Have you ever chalked up gear discomfort to your body being the problem: the chafing, the shoulder pressure, the hip belt that just won't cinch down far enough?

It's not you. It's the gear.

Sarah Berkeley (trail name: Mellow!) is the founder of Symbiosis Gear, an ultralight backpacking gear company designing packs and accessories that actually fit women's bodies.

Sarah went through three backpacks on the Pacific Crest Trail before she decided to stop waiting for someone else to solve the problem! She founded Symbiosis Gear, an ultralight backpacking gear company built specifically for women's bodies.

See Her Outside is partnering with Western Colorado University's Outdoor Industry MBA — a remote degree program built for people who want to lead, build, and create in the outdoor space. If you've ever thought about building a career or business in the outdoor industry, WCU's Outdoor Industry MBA was made for you.

Sarah and Angie talk about:

• The heavy backpacking and camping gear Sarah started her outdoor adventures with
• Thru-hiking the Vermont Long Trail solo and running into gear problems
• Sarah’s journey to ultralight gear after meeting other hikers
• Tips for solo hiking after experiencing urban assault
• Going through three backpacks on the PCT and finally deciding to build her own
• Gear and safety: The moment she fell through a snow bridge in the Sierra and had to make a fast call
• Why the outdoor industry isn't designing for women
• How Symbiosis Gear fits differently: curved straps, adjustable sternum, and a waist belt that fits every body size
• Lessons from building a product-based business and what’s ahead

Check out these resources:

🌐 Symbiosis Gear

📱 Symbiosis on IG

📱 Sarah on IG

➡️ The Cairn Project on IG

✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter

🥾 Become a Trailblazer

📅 Summit Scholarship Foundation

🎓 Western Colorado University Outdoor Industry MBA

Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app!

You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond

• Become a Trailblazer. Your Adventure Fundraiser makes wilderness experiences possible for girls and women.

• Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation.

• Share this episode with a woman in your life who has a wild business idea she hasn't acted on yet.

  
  

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Grab the workbook: How to Use Your Adventure for Your Career Goals

If you went to summer camp as a kid, you get it. The bats at dusk, the swim across the pond, the feeling of being someone slightly new for a week... Those memories don't fade.

And if you worked at summer camp, you also know that the skills you built there — troubleshooting on the fly, managing 300 kids and 65 staff, keeping everyone safe and fed and having fun — are some of the most transferable skills you'll ever develop.

Mary-Jane Strom is the CEO of Girl Scouts of Northern California, a lifetime Girl Scout member, and a Gold Award recipient whose project focused on increasing access to outdoor spaces for all girls and women.

Mary-Jane is also a competitive swimmer working toward completing open water swim events in all 50 states.

This conversation is for anyone who's ever felt like their outdoor experience doesn't "count" on a resume.

Hear about:

• Why summer camp is a powerful growth environment for youth (and adults)
• The business of summer camp: 8 weeks or 3 days?
• Mary-Jane's career path from camper to lifeguard to camp director to CEO
• How to translate outdoor leadership experience into resume-ready skills
• Mary-Jane's 50-state open water swim goal and how camp swimming started it all
• What the media gets wrong about Girl Scouts

Mary-Jane on LinkedIn | Girl Scouts of Northern California camp info | @gsnorcal on Instagram

Send this episode to your friend who LIVED for summer camp.

Check out these resources:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠➡️ The Cairn Project on IG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 🥾⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a Trailblazer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📅⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app. Make sure you subscribe to the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠See Her Outside Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so you don’t miss a story!

Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.

Do you remember running sprints as punishment in soccer practice, or the stress of the dreaded PACER test?

Many of us equate running with suffering. But that doesn't have to be the case.

Emily Holland is a runner, rock climber, and Partnerships Manager at HydraPak, where she builds collaborations that fuel adventure and strengthen community across the outdoor industry.

This story is a reminder that we’ll probably continue to take in toxic messaging in running media, but with care and thoughtfulness we can always come back to feeling strong and happy in our bodies. And, we can create our own media to shift the greater running culture.

