Latest / Fit for Hiking / Ep. 50 Hiking + Health Connection & Outdoor Community w/ Moe Mountains
Transcript
- Hi, my name is Brady and I'm a long time fitness professional and midwest girl turned mountain living hiking addict. And combining my knowledge of fitness and passion for hiking, I've helped hundreds of women get lean and strong for the trails. Think of this as your one stop shop for both education and inspiration on all things female wellness, trail talk and adventure. Hiking, female metabolism, motherhood, nutrition, travel and fitness are all topics you'll hear discussed here. If you are outdoorsy and active, looking to level up your health, unlock your potential, and become inspired to live your most vibrant life, you're in the right place. You're listening to the fit for hiking podcast. All right. Hello and welcome back to another episode of the fit for hiking podcast. Today we have a special guest I want to introduce to you all, Lauren Hostetler. She is a full time nurse and also the owner and founder of Mo Mountains, which is a business that takes women on backpacking trips. Lauren is passionate about getting women outside together and connected in order to flourish. Lauren lives with her husband Kirby, and two dogs, Willow and Titus, in beautiful Montana, and is passionate about empowering other women to get outside to enjoy the beauty and healing gift that is God's creation. So we are really excited to have her on today. Thanks so much for being here, Lauren. Brady, thanks so much for having me. I'm so excited to chat. Yes me too. I'm glad we connected on Instagram. And if you could just tell people a little bit about yourself and kind of how you got into hiking in the outdoor space. Yeah. So my mom, it goes all the way back to my childhood. My mom was one of those moms that was always like, go outside, you know, everything. Yes, yes. Like us kids would, like, get a little loud, get a little rambunctious, and she'd just be like, go outside. So I have I grew up with three younger brothers, and so it was just kind of a natural part of our childhood. We were always playing in the woods, always playing outside. We grew up in the country. Um, so that's kind of where my love for nature and the outdoors started, I think. Um, and then, you know, my family was just very active. We always went camping for family vacations and everything. So it was really ingrained in me, just this love of being outside. And then when I graduated high school, I knew I wanted to be a nurse, and I knew nursing school was going to be really hard. And so I took a gap year and went to a one year school in Montana and in this canyon. Just gorgeous, picture perfect. And I fell in love with mountains and hiking and backpacking and cliff jumping and just all the outdoors activities and shenanigans you can get into. So yeah, that's kind of a little a little background. So did you set out so you're in Bozeman now? Yes. Where is that in relation to where you went to that school? Yeah. So it's about six hours away from that school. That school was up near Agusta, Montana, which is kind of more northern. Um, kind of on your way to Glacier. Um, and I had a lot of classmates that were from Bozeman. And so on the weekends we would come back home to Bozeman, they would show me around town. And that's, I mean, instantly fell in love with Bozeman. Yeah. It's like the perfect playground area if you love the mountains. So how far would you say you live from, like hiking areas? Are you pretty close? Oh, yeah. Like, I mean, there's right now I'm just staring at, like, this big mountain range. It's the Bridger Mountain range. Um, so that takes me about, I don't know, half hour, 45 minutes to get. To lose cell service and get into the mountains. Yeah. I mean, we're surrounded. We're in a valley. Um, and there is mountains that are very accessible. So it's it's my happy place, I love it. That's awesome. Yeah. I think it's so cool that you are, you know, working a standard job. You know, maybe not the 9 to 5 hours since you work as a nurse, but you work a very like time, strenuous job, but you still prioritize getting outside, and you also still lead the group trips for women going on back packing trips. So I guess, you know, a big topic that comes up, um, on the podcast. And, you know, just like in the outdoor space on social media, it's like, how do you balance working full time and then also still prioritizing that side of your life and that passion of yours. So what does that look like for you with your work schedule? How do you still find the time to get outside and explore? Yeah, it it is kind of a balancing act for sure, and something that I really have to be intentional about prioritizing. Um, I think what it looks like for me during the week is taking. So I have two dogs, and so killing two birds with one stone of like taking them on a walk, but then also getting me in nature. And so not that I have time to drive an hour to the mountains, but I can get a little slice of it. There's a huge, um, just like government land that's near our house. And, um, I can take them there and let them run around. And then I get a little bit of like, I get to walk. I get to hear the birds. I get to feel the sunshine, you know, like, I, I get a little, a little slice of nature during the week. Um, because to be honest, during