Hobbit Hikers

Join us on Wild Developments as we delve into the world of outdoor adventure and self-discovery with Chelsea McCurdy, founder of Hobbit Hikers. Chelsea shares her journey of embracing self-love and body positivity through hiking, offering insights into her unique hiking philosophy and the importance of savoring the journey. From quirky anecdotes about barefoot hiking to practical tips on essential gear, this episode is packed with inspiration for reconnecting with nature and finding joy in every step. Tune in to explore the wild and see what develops with Chelsea and our host, Lauren.

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Transcript

Nothing out there is going to judge you except yourself. 
So just be prepared that your own brain might be the one judging you while you're out there, 
but you're going to prove it wrong because you feel really strong when you're out there. 
Welcome to Wild Development Studio. 
Join us as we venture into the breathtaking realm of wildlife arts and untamed adventures. 
With captivating stories from the field and ideas to dive into the visual arts, 
we'll ignite your passion for conservation. 
Get ready to develop something wild. 
Welcome to Wild Developments. 
I'm your guide, Lauren. 
Right off the bat, I want to be clear that there are some technical difficulties with today's show. 
I did the best that I could to edit it, but I would be remiss if I didn't publish the episode anyways, 
and I would have completely missed the point of the entire episode. 
The theme of today's show is embracing oneself as who we are and use that energy to have fun and play when we're out in nature and it's such an important message to get out into the world so please help me in looking past the imperfections and embracing today's message our guest today is chelsea mccurdy she is a plus -size hiker who promotes self -love joyful body movement and healing through hiking she is the founder of hobbit hikers its mission is to foster a collaborative inclusive and empowering online environment and she also so does trips. 
On her travel page, Chelsea says that she wants to explore parts of the world she's never seen, 
and she wants to take you along with her. 
Our bodies are more capable than we realize, and we can go have adventures now, 
just as we are. 
There's an entire world out there just waiting for us to arrive. 
What are we waiting for? 
Let's go. Chelsea, thank you so much for being here here today. 
Thank you for having me. 
Hi. Hi. So before we start talking about Hobbit Hikers, what were you doing before Hobbit Hikers? 
Well, that's a very loaded question because Hobbit. 
Hikers started March of 2020.
So I still work where I worked before that. 
I worked for a a non -profit that helps families who are either just starting out with a baby or prenatal or low income or have food scarcity so we offer like free resources across the state to these families and I do their communications and their social media and graphic design and TikTok rolled out around the beginning of COVID and then we were sent home two weeks later and because we work with populations of babies who are in the NICU. 
They were like, if you don't have to be here, we don't want you here because we work with babies. 
And so fast forward a few months of being in the house forever and not going to work and staying home. 
And I called my best friend. 
Shelby and I said, I'm not trying to be dramatic, but my mental health is on the decline. 
And if we don't go outside soon, I'm worried I might have to go into a grippy sock vacation. 
And I was like. 
Like I grew up in the country, in the woods, little as a little girl. 
And I said, we have to at least go have a picnic outside or like a lunch by the lake, 
something. 
So we did, we went on a really short little hike. 
And then I was like, why haven't we been doing this every day? 
Why don't we do this every day? 
This is so much happier. 
It was really like, I felt like I was so sad and depressed. 
And then suddenly I was like, oh yeah, I love nature. 
Why am I not doing that? 
It's not with anybody. 
It's outside. 
It's one of the only things we're allowed to do. 
So um we started hiking and i have gone through quite a bit of body shame exercise shame uh i really used exercise as a punishment my entire life because i i was never even out of the not like the normal range for a child of weight or any of those things but my parents mostly my dad was worried that i would be made fun of because he was and he thought one day i might become like like that. 
So he gave me diet pills when I was 13.
And there was a lot of, uh, eating disorder things that happened in my entire life. 
And whenever Shelby and I started hiking, she started filming. 
And I was like, I don't want to see those videos. 
I hate looking at myself. 
