Women Who Travel Podcast: How to Get Out Into the Wilderness This Summer

25.07.2024 - 16:34 / cntraveler.com / Conde Nast

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Last time Lale chatted with outdoors expert and Condé Nast Traveler contributor Emily Pennington, she was fresh off her book tour for Feral, a memoir chronicling her mission to visit every national park in the United States. This week, Emily rejoins us in the studio to talk about what she’s been up to since then, including adventures in Patagonia, how she’s prioritizing her wellbeing while still exploring the outdoors, and her tips for getting out into the wilderness in exciting—and safe—ways.

Lale Arikoglu: Hi there, I'm Lale Arikoglu, and this is Women Who Travel. When I last caught up with Emily Pennington, she was promoting her book, Feral, all about her year-long journey to every national park in the US. It was a physically and at times emotionally intense experience, but in the years since we last spoke, Emily's made some small changes closer to home.

Emily Pennington: I think that going on a huge wild adventure that totally ruptures your sense of self and the core of who you are, puts your perspectives in place in a way that few other things will. But one thing that's been really cool is that I have since relocated from Los Angeles to Boulder, Colorado, which I think personally is quite a big self-care move. It's much smaller. There's no traffic. There's mountains literally outside my window right now. I think that learning how to be more of a weekend warrior and have non-adrenaline-fueled activities that I get into on a regular basis in addition to my love of the wilderness in national parks, has been a big part of the last 12 to 18 months. One of the things that I love so much about living much closer to a national park and closer to numerous wilderness areas is having the opportunity to do both depending on what my energy level dictates. And also I just turned 37 two months ago, and so I am keenly aware in a new way of having my energy level and desire to do certain activities change.

LA: Which is a liberating thing I think.

EP: I mean, my body is kind of like the period at the end of the sentence of what I'm going to do. If my legs are cramping and I can't go up a mountain, then I'm not going up a mountain and I don't need to scream and yell about it.

LA: Yeah, your body tells you when it's done.

EP: Yes, exactly.

LA: But of course, even as she's prioritizing her well-being, Emily is still finding ways to get out into the wilderness.

EP: I just recently went on a wildland trekking trip in this really remote, I think it's the least traveled section of Patagonia. It's Chile's Aysén region and it's home to Patagonia National Park. It's home to literal gauchos who run