the week, I don't really get to play in the mountains like I do. Yeah. The weekend, the weekend is is my time to play. So in the winter, you know, I usually block off Saturdays and go cross-country skiing again, taking my dogs and, um, you know, sometimes we'll go to the ski mountain. Um, and then in the summer, all my friends know, I mean, I, I, I'm very active in the gym, and they all know that my workout schedule shifts to. You won't see me working out on the weekends because I will be in the mountains hiking and so. Exactly. Yeah, that's Saturday and Sunday. I'm hiking. I'm paddleboarding. Um, that's my time to just block off the whole day and and go somewhere. Um, yeah. So that's awesome. Yeah, it's just getting those little slices during the week and then being really intentional about blocking time on the weekends to. Yeah. I think that's really key because in the world of social media, and I do feel like the outdoor space on Instagram and YouTube and, you know, TikTok, all the social media platforms has really exploded over the last decade. Like there's so many people who are sharing like hiking, adventure, travel, all these things, myself being one of them. But even I will be like, man, how do people do this? Five like it feels like five days a week. Like, people are always out doing cool stuff and I'm like sitting at my computer all week, you know? Um, and it can feel like, you know, sense of FOMO or like, oh, if you're not getting out there all the time, then you're not, you know, doing the outdoorsy thing. Right? And really, like you said, it's about getting those little slices through the week. Most people aren't going to be able to play out outdoors except on the weekends. And that's. And so you have to kind of like look for those opportunities midweek, look for walking areas that are peaceful, even if it's, you know, five minutes from your house and kind of in a suburb, you know, like you got to kind of just look for those slices, um, of places where you can go little pockets of time, even if it's 30 minutes a day. I find that that really helps my mental health instead of just being like, well, I can only really go like, explore on the weekends, so that's all I'll do. Mhm. For sure I find I feel better, like sometimes I sometimes we don't have time for me to drive to the, to the government land. And so we'll take the dogs on a walk around my neighborhood and that's like you know, there's sidewalks and there's not a ton of nature. But even that just being outside, being in the sunshine and breathing the fresh air, even that will boost my, my mental health. And just by, yeah, get some good chemicals going in your body. Yeah. As hard as it is to get off the couch somedays, like, especially during some of the dreary winter months, you're always happier after you get outside and just do the thing 100% of the time. Yes. Yeah. So working as a nurse, you're obviously passionate about health, but also so passionate about the outdoors. How do you see hiking and getting outside in general really intersect with health in your own life? And then maybe even in like the people that you work with. Yeah. Um, well, kind of like we just said. Like we never regret getting outside. And I always, every single time I feel so much better from my head to my toes every time I get outside. And so actually, this year, since, you know, since starting my backpacking business in 2023, I, I love science, obviously, I'm a nurse. Um, and so I was like, just curious and like, what what is research show about getting outside? Because I know I feel better, but there has to be some kind of reason. So I actually did some research and looked up some, um, articles, some research articles. And they have found, like science has proven that, um, when you are outside, that reduces your blood pressure. Um, it reduces your heart rate, it reduces muscle tension. And this is probably my favorite one. It reduces your production of stress hormones. But that's kind of like cortisol. I feel like the last couple of years have been kind of a buzzword. Like, everyone knows that when your cortisol goes crazy, it wreaks havoc on your entire body. Yeah. And so being outside literally keeps your cortisol stable. And, um, it just helps your body with, with stress. Um, something else I thought was super interesting is they, they were they showed that when you hear birds singing for six minutes. Your brain shifts into a parasympathetic parasympathetic state, which is the rest and relaxation state, the opposite of the fight or flight. And so just and you don't even have to be actively listening, just your, your brain picking up those bird songs. It relaxes your entire body, which is like so cool. Um, it's really cool to think how like God wired us to naturally be our most relaxed when we are in nature. Like I've heard the similar notions to like, hearing water, you know, like that we just naturally start to come out of the heightened nervous nervous system state when we are near water as well. Yeah, yeah, water. Water is another one. That one's really calming as well. Um, and then, you know, just I mean, there's been so much, so many studies have shown just the, the vitamin D that we get from the sun, how that helps with hormones and happiness and helps with anxiety. Um, another study that was done that I thought was