The Hike Like A Woman Podcast

Adventure Awaits: What's Next?

• Rebecca Walsh

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Have you ever considered how adventure travel could transform your life? Join me in exploring my journey from adventurous army officer days with my husband to a life-altering battle with cancer and the soul-stirring trip to Costa Rica that reignited my passion for exploration. Experience the thrill of reconnecting with nature and the world, as I share how these adventures have drastically reduced stress and boosted happiness. Whether it's conquering Mount Kilimanjaro or embracing the culture of Patagonia, discover the exhilaration of group trips offered by Hike, like a Woman and the joy of immersing in diverse cultures.

Adventure travel isn't just about ticking destinations off a bucket list—it's a voyage into personal growth, confidence building, and forging authentic friendships. Hear about the camaraderie and trust built on trails like the Salcante Pass and how stepping away from technology uplifts the spirit. As I recount my adventures, you'll learn how embracing the unknown taught me to adapt and approach challenges with optimism. Whether you're planning an escapade with loved ones or venturing solo, let these stories inspire you to embark on a journey where the memories made are just as valuable as the destinations visited.


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Speaker 1:

I could talk for days and days and days about adventure travel. I could talk for days and days and days about the benefits of adventure travel. I could talk for days and days and days about why I think that every person needs to have a line item in their budget dedicated towards adventure travel. I just think adventure travel is huge. It's a huge part of my life and really it started before I had children.

Speaker 1:

My husband and I were super adventurous. We went on lots of adventures together, kind of local adventures, bigger adventures. We were both army officers, so like life was a big adventure at that point. But then we did the typical thing we had a baby, we got busy with our careers, we were trying to save money and my husband was going to law school and there was just like a lot going on. And because we didn't have the budget, because we didn't have the time, adventure travel kind of took the backseat, like deep in the back of my soul.

Speaker 1:

I've always been a very adventurous person, but it actually wasn't until after cancer and after I sold my outdoor retail store, after I sold my ski shop, that I was like you know what? It is a big, big, big, beautiful world out there and the future is so scary and so uncertain, like I'm going to see it all and I'm going to see what I can now, just because I don't know if I'm going to be blessed with a healthy retirement at some point in my life. And so adventure travel has been a crucial part of our lives and it actually started in not too long ago, in April of 2023, when my husband and I took a trip to Costa Rica and we went whitewater rafting, we went zip lining, we went rappelling, canyoning, we went horseback riding. We took a purposeful trip to Costa Rica for the purpose of adventure travel and it really just kicked off this bug, it rekindled, it relit this fire that we both have toward adventure travel and adventure tourism and eco-tourism. And now, as we look forward to, like our kids, growing up and getting out of high school and getting to a place where our finances are taken care of, we're looking forward to having the opportunity, hopefully someday, to go and travel to different countries and spend extended periods of time learning and really being immersed in different cultures and different customs.

Speaker 1:

And here at Hike, like a Woman, as you know, we lead group trips all over the world, from Kilimanjaro to Costa Rica, to Iceland, to Utah, kilimanjaro I already mentioned Kilimanjaro, because that's a big one Patagonia, peru, alaska all of these amazing, incredible places, and today I just want to share a few of the benefits that adventure travel has brought into my life, since I've made adventure travel a priority the last year and a half almost two years. So the first benefit that I've noticed is that I have been less stressed out. That doesn't make any sense, because sometimes travel can contribute to a whole lot of stress and sometimes the money that we spent on travel and that we currently spend on travel can also cause some stress. But overall, I would say in general, I'm less stressed out and I'm more happy when I have a big adventure on the calendar, and that's because when I'm traveling I'm realizing that I am such a tiny piece of this big, big, big planet that it takes really some of that ego away. I just realized that I'm just part of the universe and that kind of that shift away from my ego and from myself to just wanting to absorb as much as I can in the cultures and places where I'm traveling actually reduces stress, and so does adventure travel, because, like adventure, travel is outdoors and really there's nothing more in my life that reduces stress than being outside in nature. That's so important. So I've seen a huge amount of stress reduction in my life when I have a big trip on the calendar and when I'm actually traveling.

