Women in Wild Places

In this episode of Women in Wild Places, the second installment in our Mohonk Preserve Mini Series, I sit down with Kathrine Switzer, who made history in 1967 as the first woman to officially register for and complete the Boston Marathon. Together, we discuss women’s running, advocacy, and her passion for protecting the land along the Shawangunk Ridge.Iconic photos of a race official attempting to pull Kathrine off the course at mile two forever shifted the landscape of women's sports. She addresses common misconceptions about that pivotal moment, sharing how she eventually forgave and befriended the official who confronted her. Kathrine also reflects on launching a global women's race series that paved the way for the women’s marathon at the 1984 Olympic Games, and her belief that running empowers every woman, every time.Our conversation explores her work with 261 Fearless, the non-profit she co-founded, her feature in the documentary Tough Old Broads, and the reasons women thrive in endurance events like Mohonk Preserve’s Rock the Ridge. Having first run on Mohonk's trails in the 1960s, Kathrine eventually relocated to New Paltz to live just minutes from a trailhead. We discuss how these carriage roads preserved her knees, the vital efforts of local trail crews, and how her Preserve membership as her essential gym membership.We close with a Hudson Valley rapid-fire Q&A touching on her top trail picks, autumn on the ridge, local coffee spots in New Paltz, and the core lesson the Gunks taught her.Discover more about Mohonk Preserve’s events, memberships, volunteer opportunities, and donation options at mohonkpreserve.org.Connect with Kathrine: @kathrineswitzer | 261fearless.orgFollow the podcast: @womeninwildplaces | womeninwildplaces.comFollow the host: @outsidegabs

What happens in your body when you feel like the slowest one on the trail? Somatic therapist and adventure fitness trainer Sarah Histand joins Women in Wild Places to talk about nervous system health, mental health in the outdoors, and building strength for adventure.Sarah was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, and is the founder of Mind & Mountain, an online training community that brings together outdoor recreation, mental health, and fitness. In this episode, she describes the magic of wild Nordic skating on frozen Alaskan lakes and explains what somatics really means, including why our bodies react to a cracking sound on the ice the same way they react to a stressful work email.We dig into weakest link syndrome and practical tools for finding your own pace in a group, why physical strength is a safety skill for women in the outdoors, and how at-home training builds muscle memory for slippery slopes and uneven terrain. Sarah also shares how hormones, perimenopause, and estrogen may shape comparison and self-talk, and why she believes in a relational approach to adventure that replaces dominance and "conquering" with listening to your body, the land, and each other. We close with a simple somatic practice you can try anywhere to calm your nervous system and feel more connected to yourself outside.This conversation is for outdoor women, hikers, skiers, climbers, mountain athletes, and anyone curious about the mind-body connection, trauma-informed fitness, and nervous system regulation.Connect with Sarah and Mind & MountainTry Mindful Interval Training free for 7 days: https://www.mindandmountain.co/7-day-trial-opt-inLearn more about Mind & Mountain, Ski Babes winter training, and Summer Strong: https://www.mindandmountain.co/www.mindandmountain.co/ski-babesFollow Sarah on Instagram: @sarahmhistandListen to Sarah's podcast: Co-Regulation ConversationsConnect with Women in Wild PlacesInstagram: @womeninwildplacesSubstack: womeninwildplaces.substack.com