fascinating, especially with my nursing background, is they took patients who had gallbladder surgery and they they took a whole group of them, put them into two separate groups, and they had one recover. With a window in their room, and they had some kind of nature outside the window, whether that was a tree or something. Beautiful flowers. And then they had the other group recover with no windows and just a dark like hospital room. A normal hospital room. Yeah, let's be honest. Um, and there was significant difference with the patients who recovered having some sort of nature outside their window. They they discharged earlier. They requested pain medicine less frequently. Um, and the nurses just said that they had fewer negative responses and they had quicker healing and were able to get a hospital faster, which I think is fascinating. That's so cool. And just to think that we don't even necessarily need to, like, take hours to go drive somewhere in the mountains or some or the beach or, you know, um, a forest area, like truly just being near nature and like, looking outside. Going outside like taking breaks. This is something I have to force myself to do. Like just go outside, open the door to my deck and, like, put my face in the sun like five minutes a couple times a day, um, and break up the time between just sitting and and looking at a screen, you know, looking at a little screen or a big screen or sitting on the couch or sitting in traffic, like just those little breaks for your nervous system have so many benefits. But how often do we just get caught up in our, like, regular schedule? And it's like, well, who has time for that? Yeah, totally. There'll be some days that will pass where I'll be like. I haven't even gotten outside. Like I didn't even go outside to check the mail. Like nothing. I've been inside all day, and that's just really, um, it, you know, add up a couple days of that that's really harmful for our health. We aren't wired to sit inside like these boxes, you know? And yet that's like what life is so geared around now. It's just like sitting inside, um, a house or a car or whatever it may be. And yet it's just like killing us slowly, you know, soul sucking in a lot of ways. If we're just stuck inside all the time, it totally, totally is. Soul sucking is a good way to describe it. Yeah. One of the main things that I talk about with my clients when I'm doing like my tech and calls with them is, you know, what's the stress like? And also like, are you getting outside? Like, what's your work day? Like, are you just stuck inside for like ten hours straight? Can you set an alarm and like, block your schedule and just really be serious about like, I'm getting outside for 30 minutes to go for a walk and just relax and take some deep breaths, because that really does affect our quality of life. Um, especially when you just stack day after day, year after year. Like it really starts to affect our health big time for sure. And I just think of all the people who, you know, working from home is, is now such a viable option for a lot of people after Covid. Um, and you know, how many of us just want to go check Instagram or do a load of laundry on our lunch break, when really you could take just that half hour or however long your lunch break is, and go for a walk around your neighborhood. Like I said, when I take my dogs out and just walk them, even around my neighborhood, it's so much better. I'm so much happier. Yeah, just creating that habit and even like incentivizing because sometimes it's like, yeah, just the act of getting out the door is the hardest part, for whatever reason. Like there's just this mental block, like it's easier to sit and scroll Instagram, it's easier to sit on the couch and just like, eat in and turn TV on. If you're working from home during your lunch, but you're not going to get nearly the mental or physical benefits. So I try to like, incentivize myself with like an audiobook. I'll be like, okay, I'm only listening to this audiobook when I'm out on a walk. So then I spend way more time walking because I want to hear what's happening next in the book. So like having little mental tricks for yourself, especially as you're starting the habit I think can be really helpful. Yeah, yeah, no, for sure, I love that. So okay, in addition to being a nurse, you also started a women's backpacking trek company last year, which is amazing. Congratulations. Thank you. Yes, it's been a lot of fun. So tell us a little bit about that. Like, how did that get started? What does that look like? Yeah. So it kind of got started out of. Me just feeling like there was there was more inside. Like, I love nursing. I don't know that I'll ever get out of nursing. Um, but I was like, I have something else. Like, I've got these random, like, you know, talents and gifts and knowledge and and I just feel like there's something else that I'm supposed to be doing with my time. And so I actually last year hired a business coach. I had I did not have a business, but I was like, Gretchen, there's something in there. I need you to help me figure out what. And we we kind of bounced around some ideas. I thought about opening a yoga studio, like, because I'm. I love health and wellness. And so. Yeah, um, but I was like, yeah, it doesn't feel right. Um, and she was like, okay, well, let's put