S2: Ep 11: Meghan Stewart | LGBT+ Outdoors Ambassador Spotlight

Summary

LGBTQ Outdoors Podcast - Season 2, Episode 11: Meghan Stewart | LGBT+ Outdoors Ambassador Spotlight Release Date: December 2, 2024

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Introduction and Organizational Growth

The episode opens with hosts Justin Yoder and Patrick discussing exciting developments within the LGBTQ Outdoors organization. Justin highlights the significant growth of their events across the country, mentioning the impressive volunteer efforts and the introduction of automation to streamline processes.

Justin Yoder [01:04]: "We're not quite rolling with that yet, but did want to give a shout out to David Guthmueller. He has put in so much work, and he's a wizard at all things automation."

Patrick adds enthusiasm about having staff and launching the Trailblazer Society, a new program aimed at fostering diversity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. This initiative encourages members to contribute as little as $15 a month in exchange for perks like T-shirts and tree plantings.

Patrick [04:05]: "And, like, one of the things we get, the queer community outside, like, by and large, that's our prime purpose... if everybody kind of joins hands and throws a little bit into the pot, like, there's a lot that we can do."

Introducing Meghan Stewart

The hosts introduce Meghan Stewart, a relatively new ambassador from California. Meghan shares her journey into the outdoors, starting from her upbringing in Southern California’s high desert, her initial forays into nature through sports, and her transformative solo adventures in Utah.

Meghan Stewart [09:04]: "I moved out to Utah and worked at Snowbird Ski Resort for two years... that was kind of my first experience of doing solo hiking and solo adventures."

Role as an Ambassador

Meghan elaborates on her responsibilities as an ambassador, which include organizing hikes, outdoor activities, and events in her region—the North Bay area of California. She emphasizes creating inclusive and approachable events for all skill levels to encourage participation from those who might be hesitant about outdoor activities.

Meghan Stewart [44:05]: "As an ambassador, I am trying to organize hikes, outdoor activities, events that are within my region. I just come up with creative, fun things that I think can kind of match all skill levels."

Environmental Engineering in the Wine Industry

Meghan discusses her role as an environmental engineer at a winery, focusing on minimizing the environmental impact through initiatives like stormwater management, emission controls, and sustainable vineyard practices. She highlights her passion for ecological restoration and community engagement through events like Earth Day fairs and trash cleanups.

Meghan Stewart [18:26]: "My job is to make sure our stormwater... we're making sure our parking lots are full of oil and grease build up... another fun aspect is hosting events to educate and engage our team and community."

Adventures and Fly Fishing Tips

Meghan shares her memorable outdoor adventures, including trips to iconic locations like Havasu Falls in Arizona and an extensive solo road trip through the Pacific Northwest and Utah. She offers practical fly fishing tips, recommending simple approaches for beginners and emphasizing the accessibility of the sport.

Meghan Stewart [37:36]: "I like tent for the privacy. That's the only reason. If hammocks had a little more privacy, I'd be all about it."

Challenges and Representation

When asked about challenges as a queer individual in the outdoors, Meghan expresses a positive experience, noting the welcoming nature of outdoor communities, especially in California. She underscores the importance of representation in normalizing LGBTQ individuals in nature, fostering an inclusive environment for all.

Meghan Stewart [52:24]: "I think it is important... just being comfortable in who you are and letting people know that we're not scary, we're not spooky, we're not weird."

Rapid-Fire Round

In a light-hearted rapid-fire segment, Meghan shares her favorite trail snacks (cashews), prefers sunrise hikes over sunsets, and chooses mountains over forests or beaches. She also expresses her admiration for mountain lions, emphasizing coexistence with wildlife.

Meghan Stewart [63:36]: "I like cashews. I like that salty, but they're also soft."

Advice for Newcomers and Fostering Inclusivity

Meghan offers heartfelt advice to queer individuals hesitant about engaging in outdoor activities. She encourages them to take small steps, utilize local resources, and embrace the supportive community within LGBTQ Outdoors. Additionally, she advocates for fostering inclusivity by being friendly and approachable on trails, making everyone feel welcome.