Please don't show me that. 
And she was like, one day you'll wish you had them. 
And I was like, not today. 
And then suddenly one day she sent me one on, or we were watching one and it was me climbing up a rock and I was like for the first time in my whole life you know more than 35years I look really strong and happy and that's all I saw and that changed my life and I was like oh my god I don't hate myself and I don't hate my body right now I look awesome and so then I started posting it on TikTok and I thought because I saw other people in bigger bodies hiking and I was like well if they can do it I can do it I used to do it and then I started doing it and then I I started posting it because I was like well that's what helped me so why not also be that face and that body for someone else and then it exploded out of I guess because people were all stuck at home and people like to watch the adventure and then I realized that we're not typical hikers when it comes to hiking we're very chaotic feral beasts and so it became a fun thing to do and then so like I know this won't come out until July so I can say this but I just she's like just for an example yesterday I ordered two stick horses like for children and I haven't told Shelby because I'm gonna just show up to the trail with these stick horses they make sounds and they like gallop and I'm not gonna tell her I'm just gonna be like we're hiking with these the whole time so get on giddy up she's gonna die and I'm gonna laugh forever so now it's become a game now it's a game of like who can be the stupidest who can be the loudest who can be the silliest and then I just I never expected me being completely myself in every ridiculous stupid way possible would gather people up who were like hey me too I'm kind of dumb I like to be dumb and I like to go outside do you want to do that together and I was like yeah so and then it became like a whole journey of like healing inner trauma and body trauma and eating disorder trauma just became like even more and then it just kept going so that's where it is right now well i did i have a question prepared for you about your hiking vlog because every time it pops up into my feed i'm like yes i am in for a laugh because you guys look like you have the absolute best time playing in nature and i was gonna ask how how do you play in nature. 
But I guess it's fun things like pony sticks. 
So I love that you call it playing because that's literally what it is. 
Um, I had to reframe that. 
So I'm kind of the queen of reframing things. 
So, um, if you look at hiking from a normal standpoint, I guess, 
like the typical standpoint, it's hot and dirty and rugged and you're out of breath and you're carrying a bunch bunch of crap and you're trying to get to the top that is the worst idea I've ever heard and I don't want to do that my version of hiking is I want to take my fun things that I like a book food um I also carry a hairbrush I carry whatever makes me comfortable and then a hammock and so we go out and we we try to go somewhere new like once a month so that it's like a brain adventure so that you don't know what you're getting into and then if we have a bad day or a bad time or we need to to go back and reconnect with something. 
We go back to one of the old faithful trails that we know we love. 
But there's something very freeing about driving two hours, no service on your phone, 
no one around at all. 
And then suddenly you realize, what does any of this shit matter at all? 
Because now none of it's here. 
It's just me and sticks and dirt and bugs and Shelby and a lake or a river. 
And then the next thing I know like it started because one day I was like hey do you want to play tag and Shelby was like I guess I was like when's the last time you played tag like for real and we started running after each other and then I realized I was smiling so big that I now could have gotten bugs in my teeth and I was like I stopped and I was like Shelby look at my she was like what about it and I said do you see how happy I am to be running I have never smiled while running in my entire life ever and I was like because it feels like I'm playing not like I'm working out and then I realized that there was this thing called joyful movement and I had been punishing my body for decades in the gym sometimes two a days in the gym um sometimes times till I would get hurt in the gym for what. 
When I could just go outside and have a good time and it's still the same benefit. 
And I don't being punished. 
I feel like I'm having the time of my life. 
And so then it became a time to play and it got sillier and sillier. 
And we had a certain log we like to sit on and do weird gymnastics on. 
You don't realize how many things your body wants to do that it doesn't do anymore because you're not a kid. 
Like the last time you did a summer summer or I can't do a cartwheel. 
I think I might die, but Shelby can do a cartwheel, things like that. 
Um, climbing, rolling. 
Like I used to roll down a hill in kindergarten and I haven't done that until last year, 
Shelby and I rolled down a hill and filmed it. 