down on paper, what do you what are you passionate about? And I'm passionate about health and wellness. I'm I love getting women together. Like I've always been. The house where we have girls nights, we go on girls trips. Like, I'm. I'm that person who I'm like, I will get all the girls together, plan this and make it happen. Yes, yes. 1s Um. And I love hiking, I love hiking, I love being outside. And so she was like, okay, let's fuse all of those together. What do you know how to do? And I was like, well, I know how to I know how to backpack. And like, that's not something that like a ton of women, you know, do. And so we just kind of came up with, why don't we teach women how to backpack, how to prepare? Well, um, and then execute and go and, and lead them on backpacking trips. And it's only for women. And, um, so that's that's what I started last year. And last year was our first season and it went really well. It was really fun. And um, so that's, that's my side, my side gig, I guess you could call it now. Oh, like a passion project that's now developed into something. I'm sure it's really rewarding to get to lead those trips. It's so rewarding, I feel so. Just honored, like on so many different levels. Like, I feel honored that these women trust me, first of all, to take them in the wilderness, um, and that they trust me to prepare them. Um, and then I just love getting to watch and see what the women walk away with and what they get to experience. And, uh, it's it's so cool. I just I love it. Yeah. That's awesome. So what would you say some of the benefits are of going on? Maybe your first ever backpacking trip with a group like this? Because it can be daunting for sure, when you're someone who's maybe only done day hikes and you're interested in dabbling in the backpacking world, but you don't really know where to start. Yeah. Oh my goodness. There are so many things that come up during your time in the mountains that you're like, um, I didn't think about that. And, you know, you definitely, definitely can do it on your own, but it is going to take hours of research and reading and watching YouTube videos. And I mean, just even knowing what kind of gear to bring and what not to bring, like, that's just as important as knowing what to bring. Yeah. Um, because your pack gets real heavy and stuff, so but it's, it's so, you know, my very first backpacking trip was with that, with that school that I went to in Montana. And I was so grateful. I mean, that was the best way to start because I had a woman come alongside me and be like, all right, girls, if you're on your period, this is what we're going to do and this is how we're going to be prepared. Okay. That's real. Yeah. Like stuff like that. It's, you know, like, this is how we're going to pee in the woods, like being a woman and, you know, things like, what do you pack? What do you not pack? Um, you know, just teaching the hottest predators safety and of how, like, this is how we're going to stay safe because there are grizzly bears in Montana everywhere. And, um, so it it really, I would say going with a group your first time is, is really the way to go because it helps speed along your learning. And you don't have to be the one to put all the pieces together. Uh, you know, I'm very passionate about preparing the women. And so we have a three month prep. Course and prep period before we go on the trips. And so we talk about everything from how do you how do you become physically strong to do this, to talking about all those things of hygiene and all that. So I do all the homework for you and you listen and absorb, and then you get to enjoy and not have to stress about, did I forget this or did I do those three? So amazing because I've definitely learned so many things the hard way. Yeah. Backpacking trips over the years. We actually have an episode where I had a couple girls on and we were all sharing just our biggest backpacking fails, because if you don't go on a group like that, you are literally just like thrown to the wolves. And it is very different from day hiking. Um, so there's a lot of room for some big mistakes. And sometimes making those mistakes can be really painful. When you're out in the wilderness and you're exposed to the elements and potentially get lost, you have no clue what to do with certain scenarios that come up. So I'm very pro, like going with a group when you can to learn how to do things before you just like try it out haphazardly. When it comes to like backpacking a really big like peaks and things like that. For sure. And another thing is, it's expensive. I mean, buying all the gear is really expensive. And so I have all the gear. So that's included in your in your ticket to go. And so you know, not invest in not having to invest all that money and something that you might be like, oh actually I don't actually like this. And that was. Yeah. Or you do like once every three years so. Right. Yeah. And also just knowing what to actually buy because I feel like even just even though I know how to backpack and I've gone a ton of times when I see, like the backpacking, like packing list posts and stuff on social media, I'm like, that's overwhelming. Like I'm overwhelmed by that. Like, I don't have all that stuff. Like it's hard to sift through, like, what do you actually need if you haven't gone