Backpacking for Slowpokes

12/08/2022

Yikes, for anyone heading out on the trails, these are some great pictures of the current terrain. Spikes are essential!
Check out the GMC website for tons of info on trail conditions and hiking advice, and follow their insta or FB for up to date advice like this too. Lastly, some of my fave Facebook groups are GMC/Long Trail based groups and are jam packed with friendly people and great advice.
No shame here in gushing about how much the GMC do for the trails in the Green Mountains, I love these folks.

11/25/2022

Happy Native American Heritage Day (and Month).
Being a nature loving Vermonter, its really hard not to recognize the spirituality of the space around me and to imagine myself roaming these lands before roads and wheels and cell phones. Of all the lands I've travelled, this land is my happy space, the land that I know will provide me shelter, warmth, food and healing.
Taking time to learn how the lands were stewarded, and spending time learning about traditions and spirituality is important to me. There is power in nature and history and its downright stupid to ignore the methods of my ancestors.
This is a small example of one of the more spiritual symbols and traditions I have learned about, but there is so much more; surviving our landscape, community, the sacred feminine, respect of nature... so much more. I look forward to learning more, sharing more and absorbing more of this culture into my daily life.
I recreate on Nulhegan Abenaki territory and I am committed to learning and respecting their traditions.
http://www.nativepartnership.org/
https://indiancountrytoday.com/
https://abenakitribe.org/

10/28/2022

10/06/2022

Reminding all you woodland roamers to choose from this seasons brights before you hit the woods. Neon is the new taupe. With Zara Vincent

https://vtfishandwildlife.com/hunt/hunting-and-trapping-seasons

09/27/2022

Secret waterfalls and quiet trails, a slow pace for all abilities, fabulous photos, there are so many reasons to

09/10/2022

Willie and I volunteered to lead a group up to Taylor Lodge and the Clara Bow cave today for the Green Mountain Club Long Trail Day. He ran 4x what we walked, and we all had a blast. Hiking is such a leveller; so many types of people and walks of life enjoy this space and it's new stories every time I hit the trail.

08/06/2022

I dropped off the earth for a while and spent time making memories with family.
We spent the first half of July in the South of France visiting Mum. She's 91 and my two brothers and I haven't been in the same room with her for over 20 years. Unacceptable.
France was hot and yummy, Mum was happy, we ate well, wore suncream, everyone was beautiful and so were we.
After the flight home, we had a 2 day rest and then the UK fam arrived.
We toured Vermont, hiked, camped, bbq'd went from lake level to the top of Vermont and ate great food. Bustling kids and chaos.
Everyone left this morning, the house is big and deafeningly empty.
I spent today resting and reliving the good times.
Tomorrow I need to get busy again; turning over my AirBnB rooms and finding ways to let people know about what I do. I'm also running another event.
Good times and now back to good work.
I've got spaces left in my late summer and fall overnights!

07/02/2022

Some of my favorite reasons for being in Vermont (apart from its progressive social policies) are the women I get to work with and the places we get to do that work in.

06/02/2022

I took my first hikers of the summer up to Taylor Lodge. Two friends from Singapore wanting an outdoor adventure. They were super fun, we brought Willie and my first aid kit came in handy when the sole on Wens shoe came unstuck at the top. They were fast enough for us to get to the cave on the Clara Bow and were so in awe of our beautiful woodland and trails. I'm in love with my job.

TLDR: That's me, here to fix your sole.

05/27/2022

Willie and I completed our first hike of the year and both of us are broken lol. It was beautiful out there, I met a friendly couple up at the shelter. I'm super excited about backpacking season being upon us so I'm doing a little solo to get back into the swing before guiding. These woods are so much my happy place and I never take enough pics to capture it.

05/16/2022

looking for a really unique experience?
looking to find a way to shake up your comfort zones a bit?
need a chance to learn some backpack skills without judgement?
My website is live and classes are now open for booking. My first trip is in just a few weeks and I still have a few places.
Come, find your self and find your strength. Or simply wander along with us for a really immersive get-a-way.

05/13/2022

This is kinda sorta really super incredibly exciting for me...

https://trailsarecommonground.org/backpacking-for-slowpokes/

After learning how to backpack during the Covid pandemic, Maggie Twitchell transitioned from working in the solar industry to creating Backpacking for Slowpokes, a hiking and backpacking guiding service that caters to women and those marginalized by gender who are always at the back of the pack or w...