And it was great. 
It was one of the most fun things ever. 
And I was like, why don't we adults, this is a mobility at this point. 
Like we lose so much mobility. 
We lose so much joy and why? 
Because we don't want to look stupid. 
And then I was like, no one can see us anyway, except the entire internet. 
Now that I'm posting it, you know, but when you're out there, it feels like a secret club. 
It feels like no one can see you. 
And you're just like, we can do whatever we want. 
You want to stick your head in the lake. 
We could do it. 
And so like, sometimes we, we just do it. 
Like it's kind of like a, how free can you be? 
Oh, can you pee outside? 
I can. Do you want to take your top off and put our boobs out at the river? 
Kind of like, am I going to get arrested? 
Probably not. Let's do it so like just it just became more of like a I'm gonna be as feral and chaotic as possible because then you're almost just getting all of it out of your body like it's like kind of like stimming um just that stimulation that that you don't get anymore when you're an adult you're right like why as adults do we not do silly things like tag and rolling down a hill those things all all sound incredible. 
I need to go immediately to a hill and roll down it. 
Well, there are downsides as well. 
So my last hike, I went with my friend Terry and, um, very serious person. 
Um, and he said, I would like to go look at rocks. 
Do you have any good places with rocks? 
And I was like, they all have rocks. 
Sure. Let's go. 
So we'd never been hiking came together and we were out there for about five hours. 
And I said, I never fall down. 
Like it's just not something that happens to me. 
It only happens if there's like a, a thing that causes me to fall, 
like something knocks me over. 
And he was like, I don't know what we were talking about, why we're talking about it, 
but we were. 
And, um, all day we looked at rocks and we were like, Hey, 
look at this rock. 
You look at that one would split up. 
Well, as we're walking back to my car, we're almost, I can almost see my car when he stops. 
And he's like, look at this one one weird rock in the middle of the trail why is it the only rock here and I was like I don't know who cares he was like what looks wet like why is one rock wet and like it looks like someone poured water on one spot of the trail and I was like maybe they did so because I'm very well and free while I'm out there I don't say no to much so like you know you're like you want to take your shoes off sure you want to whatever sure so he's like look at that rock and I was like oh sure I'll pick it up it was poop it was poop and I didn't know that until I picked it up fully and then I screamed and just kept yelling oh my god it's yelling Terry ran down the trail away from me like he thought I might do something to him and I was like did you know he was like no I didn't know I didn't set you up but like the intrusive thought of just touch it it's it's strong when you're out out there and um Shelby's usually the person who pulls me back like we were in Yellowstone there was a really cool caterpillar and I was like wow and she was like no don't touch that look at it you don't need to touch that then I use my app turns out yeah it would have hurt really bad if I picked it up so like I don't think I should be trusted without her anymore because when she's not there I put my hand wrist in a big animal turd or something but like you know it happens it's like you never know and it's still funny so like it's just and then I fell in I fell in the lake that day too I fell directly in as I was trying to wash my hands and uh Terry was like I would high five you for not falling but you've got poop on your hand and then I fell and then he was like it's just you're two for two today and I was like yeah but now you have a great story that you can share yeah and they're all great like that they're all just silly and you're like. 
Like, you know, we drove three hours to watch an eclipse, and then the clouds covered up the sky. 
Or we drove out to do a five -mile hike, and I fell in the snow, 
and the temperature dropped 40degrees or 20degrees, and it started to snow, 
and I still had to hike three miles back in wet clothes. 
Just weirdest things, but they make for the best stories as long as you survive. 
Yes. 
So we've said the name Hobbit Hiker a few times. 
I have to know, where did the name come from? 
Okay well first of all i'm a big nerd and um like in in high school i loved i had one or two really good girlfriends and then um their boyfriends had we were all band band geeks so i was friends with a bunch of band geeks and um we would all go to the movies and watch like the matrix and lord of the rings and whatever came out we would all go at the midnight showing. 