Hear about:

• Our early running exposure, which was typically sports team punishment
• Experiencing body image challenges as a child and adolescent
• Differing cultural norms in different sports
• The negative effects of over-exercising and under-fueling
• Moving to Boulder, CO and rock climbing and trail running there
• Learning how to fuel for distance running and listening to her body
• Running the Gorge Waterfalls 50k and the Grand Traverse in 2025
• Juggling goals in different outdoor sports
• Emily's storytelling through "Jacked and Chill" and finding joy in strength training

⁠Emily on LinkedIn⁠ | ⁠Emily's Substack⁠ | ⁠Emily on IG⁠

Send this episode to a friend who wants to set a running goal!

Check out these resources:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠➡️ The Cairn Project on IG⁠⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 🥾⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a Trailblazer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📅⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠⁠⁠⁠

Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app.

Make sure you subscribe to the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠See Her Outside Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so you don’t miss a story!

Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.

Viv Serrano is a mountaineer who progressed from local trails to the summits of Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Rainier, and Hood—and she's just getting started.

But what sets Viv apart as an athlete is her honesty. She navigates bipolar disorder, manages stabilizing medications, and still shows up for the kind of training that demands a lot from both mind and body.

Hear about:

• Climbing Kilimanjaro on an all-women’s team as a Summit Scholarship recipient
• Deciding to climb Aconcagua, then getting diagnosed with bipolar disorder while training
• Why Viv almost quit mountaineering and the words that kept her going
• Training modifications and medication considerations
• What the outdoor community needs to talk about more: medication, therapy, and mental health acceptance
• Supporting women by becoming a Trailblazer with The Cairn Project
• Misconceptions about mood disorders
  

Read Viv’s blog post: 5 Things I Did to Train for Aconcagua as a Person Who Struggles with Mental Health Issues

Send this episode to a friend who loves real talk about mental health in outdoor adventure!

Check out these resources:

• 📱 ⁠⁠@Viviautumn18 on IG⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠➡️ The Cairn Project on IG⁠⁠⁠

• ⁠⁠⁠✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter⁠⁠⁠

• 🥾⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Become a Trailblazer⁠⁠⁠⁠

• 📅⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠⁠⁠

Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app.

Make sure you subscribe to the⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠See Her Outside Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so you don’t miss a story!

Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance). Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.

The courage you use in your outdoor adventures is the same courage you can use to resist fascism.

This is an unpolished but urgent bonus episode, in light of recent events in Minnesota and within the USA government.

Athlete Colleen MacDonald joins Angie Lake to talk about why athletes and outdoor enthusiasts need to be using their voices right now to counter fascism and discrimination in the United States.

If you've ever thought "I'm just an athlete" or "why does my voice matter?", this episode is for you, and we hope you share it with your network as an important conversation starter.

We talk about:

• Why outdoor athletes are uniquely positioned to advocate for justice
• The parallels between athletic discomfort and advocacy discomfort
• How to use your voice even when you don't have all the answers
• Why brands and sponsored athletes staying silent is so damaging
• The importance of small businesses taking stands over corporate PR statements
• Practical ways to take action: calling senators, donating, storytelling
• How to show up imperfectly and keep going
• Why everything, including your sport, is political

Please share this conversation with your peers, friends, and fellow athletes.

Resources mentioned:

• ☎️ 5 Calls - links + scripts for calling your elected officials: ⁠https://5calls.org⁠
• Find Your Senators: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
• Find Your Representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
• Chop Wood, Carry Water: Substack of updates and small daily actions (+ scripts) for standing up for democracy : https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com
• Immigrant defense project: news, printable cards, resources to help you be a good community member and help your neighbors : https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org
• Immigrant legal resource center: education, training and resources for community: https://www.ilrc.org
• ICE Rapid Response: local numbers, connect with a rapid response team in your area https://icerr.com
• ⁠➡️ The Cairn Project on IG⁠ @thecairnproject
• ⁠✨ The Cairn Project's newsletter⁠

See Her Outside episode with Alex Garcia

Like this episode? Leave a 5-star rating and review on your podcast app!

Make sure you subscribe to the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠See Her Outside Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so you don’t miss a story!

Brought to you by the Alliance for Gender Equity in Outdoor Adventure (GEA Alliance).

Hosted by Angie Lake and edited by Alyson Castonguay.