05/11/2022

04/19/2022

I heard this on this morning and it always makes me giggle, and think.

I've been doing a lot of learning and unlearning since this pandemic started. It's been hard and raw and I'm a long way from feeling I've accomplished enough. I also know the journey is never over and nor would I want it to be.
Needless to say, I'm proud of so much, but mostly of this little venture I've been slowly building. My dream of facilitating safe places for women to realize their strength and beauty and encouraging all bodies to take their space in the outdoors is entering its first full summer season!

Have you been itching to find out just how strong you are? Looking for a sign to shake off self beliefs and take some of the risks you've been contemplating?

Backpacking is liberating, it's self affirming, it's healthy. It allows us to wonder at our natural world and reconnect our senses to the rhythm of the lives around us at a speed our bodies can heal with. It calls us to be ambassadors of our environment and our health, both physical and mental.

All my treks are body positive and my June class is filling up. Come join me for 3 days on the trail and marvel over where your body can take you!

04/15/2022

This muddy mud season, as I wait to get back on the trails and start hosting trips again, I do other stuff to make ends meet and stay happy and connected. I share some of it, like the Waterbury Arts Fest.

Well the last few times Meghan, Mike and I hung out, we goofed about lots and wrote this little ditty:

🎤drop...

DC and the Disconnects

03/25/2022

This dormant season seems prolonged.

Maybe it's because the natural world around me is living in endless limbo, waiting to thaw in the sun and burst new life into the world.

The early mud season and the barren ground usually covered with pillows of snow leaves the landscape looking monochrome and sober.

I feel I'm on the cusp of something big and it's got me antsy, it's got tapping my foot and watching the weather and the calendar.

These last two years have been incredible growth, steady and organic. Intentional and karmic.

In these last weeks of dormancy, while we sew seeds and start to tidy the dust and winter debris, it's hard to hold back the surge of eagerness to get on with sunny early summer and all it's new adventures, for me anyway!

and have kept me moving and kept me snoozing at all the right times. It's easy to sleep hard when a Springer sleeps on top of you!

Soon the endless days will mean new energy and new stories and new friends.

As the new season approaches, whatbare you dreaming of?

03/17/2022

Mud season in Vermont has this funny long drawn out sense of waiting. There's snow, but not enough, the trails are kinda muddy at the head, kinda snowy at the top, kinda icy in the middle... It's a waiting game and while I love me some 4 seasons, I am looking forward to putting my backpack on and finding an easy sunrise. Where are you thinking of spending your first trail days?

03/15/2022

In the beginning, there were so many barriers I had created that stopped me from backpacking. I was too old, too fat, too inexperienced. I wanted so badly to stay overnight up there, but I hadn't even hiked alone yet.
The dialogue we have with ourselves can change. Ruminate on what's stopping you from reaching your goals and start to unravel them. Reach out to the communities around you and ask questions. Step outside your comfort zone just a tiny bit. Soon, when you look back, that starting point that seems so small right now could be 273 miles behind you.

03/13/2022

This little snow storm came just in time for what's probably my last snowshoe trek of the season. It's been beautiful today, and a great gig for me and Willie this winter, but I've been dreaming of seam sealing my tents and spending nights up on the ridge showing women how cool af they are. Follow me and be the first to see my excursion dates and my collaborators.

03/08/2022

Happy International Women's Day to all the phenomenal women in my life who have inspired me to make the changes and take the big risks.

02/13/2022

our little pup fell thru the ice today. He's doing just fine, but it got me thinking about safety on water. Liquid or frozen!

02/04/2022

Shovelling out my path for the next snowshoe guests, and Wi***es abundant joy is evident.

01/18/2022

The first few days of our season have been gloriously snowy. I've been out every day sharing Vermont with dogs and visitors!
Come and join in!

01/08/2022

What are we doing in the winter months? Building the summer calendar and playing with dogs! Bookings available from Jan 14 onwards, weather permitting 😬

10/23/2021

Yesterday, I took a guest up a new (for her) trail, we'd had fun hiking on the edge of her comfort zone before and she wanted some new thrills.
Looking to break down a few of your barriers? Come out with me!