And so I always liked over the rings quite a bit. 
I like anything that's set in a forest. 
So I, I liked it. 
And, um, as we started hiking, I got into, and I started posting it on. 
Tik TOK. I got into the world of toxic gym bros and like hiking outdoor toxicity of like, 
there are so many people out there who are like, it's not a real hike. 
If you didn't do this, it's not why do you carry such a big backpack for an hour long hike that's so ridiculous like just who it's not on your back why do you care I just realized it's not welcoming to new hikers it's I didn't feel very welcome until I found other people in bigger bodies that were hiking but then there's a stigma against those people too because they'll comment on the video of you hiking and be like go to the gym and you're like I'm literally in a gym outside so I realized that I'm not that kind of of hiker. 
I don't want to be part of that kind of hiker. 
And I would rather hike like a Hobbit and how Hobbits would hike. 
In my opinion, it takes them three, six hour long movies to get there. 
So we're going to go slow. 
We're going to take breaks. 
We are going to have snacks fully. 
We bring full meals. 
Shelby hiked with a whole birthday cake once for my birthday. 
Like we're going to bring a meal. 
Um, we're going to, we're going to be out of breath and that's fine and no one's going to care. 
We're going to be out of breath together. 
Um, and Hobbit's favorite things are things that grow. 
And so, um, I'm here to look at plants. 
I'm here to identify bugs and birds and little baby salamanders. 
Like I'm here to revel in everything that nature has to offer. 
There is no metal for getting to the end first. 
In fact, you're missing all the good stuff if you rush and try to get there first. 
And it also is healing that eating disorder voice in my body when I'm like I'm not in a hurry I'm not here to meet a cardio goal I'm not here to get somewhere before someone else I'm here and I didn't miss that butterfly I didn't miss that cicada shell because I wasn't hurrying and I was looking around so that's how Hobbit Hikers came to be and then I realized it made hiking more accessible for everybody and even going outside on your porch can be considered being outdoorsy as long as you are appreciating while you're out there and so then it became a small movement and now we travel the world together to go do those things and the most important part of that the number one question I get when people want to travel with me is well what if I can't do that hike that's on the itinerary what if I'm the last one there what if I'm out of breath the whole time and I'm like number one you won't be last because I will be because point to be at the back with the slowest person and I'm usually the slowest person anyway. 
And, um, number two, if you can't do it, I'm going to advocate for you and stay back with you because I can't tell you how many times I've been like, 
I'm not going up there. 
I don't want to, I'll stay back here and we'll go have a drink and y 'all can go to the top if you really want to. 
So like learning how to advocate for what you need to feel comfortable on a vacation, 
on a group trip, on a hike, whatever. 
Um, that's something that I'm really proud of is, um, if if somebody doesn't want to do something or someone has an issue or someone's scared, 
I'm going to be their voice for them. 
And so that's something that's important. 
I get people asking me all the time, you know, I'm just nervous. 
I can't hang with you. 
I can't do this. 
And I'm like, I am not in shape and I don't really care. 
I just want to have a good time outside. 
And that's what we're here for. 
And if that means sitting at the trailhead and sitting on the ground and that's what we're going to do. 
So, but I also know that you can do it it might just take us longer and that's the other thing people are embarrassed about for some reason that's going to take them double the time that's the itinerary says and I'm like look you don't understand I've already talked to our guide months in advance and been like we are going to take our time and if it's all day and we have to skip something else then who cares it's our money we're going to do what we want and so all of our guides are now like oh it's the hobbit hikers they're the ones who are slow I'm like yeah that's us we're the slow ones let us be slow so. 
So they, they let us take our time because we, we advocate for that. 
That's good. That that's like a Hobbit too. 
I mean, don't they like, they stick together and they have that camaraderie and, 
you know, if you're staying behind, I'm sitting with you. 
And I always think of that meme. 
I forget his name, but he's got his little backpack on. 