before? Yes. And everyone's so different to so everyone's needs are different. You know it's. Yeah. Yeah, totally. That's amazing. I'm so excited about that for you. I want to go on a trip in Montana that sounds so fun. Yeah, it's they're pretty epic. They are pretty. The spot that we're going to is the one of my all time favorite places I just keep going back to is it's gorgeous. So yeah, they're fun. Um, so, okay, talking about finding community because I know that's something we are really passionate about, finding community with other women in the outdoor space. It can feel kind of overwhelming or like, where do you start? Um, if you're living somewhere where maybe you're new to the area or you just don't have friends that like to do that stuff, but you want to do that stuff. How do you recommend looking for and finding a community like that? Yeah, well, I found myself in that place when I moved to Bozeman. I didn't I didn't know anybody when I moved here. Um, and then, you know, I got married. My husband is from here. I met him when I moved here, and he doesn't like to hike, so I'm on my own with a hiking, and that's not ideal, you know? So I was like, okay, I need to start building some kind of community where I can find friends to hike with. And so, um, taking advantage of Facebook has been really great for me. Um, you know, getting in different searching, Facebook groups and certain Facebook groups. So there was like a hiking group that was in Bozeman. And so I joined that. And then I found a women only hiking Facebook group. So I joined that. And then I was like, you know what? I, I kind of want to make my own. And so I opened up just a message thread on the telegram app, which is just another messaging app. And I sifted through these different Facebook groups that I was in, and I would individually message these women who I'm like, she looks nice. And like we would, you know, go on a hike together. I would message them and say, hey, I'm putting together a women only. Hiking group, would you? Would you like to join? And so just working at that consistently, I now have like 70 to 80 women in my hiking group here. And it's just taken off. And we do paddleboarding. And you know, any time any woman's going to go to the mountains or take a hike or do anything, she'll put it in the group thread and be like, hey girls, I'm going here. Do you want to do this? Um, and so I would say the, the biggest thing is to just, you know, try and get creative with the social media outlets that you're part of. Um, but then also don't, don't be afraid to, to start something and, and you're going to get rejected a lot. So like be persistent and don't take things personally. I got people who blocked me from the messages. I got people writing some nasty messages back, thinking I was a scammer and being like, leave me alone, how are you in my inbox? Like, so gosh, just don't take any of that personally and just you always be the one that's inviting and keep going. And, um, it'll grow. It will grow. It's pretty cool. There's a big I feel like ever since everything happened with Covid, the desire for community is huge. Like everybody's feeling it. I definitely feel it. As someone who works from home, I'm always just like, I want to get out and do things with people. But I think it's easy to just become a hermit when you're working at home, especially in the post-Covid area. Um, or uh Ara so it's awesome that you have been so persistent to, like, create that community. You know, if you if you aren't finding things on Facebook, like don't be afraid to put yourself out there to create it. I think that's such a great message. Yeah. Yep. So where can people connect with you and find you? Yeah. So speaking of social media, I am very active on social media, so I'm on Instagram. I have both my personal Instagram and Instagram from mountains, which is my backpacking business. Um, so I'm on Instagram. I'm on Facebook again, both as myself personally and more mountains. Um, and so I have a website as well if, if you're interested in looking at, you know, the different backpacking trips that we're taking this summer, um, we've got spots on two trips left. I think the rest are sold out. But, um, we still have two trips. It's mo mountains.com, and so you can see where we're going and how the trips work and and all of that. Perfect. We will link your website and socials in the show notes, so people can easily connect with you and learn a little bit more about the trips. Great. Well thank you, that'd be awesome. Thank you so much for coming on today. I love chatting about mountains, wellness, women, community. It's like all the things that I'm also so passionate about. So this was really fun. Yes, this is so fun. Thanks for having me Brady. Thank you. All right. We'll see you guys in the next episode. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the fit for hiking podcast. As always, I hope it leaves you feeling inspired and informed on how to take your health and adventure into your own hands. For more content like this, be sure to follow along with my daily posts at Ponytail Underscore. On a trail that's ponytail underscore on a trail. You can also stay up to date on my new episodes being released at Fit Underscore for hiking, and find more free resources at Pony Tail on a trail.com. Happy and healthy trails.