Speaker 1:

Next up, I've seen an increase in confidence, and this is not like ego or arrogance, but this is just confidence. There's something to be said about navigating your way through a foreign country, through a foreign city, navigating your way down a trail that you don't know where it goes. This also is about following a guide and trusting in your guide. So adventure travel has really helped me be confident. It's helped me learn that I'm capable of doing really hard things, like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and like doing the Salcante Pass in Peru, and also it's taught me to trust people who I put in a leadership role, so to trust our guides and trust that they have our best interest at hand.

Speaker 1:

Another benefit of adventure travel that I found is that it really lifts my mood. It lifts my mood. It makes me happy to learn about other people and customs and cultures and ways of life. Plus, you know, when we're outside and we're moving our bodies, we're experiencing new things. We're immersed in this beautiful nature. We're taking in beautiful scenery, it just gives us that hit of dopamine. That is like nature's way of saying like yeah, yeah, you've got this girl. And I love that natural mood lifter that is provided when I'm on an adventure trip.

Speaker 1:

For me, adventure travel is also a chance to build these lifelong friendships that hike like a woman. We say a lot that we start every trip as strangers and we finish every trip as friends, and that is 100% true, because when we are sharing something like camping in the rain or climbing up a really hard mountain or hiking down a really hot, dusty, dry road in Peru, like it's that shared I don't want to say suffering, but sometimes it's suffering. So it's that shared experience that really helps us to build those friendships. When we're in the back country with other women, all of that other stuff doesn't matter. Nobody cares what you're, if you're wearing makeup, nobody cares how big your house is, nobody cares what car you're driving. No one cares what your spouse does for a living or what you do for a living car you're driving. No one cares what your spouse does for a living or what you do for a living. Nobody cares about any of that stuff. That's so shallow and so superficial, yet such a big part of our society. All of that is stripped away. You are you, you are who you are when you're out in the backcountry, and that just sets the stage for cultivating really, really authentic friendships. And I've found that those friendships in my life aren't just with people who are on a group trip with me, but it's friendships with guides like John, my head guide on Kilimanjaro. He's my friend and I consider him a friend. Tina, who guided us in Peru, she's my friend. Lana, who guided us in Yellowstone, she's my friend. All of these amazing people who help and support us along the way. Those become friends, and I think that's so beautiful and so powerful, and those are friendships that can only be formed if we're willing to actually get on a plane and leave the comfort of our own home.

Speaker 1:

The next benefit that I found is something that I've talked a lot about recently, something that I'm doing right now, actually, and that's a digital disconnect, a digital detox. When we are traveling, it's pretty easy to ignore social media. It's pretty easy to put an out of office reply on our email. It's pretty easy to disconnect, and I think that is a fantastic thing time stargazing or seeing a beautiful mountain or a cool historic or cultural place, or walking through a museum, or sitting around a campfire and roasting marshmallows and drinking wine, then I would sitting in front of my phone scrolling endlessly. So I love the digital detox that adventure provides. And I'll tell you, it's hard to come back from an adventure trip and sit in the airport and just have your phone go ping, ping, ping, ping, ping because of all the messages that you've missed. I hate that feeling and I wish that we didn't have this computer permanently in our pocket. But at the same time, I own and run a digital business and online business. So because of screens and technology, I'm able to do what I do and I'm so thankful for that. But it's just that fine line. We walk between screens and being able to permanently disconnect, and I love being able to disconnect when I'm on an adventure trip.

Speaker 1:

Next, I think that there's a lot of physical and spiritual mental health benefits that come with adventure travel and that sounds so weird because usually when I get back from a big trip abroad, I end up getting sick. But there are some really important physical health benefits that come from adventure travel. I mean, adventure itself means that we're doing something right, we're getting up, we're moving our body, we're breathing, hiking, kayaking, skiing all of those things Like that's all really good and really healthy for us and it's a great way to exercise, and we all know that exercise is important to improve our health and longevity. But adventure travel is really just a good excuse to move your body when you're traveling, and I love that. Next, when we were in Peru, we spent a whole day, before we headed out, on the Sulcante Trail learning about the Incan culture and ancient Incan civilizations, and I loved that opportunity and I love the opportunity to learn more about different cultures when I'm on an adventure trip. Cultural enrichment is another significant part of adventure travel that I love. I don't want to come home with just a bunch of souvenirs in my pack. I want to come home with new knowledge, insights, experiences, and I believe that adventure travel is a great way to learn about different cultures and to broaden our perspective and to challenge assumptions that we have about other cultures.