He's like, I'm going on an adventure. 
I mean, that's better. Yeah. 
That's better than running to the top of a mountain. 
Anyways, ways having the adventure you know that's what I want to do I don't want to yeah I don't want to go to the top of the mountain I want to have an adventure and every time once I want it to be more fun than the last time and I want people to meet people who have the same goals and the same mindset of like you know I just think that rushing to the top of something is just stupid you're missing everything like when my last hike we didn't go more than half a mile in and we sat on a rock for 45minutes inspecting nymphs mayfly nymphs in the water that's what we did for 45minutes had the best time ever and I've I'm still looking at pictures of them like look at that cool thing we saw that's more fun to me and I'd rather my brain exercise too not just my body so I mean I'm still exercising it's still hard but that's not why I'm there that's not the point when you have to start somewhere and getting out there is the best way to do it it's the best playground yes do you guys ever hike barefoot like a hobbit we've done it a couple times for videos but um not really no i i don't like it i have very uh uh. 
Very weak, crappy ankles. 
So I need shoes. 
We have skinny dipped a couple of times and Shelby had never done it before. 
And I was like, what? 
I didn't even have a bathing suit for like six years because we only skinny dipped. 
And she was like, I don't know how to feel about this. 
And I was like, it's really fun. 
It feels amazing. 
And then this is awesome. 
The only downside to those things of like, okay, pull your butt out. 
We're going to, we're going to pee right here. 
It's later on when you are not in the forest. 
Like we were at a Walmart and I was like, look at that cute shirt. 
And Shelby was like, we are not outside. 
You almost took your top off. 
And I was like, Oh my God. 
And like, you become this weird feral animal. 
She would, then she would text me and be like, I almost peed in my bathroom floor because I took my pants off before I got in the shower. 
And my body is now trained to be able to do it standing up. 
And I was like, yeah, yeah, you forget. 
And she was like, who are we? 
Are we wild people? 
And I was like, I hope so. 
That's the goal. 
I was going to ask if you guys have tried the shiwi or a kula cloth or anything like that. 
Um, we both love kula cloth. 
We both have multiple kula cloths. 
Um, I don't like a shiwi because I've used it twice. 
I know there's angles and things, but maybe my lady bits don't really love a shiwi because the two times I've tried it I have ended up just peeing everywhere it's not helpful um but I have been practicing my pea squat for years so I'm really good at the pea squat um Shelby likes we we named them all we made a video about it so Shelby likes the one that we call the gorilla grip where you're holding on to something and leaning back I like to just do do a normal squat or lean up against a tree. 
So, um, we're both, we're both now highly skilled in peeing outside. 
And I hate to say this, but I'm also highly skilled in, um, 
pooping outside because I have IBS and sometimes there's no getting around that. 
Well, it's a five, five mile hike back and it's not going to happen. 
And I'll be like, give me the shovel. 
Don't talk to me place something on your phone and leave me alone so yeah it is what it is I mean when you gotta go you gotta go the first time I ever did a number two out in the woods it was during COVID and there was a rainstorm and I it was the middle of the night and I didn't want to wake up my husband and my son and there was a bucket out there and I'm like all right this is gonna happen and I'm glad I didn't win I do remember the first time I ever did the first time I went number two outside was not as an adult it was as a child um my family had this old cabin out in the Ozark forest which is where I like to hike anyway because I grew up out there and there are there are little uh bears out there there's nothing that super the most dangerous thing we have here is probably a mountain lion and I've never seen one um but I have seen quite a few bears and. 
And growing up, the cabin had a bear problem. 
And so my dad would drive out there, I don't know, once or twice a month because Game and Fish helped him. 
They would put traps out, humane traps, just like barrels. 
But he would help them check the traps to make sure the bear wasn't in there for more than a day. 
Well, we went out there to check the traps. 
They were empty. 
And I was like, it was about a two -hour drive. 
And I was like, Dad, I have to go to the bathroom. 
