gossamer Gear Discount — use code “GIRLGOTTAHIKEGOSSAMER” for 15% off your first purchase at GossamerGear.com

Link here to check out GG’s Vagabond Jet Backpack

@juliana_chauncey on Instagram

@juliana_chauncey on TikTok

Hiking From Home: A Long Distance Hiking Guide for Family and Friends on Amazon

Backpacker Radio

theTrek.co

William F. Hayden Park on Green Mountain, Lakewood, CO

In part one of a two-part special, Melissa talks with Brooke Mellen, a Forest Therapy guide and founder of Cultured Forest, an Art and Nature connection company here in New York City. Brooke promotes wellness in the outdoors by leading guided mindfulness walks where she introduces participants to the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, also known as Forest Bathing, where participants take in forest atmosphere. Forest Bathing requires that you slow down and focus in on connecting with nature, not just pass through it as a means to get to a destination. We talk about the disconnect us city-dwellers often feel from nature, and how travel escapes and art have helped her mitigate that. Brooke initially found herself drawn to shinrin-yoku in part as a way to escape the rigors of a high stress corporate job, but found the health benefits that resulted were so significant, she was compelled to travel to Japan and around the world in order to learn from other Forest Bathing practitioners. She created Cultured Forest in order to teach other overwhelmed New Yorkers about the healing powers of nature.

In the next episode,(#8), you’ll get to hear what it’s like to actually be on a shinrin-yoku walk with Brooke. Back in early March of 2020, just before New York City went into social isolation mode to help combat the spread of Covid-19, Brooke took Melissa on a guided mindfulness walk on The High Line and she brought along her field recorder. For those who are unfamiliar, The High Line is a 1.4 mile long elevated greenway built on a former railway on the west side of Manhattan and which has been transformed into one of NYC’s most popular public outdoor destinations.
Major thanks to Brooke for sharing her story of building a company as a way to combat stress and connect deeper with nature, with art, and with like-minded souls. It certainly makes for some crowded streets, but it’s the connection between people that is one of my favorite things about living amongst the masses in New York City.
If you want to find out more about the Cultured Forest community, or bathe in the forest with Brooke yourself, head over to her website at culturedforest.com, or check out her Instagram @culturedforest.

Show Notes / Useful links:

Cultured Forest events page

The High Line in NYC

Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Dr. Qing Li

The Achemist’s Kitchen in NYC

Phytoncides

Shinrin-yoku

Hinoki cypress

Akasawa Natural Recreational Forest

Oivallusvaara in Finland

INFTA - International Nature and Forest Therapy Alliance in Australia

The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.

Somatic therapy

“Immerse Yourself in a Forest for Better Health” New York State DEC

On this episode Melissa talks with Tamara Jacobi, outdoor adventurer and author of the new book, “Wildpreneurs: A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Passion as a Business,” just released by Harper Collins Leadership. Nearly 15 years ago, Tamara and her parents co-founded the Tailwind Jungle Lodge, down on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Prompted partially by her guest’s seemingly endless envy of her idyllic lifestyle, Tamara set off to write about her journey and give those curious customers some real how-to knowledge and business advice in order to help push them to start following their own dreams. In the book she also includes interviews with nearly 50 other wild entrepreneurs, sharing their stories of pursuit and passion.

Melissa caught up with Tamara in late January in Philadelphia, just prior to her book launch while she was in town on book tour. They, and Tamara’s little baby Zephyr, took a stroll through the city center, in pursuit of the famed Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Along the way they chatted about how the Jungle Lodge came to be, what challenges she’s experienced in building and maintaining a hospitality-based business in Mexico and how her passion and love for this active outdoor business and lifestyle turned into writing a book.

Useful links:

Wildpreneurs - website and book
@wildpreneurs - Instagram

Tailwind Jungle Lodge – website and bookings
@tailwindjunglelodge - Instagram

On this episode, Melissa talks with Christi Holmes, a Registered Hunting and Fishing Guide in the great state of Maine. She’s the founder of the Maine Women Hunters Facebook Community and writer and contributor to publications such as The Maine Sportsman and Modern Huntsman Magazines. She’s also a fellow Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker, whoop-whoop!

Melissa caught up with Christi at her home, outside of Portland, earlier this year, on her way back to Brooklyn after re-hiking the northernmost stretch of the AT, the 100-mile Wilderness, and summiting Mt. Katahdin with friends “Sprout” and “Harvest,” previously heard on episode 1. “Sprout,” aka Emma, and Melissa sat down with Christi after enjoying a huge meal of lobstahs, oysters and delicious Maine craft beer. They chat about hiking, fishing, hunting, growing up in Maine, Christi’s dog Argos, and most importantly, encouraging other women to get outside and explore.

Just a head’s up for listeners that there are moments when the ladies talk openly about the process of tracking and hunting animals, the details of which may not be suitable for everyone.
Useful links / Show Notes:

Acadia National Park

Glacier National Park

Animal Planet Dog Breed Selector quiz

Flyrod Crosby Maine’s first Registered Guide

Maine Women Hunters

Christi on Instagram

email Christi

Modern Huntsman

The Maine Sportsman

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com