This episode kicks off an ongoing partnership between Women in Wild Places and Mohonk Preserve, one of the most special places in the Hudson Valley. Over the coming season, we're highlighting the women who've shaped this preserve across education, recreation, conservation, and stewardship, starting with Kim Tischler, Associate Director of Community Education at Mohonk Preserve.Kim grew up close enough to Jones Beach that her whole childhood happened outside. She met the Shawangunk Ridge on a college visit... and never really left. Over the past 25 years, she's collaborated with a team to build and lead a K–6 award-winning Field Study environmental education program, Kids on the Ridge, and watershed education initiatives, giving thousands of students and community members the tools and confidence to find their own way outdoors.In this conversation, we cover Kim's path from teaching kids with dyslexia to becoming a ranger and eventually a leader at Mohonk Preserve, what it means to raise a son inside the same landscape that shaped her, and her philosophy on access: that it isn't just about opening a gate, it's about helping people feel like they belong.Kim also shares a full circle connection between her Ultimate Frisbee days and her current care team at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and what it's taught her about navigating unfamiliar terrain.Mohonk Preserve is New York State's largest nonprofit nature preserve, 8,200 acres of cliffs, forests, streams, and trails. Find their public programs, guided hikes, and community science opportunities at mohonkpreserve.org.Follow us on Instagram at @womeninwildplaces and @mohonkpreserve

We're back from a summer of Alaska adventure, and we're kicking off Season 2 with the story of how my partner and I got married on Denali. In this episode, I recap the wild logistics of planning a wedding on top of North America's tallest mountain while my partner and his climbing partner attempted a Denali summit at the same time. I cover how we chose our wedding date around an 18 to 20 day mountaineering expedition, flying a 20-person guest list onto Denali Base Camp with Talkeetna Air Taxi, solo parenting a toddler through the wait, and what it felt like to get married on a glacier in the Alaska Range. I also share our honeymoon stop at a lighthouse in Halibut Cove, a rough day halibut fishing, and what this trip taught me about place, memory, and why protecting these wild landscapes matters so much to me.If you're into adventure weddings, Denali climbing, Alaska mountaineering, glacier elopements, or just love a good outdoor wedding story, this is a great one.Featured in this episode:✈️ Talkeetna Air Taxi📸 The Hearnes Adventure Photography🏔️ Alaska Mountaineering School🎂 Alaska Wedding Cake Boutique🐰🥾 Alaska Gear Company — use code WOMENINWILDPLACES10 for 10% off🥐 Flying Squirrel Bakery👗 Danielle Frankel🤵 Britches of Troy🎣 Salmon Catcher Lodge🐟 Salmon Sisters🪩 The Fairview🍺 Denali Brewing Company💐 Talkeetna Flowers💄 Trina Lacsamana — hair and makeup, AnchorageFollow along on Instagram @womeninwildplaces and join us on Substack for more.Glacier Wedding, Alaska, Alaska Travel, Expeditions, Seven Summits, Climb Alaska

Julie Bacon, founder of the Mothership Collective, joins Gabriella to talk about building one of the outdoor adventure world's most beloved communities for active moms, and the real journey that sparked it all. Julie was a mountain biker, bikepacker, and adventure-lover who rode the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route and explored the world before becoming a mom. When she got pregnant with her daughter and couldn't find a single resource for women who wanted to keep pushing their limits outside, she built one herself.In this episode, we talk about:The moment that ignited the Mothership Collective and why it took Julie two years to finally launch itNavigating unsolicited opinions about outdoor activities while pregnant (yes, she was mountain biking five days before giving birth)The concept of "type four fun" and why adventure doesn't stop at motherhoodBuilding community from scratch in new cities and why people always make the placeHow the Mothership grew from a digital resource hub to 130+ in-person events globally through Rally the VillageThe "cosmic auntie" and why the women around a mother matter just as much as the village raising the childKeeping your identity, your spark, and your sense of play alive through the identity shift of becoming a momThis fall, Women in Wild Places is heading to Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah for a guided women's adventure trip exploring sacred red rock country, and doing exactly what Julie and Gabriella talk about in this episode: keeping the spark alive. Spots are limited, sign up here.Follow the Mothership Collective: @the.mothership.collective on Instagram, or join the Facebook community to connect with thousands of outdoor-loving mothers worldwide.Follow Women in Wild Places: @womeninwildplacesKeywords: outdoor moms, adventure motherhood, active pregnancy, women in the outdoors, trail running moms, mountain biking pregnancy, motherhood community, Mothership Collective, women's outdoor community, adventure parenting