He was like, well, the cabin isn't turned on right now. 
We don't have the water going. 
Going. We don't have electricity going. 
It's off season. 
I just came out here to check the bear trap. 
And I was like, I can't go to the bathroom in the woods out here when there's a bear problem. 
And he was like, well, you're going to have to, there's nowhere else to go. 
And my sister stood out there and kept watch, even though she was maybe six and I was 10.
And I was so scared the whole time that a bear was going to come and bite me on the butt. 
It was fine. Nothing. 
Um except my sister would never let me live it down that she saw me poop in the woods and I was scared but other than that it was fine hey I mean like I said when you gotta go you gotta go we're all human I did want to bring up that when I'm seeing you guys on TikTok and you're out in the woods you guys you look so beautiful and you're comfortable in your own skin but. 
But I mean, that hasn't always been the case, like you said before. 
And that just really goes to show like what social media can do, 
because you guys look like you're having fun and you're comfortable. 
And in the inside, before you saw that first video, you're like, no, 
I don't want anybody filming me or anything like that. 
And like you said, that's why you started Hobbit Hikers. 
But how how can we get over that and learn to be comfortable in our own skin? 
I know that's a long journey. 
It is a very long journey um so I'm trying to think I don't know the first step to tell you other than try it out with someone you feel safe with that's what we did and one of the things that has helped me the most and I think has helped Shelby the most exposure so when she started filming me I wouldn't look at it but I'm glad she did and now that I look at it all the the time it doesn't bother me one bit and so and I don't I don't realize how much that's changed in my brain until I go somewhere else like work I'm a photographer at work and these are all women in their 50s and 60s and I will set us up for a group photo and they'll all be like can you photoshop that can you fix my teeth can you make me not look can you make my belly go away and I'm just like what and then I remember back in my facetune era when I would photoshop everything I posted because I didn't like my teeth color I didn't like my belly I didn't like my thighs and now it's just getting posted no matter what and that's what my body looks like it's not your body you don't have to worry about it and you can always just block me or move along and so I think it's important to show those things on social media so that people feel normalized and there. 
Of course, there are days where I'm like, gross, I hate that girl, 
and it's me, but they're much more few and far between than they used to be. 
And so the more I do it, the more I realize that I'm capable, 
and that gives you a sense of confidence that you didn't know you had. 
And so a lot of people who might be coming on one of these Hobbit hiker trips for the first time, 
I know that they're nervous, but when they get there, it's like the energy changes within the first 24hours. 
People are nervous and timid. 
By the end of that trip, I know everything about these people that I didn't even want to know. 
And we have most likely seen each other naked because we've decided to go flash the moon or moon the moon. 
And then suddenly it's like when you see one person comfortable with their body then you're like well why am I not who cares and so it's kind of like being around someone who promotes that feeling and also exposing yourself literally and figuratively to the elements and being like well so like we were in Bali we were climbing all these stairs and there's a it's so hot and humid and there are millions of stairs in Bali and we were taking a break every 10steps at one point because we were so hot and tired but when we were done everybody was like we did it and then it was just like let's celebrate and nobody was like well I'm on a diet or I wonder how many steps we got and everybody was just happy and so that it has something to do with who you surround yourself with exposure exposure therapy and also I don't follow anybody on social media makes me feel bad um I follow dieticians who are body positive or body neutral I follow fat people who hike fat fat people who do Pilates. 
I stopped following people who made me not like myself and for any reason. 
And that has changed when I look at Instagram, it's just safe. 
There's nothing there to make me want to relapse or feel like I can eat lunch today. 
Um, in fact, it's the opposite. 
It's people being like, don't forget to eat. 
If you didn't work out, you still need to eat dinner. 
If you're, if you ate too much last night, you still have to eat breakfast today. 
Day. And it's just like all of these very positive affirming things. 
So do a social media clean out and get rid of people like that because it's not serving you. 
It's not helping. 
And I'm much happier now and I'm much more comfortable in my own skin. 
