Podcast

There’s something funny that happens when you start spending more time outside: what you want out of life changes, too. In this episode Amy reflects on how spending time outside has shifted her priorities, and why her birthday is the perfect pause point to reflect on that shift.

There’s dreaming, there’s preparing and then there’s doing. When it comes to big outdoor goals and adventures, dreaming and prepping take the most time — but the doing is where you get to see if you have what it takes after all. In this week’s Outdoor Diary Amy dives into the race she’s been preparing for all season, why she decided to try the shorter distance instead of again tackling the race she dropped out of last year and how it all went. Listen now.

We do our best to roll with nature’s punches, but we’re definitely not ready for this warm, sunny and green relationship to be over. It’s only July, after all. But when push comes to shove, perhaps the ticking clock is inspirational. Listen now.

Things are going summer crazy here at Humans Outside as we milk every hot second we can from the season. That’s why this week we’ve only got two things: one suggestion and one ask for help. Listen now.

How do you know where a good adventure stops and something that’s just not worth it starts? And can you tell when you’re avoiding something because it’s uncomfortable or if you’re avoiding it because it’s miserable and unnecessary, unrewarding suffering?

Those are the questions Amy is asking this week as she scraps a long-planned adventure while thinking about things she’s done that sound bad but end up being great in the end. So how can you make that decision?

What if instead of a “to do” list you made the opposite: a “not to do” list? Coming up with the things that should go on it is an exercise in self-awareness and the gift of perspective. And where can you really find that? Outside, of course! In this episode Amy discusses how she developed her “not to do” list and why heading into nature helped her make it happen.

It took months of planning, but Amy and her family headed out for a three-day, totally unplugged adventure in a dream Alaska spot: a wild lagoon off the coast in an Alaska State Park. From otters to birdsong, kayak trips to perhaps too many days without a shower, this adventure was a picturesque keeper in Halibut Cove Lagoon of Kachemak Bay State Park. Listen now.

Happy solstice! Summer solstice is a big deal in Alaska where there’s plenty of reason to celebrate the endless light. But midnight sun is not why Amy celebrates it, exactly. In this episode Amy talks about why the solstice is important to her — and what she doesn’t do on it.

You know how much Amy loves her small town and all the festivals and outdoor events it hosts. Thanks to one of the annual summer festivals, she’s been thinking about the ways nature creates a sense of place, and why that matters to her.