See Her Outside: Stories From Women Who Adventure

Lucy Westlake started mountaineering at 7 years old through a highpointing project. In 2021, she set the record as the youngest person to summit the highest points in all 52 United States, including Denali. At 18, she set a record as the youngest American woman to climb Mount Everest (at the time).

Angie and Lucy talk about:

• Being a competitive athlete starting in elementary school
• Transitioning from running to mountaineer...

You can join Trailtober TODAY and still get a chance to win trail shoes, electrolytes, gear patches and more – sign up now! 🍂

The mountains themselves might be unbiased, but the systems we live in are not.

Kelly Fields is a rock climber, certified climbing guide, and owner of Athena Rock Climbing, a nationwide guide service with a specialty in multi-pitch trad climbing and a primarily all female guide staff.

Kelly’s been...

(Psst -- Win trail prizes during Trailtober: a trail challenge supporting gender equity in October! Learn more here.)

Heather Anderson has hiked over 50,000 miles — including completing the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail multiple times, and often faster than anyone before her.

Heather shares why writing a memoir could feel as vulnerable and difficult as hiking alone for months. We ta...

Sarah experienced anaphylactic shock while trekking in the Denali wilderness. Her nervous system regulation practices were an important part of healing – and you can learn how to use them, too!

Sarah Histand is an Alaskan adventurer, a somatic nervous system educator, and a mental health-informed fitness trainer through her business, Mind & Mountain.

Angie and Sarah talk about:

• Sarah’s anaphylactic reaction deep in Den...

Have you been censoring yourself? 🤔

If you've ever softened your language, felt imposter syndrome, or kept quiet when you had a message screaming inside of you, buckle up for a pep talk.

We're breaking down 5 common self-censorship blocks in adventure storytelling and how to break through them, including:

• “I don’t have a good ending yet.”
• “I’m afraid I’ll change my mind later.”
• "I need to soften my language first.”
• “I don’t think so...

Carlie’s running the Oregon Cascades 100 mile ultramarathon on August 23, 2025! Cheer her on (you might get your name on her race shoes) by supporting her fundraiser to get more girls and women outside: https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/6540872

Carlie Graham lives in Seattle, where she's pursuing a career in finance while staying deeply connected to the outdoors. Carlie led the climbing team at UC Irvine in Southern California and r...

How do you juggle chronic illness, unconventional work, and personal adventure challenges?

Christine Reed, author of Alone in Wonderland, joined us to talk about body challenges on trail, behind the scenes of writing and sharing books, and her company, Rugged Outdoorswoman Publishing.

We talk about:

• Adventuring with POTS, a form of dysautonomia
• Self-publishing and the journey to writing a book
• Balancing adventure wit...

You’re invited to our free Trail Talk on July 31: Injury Prevention in Outdoor Adventure with Rachel Lee Boim, DPT. Bring your questions about pain, strength training, recovery and more. RSVP at cairnproject.org/trail-talks!

Rachel Lee Boim is a record holding endurance athlete and Doctor of Physical Therapy who has set Fastest Known Times on iconic routes like the Kilimanjaro Summit Circuit, Aconcagua, and the trail from Na...

When 6 in 10 women struggle to name an outdoor female role model, how are girls supposed to know they belong in adventure spaces?

Cheri and Aubryanna were two of the young adults selected for the Summit Scholarship Foundation's 2024 Mt. Baker youth climb.

Spoiler alert: This all-women’s rope team didn’t reach the physical summit of Mt. Baker. But they gained something just as powerful.

Angie sat down with Aubryanna and Che...

🎙️ Introducing: Field Notes, a series featuring your written and read stories.

We're now accepting submissions from our community, and we’d love to feature your voice in the mix.

We’re looking for personal essays set in the outdoors. Think friendship, change, healing, ridiculous encounters, anything that captures a moment where the outdoors shifted your perspective of the world or yourself.

Find guidelines and how to ...

Think you need alpine access, fancy gear, or a mountain town zip code to train for a major expedition? Think again.

Rachel Fagiano is an avid hiker, mountaineer, rock climber and ice climber based in New York City.

They have a career background in racial justice, and now their work focuses on creating safe and welcoming environments and improving access to the outdoors for communities that have been traditionally excluded in...

✨3 Adventure Opportunities:

1. Join the June 100 Challenge! Combine outdoor movement with storytelling and giving back. We’re uniting 100 women to accept the challenge and will give prompts for accountability and storytelling tips throughout the month of June! This is free to join and a wonderful way to make an impact through spending time outside.

   
   

2. RSVP for our free May 28th Trail Talk with registered dietitian Claire Shorenstein! G...

📢 RSVP for the free Trail Talk⁠ on May 28: Adventure Nutrition and Q+A | ⁠Sign up for the June 100 Challenge!⁠

🎧 Gunjan Utreja is a first-generation Indian immigrant to the United States who earned a master’s degree in engineering and built an 18-year corporate career.

A journey to self-care led her to co-found the HikeQueen Buddies community, which inspired the creation of MyTrailPals—a mobile app designed to integrate outdoors i...

Storytelling is a key element in closing the gender gap, outdoors and in. But it’s not always easy to speak up!

We’ve spoken lately with women who’ve said:

• “I’m not an elite athlete. Why would anyone care about my story?”
• “There are people doing cooler adventures than me, so mine isn’t a big deal.”
• “If I put myself out there and speak up, people will think I’m silly.”

Angie shares a heart-to-heart for any woman who loves the ou...

Processing grief brought Carly to the mountains. Community gave her a reason to stay.

Carly Dykes is a mountaineer, University of Washington student, and 2024 Summit Scholarship recipient who climbed Mt. Baker in Washington last June.

Just before Carly turned 18, her dad died from cancer. Carly shares how she found solace in the mountains, why she decided to climb Mt. Rainier in his memory, and the life-changing experience of an all-...

Is 2025 the year you shoot your shot and get out of your comfort zone? 💪

Colleen MacDonald is an ultra and trail runner specializing in the 50 mile and 100 mile distances. Based in Colorado and Minnesota, Colleen is known for her unshakable grit and love of flying down technical descents.

Colleen and Angie talked about:

• Why competition is a positive aspect of sports
• How running helped her adjust after living and workin...

✨ Order your Grit Lit adventure book club box by March 30th!

Do you ever get pushback from others about your adventures?

Caroline Van Hemert, author of The Sun is a Compass, joined us to share about the feedback she's gotten as a writer and adventurer.

She also shares about...

⛵how she combines her passions of adventure, biology, and writing

⛵sailing around the oceans with her awesome kids and raising an adventur...

Lindsay Kocka is a professional yoga instructor, natural movement coach, mobility specialist, meditation teacher and myofascial release practitioner. 

Lindsay blended her personal and professional skills with her passions for fly fishing and working with outdoor athletes. Through Wade Well, Lindsay offers functional mobility, fly fishing instruction, and retreats for anglers.

We spoke with Lindsay on the See Her Outside Podca...

Alex Garcia is an engineer, writer and outdoorswoman based partly in western North Carolina and partly in Puerto Rico, where she grew up.

Alex’s ongoing personal project called Difficult Pursuits involves progressively more difficult outdoor challenges that she focuses on year to year.

As a founding board member of the Summit Scholarship Foundation and a former Trailblazer at The Cairn Project, Alex blends her adventurous passions wi...