And hiking is one of the ways I get to feel strong and capable. 
And it makes me happy. 
What would you say is your other than like having a cell phone for safety? 
What is your number one go to item that you have to have when you're hiking for safety or just in general just in general mine is so boring it's chapstick I hike with like seven chapsticks because I can't stand to have trapped lips and it's like there I had to learn that every time Shelby got the camera out I had to not mess with my chapstick because this would be me in every picture I look I have no lips because I'm like let me make sure shirts everywhere and so i had to get a really thick one and now i use like carmex the stick it's my favorite but uh chapstick i was going to say my app on my phone which is seek which is how i identify plants and bugs because i like to know those things and um i don't think i have another one other than we bring snacks obvious like obviously snacks and water but chapstick thing i will not hike without i have to have it yeah and i love the seek app we use that all the time that it's incredible how it uses your cell phone and sometimes you don't even need cell service and it's telling you you know oh this is this particular flower you know whatever exactly it's perfect you guys have your first video that's pinned you're like we're hobbit hikers of course we're planning dinner while we're eating lunch what is your favorite okay other other than the birthday cake. 
Which sounded amazing, which I want to try now. 
What's your favorite hiking meal? 
Okay. So I am a huge fan. 
I am a gross snack person, I think. 
So on our last hike, I brought Vienna sausages in a little can because I love them and they really do. 
They have salt so they help me because i have i need i'm supposed to take like a daily salt pill because i don't have enough salt and so anything salty is great for me and i love those little fruit leathers from trader joe's they are like 25cents a pop and something about them makes me literally drool when i think about them on a hike because they're so they really do perk me up when i'm out there it's like if i feel good i call it concrete feet when you can tell that you need to stop for a snack because you're starting to drag your feet over rocks that means that your muscles are tired and you need to eat something with sugar in it or carbs and so those little fruit leathers and some vienna sausages are amazing shelby will straight up bring uh like she'll go to jimmy john's and get a full sandwich and she's brought chicken salad and a ziploc bag and made her own sandwiches she goes way above and beyond she brings things in little tupperwares and i'm was like. 
I got a Ziploc bag full of garbage that I have found in the pantry. 
And I hope and I hope it works because it's like, oh, there's three crackers in there from a package I opened six weeks ago. 
It's fine. I'll eat it. 
It's fine. 
My hiking meal is what I plan while we're hiking the whole time. 
I'm like, I can't wait to go to dinner. 
We always have to go to dinner. 
And I'm like, what do you want to eat? 
I want a beignet. 
I want a hamburger. 
So like my hiking meal is afterwards. 
It's at a restaurant always. 
And during the hike, some garbage raccoon food, like dumpster food. 
Perfect. So how can people find you? 
Um, I am on Tik TOK. 
My name is what would L Woods do? 
And I'm on Instagram and that's my name there as well. 
But there are two underscores, one at the beginning and one at the end, 
because some other girl has my name and that's okay. 
Cause she got it first. 
And before we go what is one tip that you have for someone that would like to reconnect with nature well um i would say go out there and play whatever you like to do as a little kid do that it mine started with swinging on the swings at the park that's how i started going outside because it's it's nature but like light nature light you're not you can still see your car you still have cell phone service but like start small if you want to go outside go to a playground swing on the swings go down a slide and then from there maybe you like to swim go swim go stick your feet in a lake something like that and then from there you might reignite that love because that's kind of what I did my love is bugs and my love is is plants and so I started going outside and identifying things and then it just started exploding in my brain of everything I like to do also it's great for healing any kind of trauma you might have so nothing out there is going to judge you except yourself so just be prepared that your own brain might be the one judging you while you're out there but you're going to prove it wrong because you feel really strong when you're out there that is perfect advice thank you so much for being on the show today thank you for having me and until next time get outside and see what develops thanks for joining wild development studio. 
We hope this exploration into the world of wildlife arts and adventure has sparked a desire to get outside and connect with something wild. 
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