I went solo to Utah for the first time since becoming a mom and came back with bruised hands, a summit, and a renewed sense of self. In this solo episode, I recap my whirlwind trip through Moab and Indian Creek: racing the Thelma & Louise 15K through the Behind the Rocks desert, diving into a women's crack climbing clinic, and topping out on Ancient Art at Fisher Towers (the same area where I got engaged the year before.)I talk about mom guilt, the anxiety of leaving my baby for the first time, and what it felt like to remember who I was before becoming a parent.Topics covered: postpartum identity, crack climbing basics, trail racing culture, Indian Creek, Canyonlands, Fisher Towers, women-only outdoor spaces, and getting back to adventure on your own terms.Ready to experience Utah for yourself? Join me, KMAC Guides, and Women in Wild Places on a guided 5-day backpacking trip to Bears Ears National Monument — September 27th, all levels welcome, spots are limited. Keywords: postpartum adventure, women outdoor community, crack climbing, Indian Creek climbing, Moab trail race, Thelma and Louise race, Fisher Towers, Ancient Art tower, Bears Ears backpacking, women in the outdoors, mom identity, outdoor motherhood

Claire and Emma of Salmon Sisters join us to pull back the curtain on what it takes to get wild Alaskan salmon from the water to your plate. Growing up on a remote off-grid homestead at the tip of the Alaskan Peninsula, fishing commercially with their father, and building a women-owned small business over the last decade, these two sisters have become some of Alaska's most compelling voices for sustainable fishing, fisheries advocacy, and connection to place.In this episode we cover:Why all Alaskan salmon is wild and what that means for you as a consumerHow commercial fishermen function as scientists and frontline stewards of wild fisheriesThe truth about overfishing, escapement, and sustainable fisheries management in AlaskaWhat it looks like to build a women-owned seafood business from the ground upRaising the next generation of women in commercial fishingHow living off the land shapes values around food, sustainability, and communityWhy small family fishing businesses are the backbone of the Alaska seafood industryAdvocacy work protecting salmon habitat and watersheds for future generationsFind Salmon Sisters at salmonsisters.com and follow them on Instagram @salmonsisters.Find host Gabriella on Instagram at @outsidegabs and the podcast at @womeninwildplaces🏜️ Join Us in Bears Ears This OctoberThis fall, Women in Wild Places is teaming up with KMAC Guides for a five day backpacking trip through Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. We will hike sandstone canyons, explore ancient Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings, sleep under some of the darkest skies in the lower 48, and build real community with a group of women who showed up for something that called to them. Optional yoga daily, structured community moments throughout, and KMAC guides making sure every experience level is supported every step of the way. Space is very limited.👉 Sign up here

Julie McGuire is a South Bronx high school English teacher, backcountry skier, and the first woman to ski all 33 of the Catskills High Peaks — mountains that top out at 4,200 feet and are far more rugged, technical, and unforgiving than most people realize.In this episode, Julie joins host Gabriella in a conversation that's as much about inner wilderness as outer wilderness. She shares how the abrupt end of her marriage sent her into the Catskills and how skiing solo through these dense, cliffed-out New York mountains became a spiritual practice, a healing journey, and eventually a record-breaking achievement documented in her award-winning short film, Queen of the Catskills.We talk about backcountry skiing in the Northeast, what makes the Catskills so technically challenging compared to Western and Alpine terrain, skinning up steep bushwhack terrain with no snowpack, following your intuition in the mountains and in life, the spiritual experience of solo wilderness adventures, and bringing her South Bronx students into wild places for the first time.Whether you're a skier, a hiker, a Catskills lover, or someone who's ever rebuilt their life one mountain at a time, this one's for you.Connect with Julie:📸 Instagram: @queenofthecatskillsny🎬 Queen of the Catskills — film still on tour, link in show notesConnect with Women in Wild Places:📸 Podcast Instagram: @womeninwildplaces🌿 Host Instagram: @outsidegabs🎒 Gear Lists & Favorites: shopmy.us/outsidegabs💬 Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who belongs in wild places.Topics: backcountry skiing New York | Catskills High Peaks | ski touring Northeast | women in the outdoors | solo female adventurer | Catskill 3500 Club | wilderness and healing | outdoor education South Bronx | Queen of the Catskills film | ski mountaineering | nature and spirituality | women who ski | Catskills hiking | upstate New York adventure

