Introducing the Winter Therm-a-Rest Dream Team
Zoe Huden
In the natural world, winter presents an annual challenge. Temperatures can become unforgivingly cold, resources run scarce, daylight hours are constricted and the living breathing world settles in to survive. Yet, for us humans—even with the challenge of COVID—life goes on and that means a new season’s worth of adventures. If your winter adventure is more or less hibernation, we have the sleeping pad for you! However, if winter means the onset of cabin fever and the nagging desire to get out there, you are not alone. When the temperature drops, their stoke rises…we are proud to introduce the 2020-2021 Winter Dream Team!
Cabin fever is just one part of their personalities that make them winter warriors. Get to know them below, give them a follow, and stick around to pick up tips, inspiration and see how they live their best lives this winter with the help of some quality Therm-a-Rest gear.
Jenny Schilling @ jenny_inthewild
Where is your favorite place to spend a day? There is a peninsula about 10 minute drive from my house that encompasses a lot of what I love about Western Australian landscapes. Rolling dunes piled in the center of the peninsula that level out to flat, shell covered beaches on the southern facing shore and clear shell-less beach on the north shore. Who inspires you, both personally and in the outdoor culture? I am endlessly inspired by my graduate school cohort. A solid group of 18 women studied together to earn our Masters of Science in Conservation Medicine, but our perspectives and goals of how to better the natural world all looked different.
Corey McMullen @coreyoutdoors
What is your most embarrassing backcountry moment? One of my most embarrassing backcountry moments has been, back when I lived in Massachusetts, forgetting my boots to go on a backpacking trip. I made the drive up north 3.5 hours and realized at the trailhead. Where do you really want to go and why? High on my list of places to go is to Washington State to visit Mount Rainier National Park. I want to go because I would ideally love to climb Mount Rainier as one of my first “bigger” mountains. But, also, because I feel like there is so much to see and explore in that area.
Domonique Carson @domcarson
Tell us about your first trip in the great outdoors? Did you have any mishaps, successes, a-ha moments? My love for the outdoors began as a baby when my family lived at a remote forestry camp in an off the grid log home. How did you find your passion? (thru-hiking, camping, skiing, photography, backpacking, etc.) As an adult, I really got into hiking and photography after I moved down to Calgary with my new puppy, Pippin, back in 2013. He was insanely high energy and we both needed an outlet, so we started hiking in the Rockies as much as we could
Lisell Pires @girlgoneoutdoors
Why is resting better outside important for you? Your body sleeps and wakes to nature's light and sound, which is peaceful and restorative in a way that a bedroom never can be. Sleeping in the outdoors quiets the mind and resets the body. What is your greatest triumph in the outdoors? Backpacking the Wonderland Trail around Mt Rainier this past summer, in 6 days. Planning the details all of my home cooked meals, timing, packing, and moving my body ups execution so comfortably was super rewarding. Or, running my first ultramarathon, a 50-mile race in Arizona, in 2017, proving to myself I can mentally and physically train my body to do anything I really want to.
Erika Moncada @erikalopolis
Who inspires you, both personally and in the outdoor culture? My hispanic culture as a whole inspires me. Seeing other latinx people, especially women, outside getting after it is inspiring as hell! What sport do you really want to learn more about and why? I really want to get into mountain biking. I have pretty bad knees, so hiking/running is hard on my body. I’m sure mountain biking comes with its own set of body beating things, but it just seems like another great way to get outside.
Madalynn Davis @madalynncarson
What is your greatest triumph in the outdoors? I was severely ill on a backpacking trip and almost needed a medevac! With the help of others and about 6 grueling hours later, I was able to make it back out to the trailhead. That, to me, is a success! What is your favorite Therm-a-Rest product and why? To be honest, I only own the Z-Seat. So, I would say that is my favorite!
Mary Hannah Hardcastle of Expedition Rove @expeditionrove
Tell us about your first trip in the great outdoors? Did you have any mishaps, successes, a-ha moments? Our first trip together—which doubled as our “first date”—was a road-trip up to the Smokey Mountains from Florida to North Carolina, in my packed-out Jeep Liberty. The trip went “off course” in nearly every single way. We camped in below freezing temperatures (woefully unprepared), got lost hiking on the Appalachian Trail, and walked out one day to a flat tire. But, despite all the circumstances and laughable situations we found ourselves in on that trip, we couldn’t deny that we were both stoked to be outdoors and “in-the-thick-of-it” together. Why is resting better outside important for you? When you’re on the road for weeks, or even months, at a time comfort is king. Having the right gear allows you to have the confidence that no matter what conditions you find yourself in you’ll be able to rest up, reset and wake up the next day ready for whatever the world throws at you.