Speaker 1:

I also love that adventure travel forces us to grow as a person. It forces us to face challenges. You know, when I think about challenges, I think about Summit Night on Mount Kilimanjaro and how much growth I personally experienced when I was on that climb and I think about learning how to be comfortable stepping out of our comfort zone. There's one thing to just it's one thing to just step out of our comfort zone. That is really, really huge, and those opportunities to grow and learn and discover new strengths. It's led to some really profound personal transformation in my own life. So personal growth is a huge, huge, huge benefit of adventure travel. And so is the last one, and I think that is improved problem solving skills. So there's always going to be a challenge when we are traveling to a new place.

Speaker 1:

Let me give you an example here. So when we were in Tanzania, we were in Moshi, we had finished our Kilimanjaro climb. It was the day after our climb, everyone was so exhausted and we were checking out of our hotel and there were, I think, three or four of us headed to the airport to catch our flight. When we checked out of the hotel, the clerk put our passports on the counter and I was the last person to check out of the hotel and I didn't see her put my passport on the counter and I got on the shuttle to head to the hotel or to head to the airport and we didn't have a whole lot of time to get through the Moshi airport, but halfway there I realized that I didn't have my passport and that I had left my passport sitting on the counter, like the counter at the hotel, a busy hotel in Moshi. So I told the driver what was going on and our driver picked up the phone and he called the hotel and the hotel said that they would put my passport, they would give it to a driver, give it to somebody on a motorcycle, like a random person on a motorcycle, and the driver told them exactly where we were.

Speaker 1:

And then we had to just wait and trust that that person on the motorcycle would show up with my passport so that I could get on my flight and show up in enough time so that we could all get on our flight without having to be rushed and without missing our flights, like we were cutting it so close with the time. And I just remember sitting in this shuttle and I was crying because I was so pissed off at myself for doing something so stupid and forgetting to pick up my passport, and I was so frustrated and I could sense that everybody was anxious to get on the flight and to head home and I knew I would feel terrible if everybody missed their flights because of me, terrible if everybody missed their flights because of me. And it was like we were just waiting and waiting and waiting for some stranger, who I didn't even know, with my American passport, to show up and give me my passport in busy Moshi, tanzania. That is so wild. Eventually, just when we were starting to panic about being able to get to the airport on time, this guy showed up on a motorcycle and he handed me my passport and I handed him some cash because I was so relieved and I was so thankful to have gotten my passport.

Speaker 1:

And it's the learning how to like solve problems, learning how to stay calm when the shit's really hitting the fan. That is one of the biggest advantages of adventure travel. And also knowing how to just put your trust in somebody else and know that it's all going to work out. Right, trust in somebody else and know that it's all going to work out. I put my trust in some random guy on a motorcycle in Moshi and he could have stolen my passport. I could have been in a world of hurt, but he didn't steal my passport. He brought my passport to me and I was able to get on my flight and I was able to get home, and everybody else was able to get home too.

Speaker 1:

It was like a small little miracle, but a small little glimpse into the importance of learning to like, think on my feet, adapt to this situation that I was in and then approach this challenge with optimism that it was all going to work out.

Speaker 1:

So there you have it. Those are my thoughts on adventure travel and some of the benefits of adventure travel and why I think adventure travel is so, so, so important. And listen, if you don't have a big trip on your calendar, maybe you should put one there and you could put a trip on there with me and come hang out with me in Iceland or Costa Rica or Kilimanjaro or Patagonia. Or you could grab a group of friends and put an adventure on the calendar with a group of friends, or with your partner, or with your spouse or with your family. But put something on the calendar that is going to challenge you a little bit, something on the calendar that's going to force you to learn, force you to grow, force you to adapt and force you to adjust. Hey, thanks so much for being here. This is Rebecca and I'll see you next week.