In this episode of Women in Wild Places, host Gabriella sits down with Steph Davis — professional climber, base jumper, wingsuit pilot, and one of the most accomplished female alpinists in the world. Steoh has freed El Cap in a day and the Salathe Wall, free soloed the Longs Peak Diamond and put up first ascents in Patagonia, Pakistan, and the Arctic.What makes this conversation so compelling is how accessible Steph makes it all feel. We talk about what it's like to stand at the edge of a cliff before a base jump, how she thinks about fear and decision-making in high-stakes environments, and why she believes the goal isn't to be fearless , but to be present.We also get into her unconventional path from classical pianist to professional climber, what it was like living out of a car to climb full time, her years of expedition climbing in Patagonia and beyond, and the mindset it takes to free solo big walls in Yosemite.Whether you climb, jump, or simply want to live more intentionally, this episode will shift the way you think about risk, intuition, and staying true to yourself.Find Steph Davis:🌐 Website: https://stephdavis.co/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highsteph/📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephdavisclimb/Steph's Books:📖 High Infatuation: A Climber's Guide to Love and Gravity — essays on climbing, life, love, and risk📖 Learning to Fly: A Memoir of Hanging On and Letting Go — her memoir on skydiving, wingsuiting, BASE jumping, and rediscovering purpose through flightFollow Women in Wild Places:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninwildplaces/🎙️ Host: https://www.instagram.com/outsidegabs/In this episode we cover: free soloing, base jumping, wingsuit flying, rock climbing, El Capitan, Patagonia climbing, women in adventure sports, fear and decision-making, intuition, living simply, following your passion, expedition climbing, backcountry flying, Moab Utah, women climbersCover image taken by by Jimmy Chin.

In this episode of Women in Wild Places, host Gabriella sits down with Dr. Iva Njunjić, a cave biologist, National Geographic Explorer, and co-founder of Taxon Expeditions, to explore the hidden worlds beneath our feet.Dr. Iva studies life in extreme underground environments, focusing on cave-dwelling insects and biodiversity in some of the most remote places on Earth. Her work has taken her to Europe’s deep cave systems, rainforests in Borneo, the Amazon and more. She shares how a childhood visit to a cave at age 13 sparked her lifelong passion for exploration and science, and what it takes physically, mentally, and technicallyto access places few humans ever see.In this conversation, we discuss:Why nearly 80% of Earth’s species may still be undiscoveredHow caves function as “living laboratories” for evolutionThe story behind naming a beetle after Leonardo DiCaprioWhy insects and small organisms are essential to ecosystemsHow citizen science helps protect biodiversityWhat it means to care for the natural world without burnoutPractical ways anyone can support conservation in daily lifeDr. Iva also explains how Taxon Expeditions allows everyday people to join real scientific research expeditions and help document new species around the world.This episode is for anyone interested in conservation, biodiversity, cave exploration, citizen science, environmental protection, and reconnecting with nature above ground and below.🎧 Listen now to learn how paying attention to the smallest creatures can change how we see the planet.Links & Resources🔬 Dr. Iva NjunjićInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/cavernella/🌍 Taxon ExpeditionsWebsite: https://www.taxonexpeditions.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taxonexpeditions/🎙️ Women in Wild Places PodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninwildplaces/Host: https://www.instagram.com/outsidegabs/Substack: https://substack.com/@womeninwildplaces?Cover Image by Sotiris Kountouras / Taxon Expeditions