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 outdoors but is hesitant to turn up the volume on their own voice, including:

• How YOU sharing your story can change the world
• Why we need diverse perspectives and voices in the outdoors, from trip reports to scholarships
• When Angie realized that her personal adventures could positively impact the outdoor community
• Countering the common mindset traps that women face when sharing their stories
• Visibility isn’t the same as vanity
• Finding your voice and mining for personal stories
• How The Cairn Project can support you as you begin to share your stories

Send this episode to a friend who you believe has an amazing story that the world needs to hear.

(And follow along with Angie’s Adventure Fundraiser here and on Instagram! $5 goes a long way to the cause.)

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 2025 Trailblazer.Get the storytelling and fundraising skills to make an impact on the sport you love.
• Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation.
• Share this episode with a friend or family member.

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

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-women’s expedition up Mt. Baker through the Summit Scholarship Foundation.

Carly and Angie talked about:

• Grief, growth, and the healing power of the outdoors
• What it’s like to climb Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker as a beginner
• Why all-women’s climbing teams matter in a male-dominated sport
• How Carly is paying it forward by helping more women get into mountaineering
• Baker recap: a birthday summit, glacier school, and mountain sisterhood
• Coexisting with rather than conquering the mountain

Send this episode to a friend who you want to climb a mountain with this year.

You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond:

• ⁠Become a 2025 Trailblazer⁠. You can make scholarships like Carly’s possible.
• Check out the ⁠Summit Scholarship Foundation⁠.
• Share this episode with a friend or family member.

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 working abroad
• Identity, self-worth, and ego in ultra running
• Why athletes need white space in training and life
• Colleen’s attempts at the challenging Superior 100 in Minnesota
• Post-race blues and processing race performances
• Why YOU should go shoot your shot

Send this episode to a friend who loves to run or who has a race in 2025.

Follow along Colleen's adventures: https://colleenmacdonaldathlete.com/

Want to join Colleen as a Trailblazer with The Cairn Project and turn a 2025 adventure into a campaign to get more women outdoors? Learn more at cairnproject.org/trailblazers.

You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond:

• Become a 2025 Trailblazer. Like Colleen, you can make a difference for girls and women who want transformative outdoor experiences.
• Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation.
• Share this episode with a friend or family member.

✨ 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 adventurous family

⛵maintaining clear communication in a partnership where adventure is a value

⛵managing personal needs and mental health on big adventures

and more!

Grit Lit is our quarterly subscription box meets book club, celebrating women and adventure.

Members get a box every quarter full of woman-created goodies, including a nature-inspired book! 📚

Interested in becoming a part of Grit Lit? Head to cairnproject.org/grit-lit to join and get the rest of the boxes this year! 🔗

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 Podcast.

Lindsay and Angie talked about:

• The challenges women face when growing a business
• How Lindsay merged her passion with entrepreneurship
• When perfectionism gets in the way of growth
• The therapeutic effects of fly fishing and mindfulness
• Inclusive representation in the outdoor industry
• Money mindset and dealing with finances as a business owner
• Lindsay’s adventure with The Cairn Project
• Tips for women who want to start a business

Learn more about Lindsay at https://www.lindsaykocka.com. Episode photo credit to Gloria Goñi.

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 2025 Trailblazer. Like Lindsay, you can make a difference for girls and women who want transformative outdoor experiences.
• Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation.
• Share this episode with a friend or family member.

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

Follow on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/01x4PI8OoMRS1Rx64OXsTf

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/see-her-outside/id1794910016

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 with advocacy work to shape a more inclusive outdoors.

Alex and Angie talked about:

- The cultural difference of “adventure” in Puerto Rico vs. mainstream media

- Why Alex left Puerto Rico and the culture shocks that came with the move

- The challenges of moving to the mainland USA and Alex’s complex relationship with Virginia

- The role of outdoor adventure and Difficult Pursuits in personal growth

- Alex’s FKT of the Veredas Noreste in Puerto Rico

- Approach advocacy work that matches your unique interests and talents

- How major challenges in work, life, and adventure made Alex even stronger

You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond:

• Become a 2025 Trailblazer. Like Alex, you can make a difference for girls and women who want transformative outdoor experiences.
• Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation.
• Share this episode with a friend or family member.

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When Danielle started rock climbing, she saw the need for increasing safe spaces for women and Latinas to be introduced to the sport.

As a Ladies Climbing Coalition ambassador, she started the Atlanta Chapter which has grown to hundreds of local women who love climbing. She’s also a PhD in Pharmacology and MD.

In 2024, Danielle was a Trailblazer and held an Adventure Fundraiser of climbing Mt. Stuart to raise funds for the Summit Scholarship Foundation.

Danielle and Angie talked about:

- Women in climbing history who also influenced medicine

- How Danielle got into climbing after not knowing anybody else who climbed

- Pushing through the barriers of entry to the sport

- How climbing helps Danielle in medicine, and vice versa

- Danielle’s experiences of mentorship, both as a mentor and mentee

- Giving back to the women’s climbing community by becoming a Trailblazer with The Cairn Project

- The strengths that women uniquely have in climbing

- How YOU can blend your passions to make a positive impact on your community

You can help us close the gender gap outdoors and beyond:

• Become a Trailblazer. Just like Danielle, you can make a difference for girls and women who want transformative outdoor experiences.
• Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation.
• Share this episode with a friend or family member.

Isabelle Riddle is a Bozeman-based woman who spent over 75 days on wilderness adventures in 2023.

In 2024, Isabelle was a recipient of the Summit Scholarship Foundation, giving her the opportunity to climb Mt. Baker in an all-women’s climb.

Isabelle and Angie talk about:

- The gap between outdoor industry inclusivity statements and actual inclusivity in outdoor adventures

- How Isabelle’s experiences as a woman with Native American heritage shape her relationship with nature

- The difference between all-women's expeditions and mixed-gender expeditions

- Self-advocacy and the feeling of being tokenized on an adventure team

- Managing the feeling of being the “weakest link” on a team

- How Isabelle’s vision limitations affect her climbing on steep terrain

- “Breath before steps”: a reminder for mountaineering and life

- Team dynamics on Isabelle’s women’s Mt. Baker climb

- Supporting adventurers with chronic illness

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 adventurers like Isabelle.
• Check out the Summit Scholarship Foundation.
• Share this episode with a friend or family member.