Meghan Stewart [66:30]: "Honestly, I just do it. Just do it... don't let that hold you back if you're worried about your stuff."

Closing and Teasers for Future Events

The episode concludes with Meghan promoting upcoming events, including hikes in Muir Woods and potential winery bike tours in Napa Valley. The hosts tease the next OutdoorFest scheduled for September 11-14, 2025, in New York, encouraging listeners to save the dates.

Patrick [74:33]: "LGBT Outdoor Fest 2025 will be in the state of New York, going up to the northeast. It will be September 11th through the 14th, 2025... save those dates."

Notable Quotes

• Meghan Stewart [00:00]: "Because I feel like in nature there's no judgment on anything."
• Justin Yoder [14:19]: "Let's normalize this stuff."
• Patrick [72:31]: "We don't wear a boombox here."

Conclusion

This episode of the LGBTQ Outdoors Podcast offers an inspiring look into Meghan Stewart’s role as an ambassador, her passion for environmental stewardship, and her efforts to create a more inclusive outdoor community. Listeners gain valuable insights into balancing professional responsibilities with personal adventures and learn practical tips for engaging in outdoor activities as part of the LGBTQ community.

For more information and to connect with Meghan Stewart, visit the California chapter on Facebook or follow her Instagram @Schmeegans_Adventures.

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Join the Trailblazer Society to support LGBTQ Outdoors' mission of fostering diversity and inclusion in outdoor spaces. Visit LGBTQOutdoors.com for more details.

Transcript

[Megan Stewart]

Because I feel like in nature there's no judgment on anything. It doesn't matter who you are, what color your skin is, how old you are, where you grew up, what kind of economic status you hold. Anybody can go into nature and feel the love from what's around you.

[Justin Yoder]

What do you do when you come out as LGBTQ and love the outdoors? What do you do when you see the outdoor space ruled by older white CIS men and desire a diverse community of outdoor lovers? Accept it, change it, create it. I am Justin Yoder and this is LGBT Outdoors. Hello everyone, it is Justin Yoder, your host for the LGBT Outdoors podcast again. And we if you are listening, watching on YouTube by chance, you're going to notice a big change because we now have video and I'm here with Patrick, my husband.

[Patrick]

Hey everybody.

[Justin Yoder]

He is going to be co hosting with me today and we're super excited for these new changes. So if you've listened to us and have no idea what we look like and want to know, go over to YouTube and while you're there, be sure to subscribe as well.

[Patrick]

Nice.

[Justin Yoder]

Got to plug that in there. So how's things going? We normally record these in different rooms.

[Patrick]

Yeah, it's kind of weird, but also cool to be able to talk directly to someone in the same space. So, yeah, pretty cool. Exciting. Speaking of exciting, I'm going to kind of nerd out like tech wise for a little bit. We have many events happening across the country led by our awesome LGBT outdoors ambassadors and they happen basically week after week. And there's anywhere I'm making these numbers up, probably like 50 to 200 people signing up for all these events and release forms and all this stuff. That's a lot to handle for our volunteers who have been killing it by the way, and we're super grateful for them. But we're doing something super cool. One of our LGBT outdoors ambassadors, David in Texas, awesome. By the way, he's helping us out with some behind the scenes, under the hood automation to make all of that easier so that our volunteers don't have to like sort through zillions of emails. Like so much of this is going to be done automatically and that's awesome because it's going to keep things more efficient. It's going to take some stuff off of our volunteers plates because we already asked so much of them and we love them and we are coming into the means to make that happen and it's going to make things smoother, it's going to make things faster and definitely more accurate because we can count people, we can know how many events we've done, and then we can take that report and talk to any potential sponsors, throw these numbers out at potential grants to continue that circle of building LGBT outdoors as a nationwide organization. So, super cool. We're not quite rolling with that yet, but did want to give shout out to David Guthmueller. He has put in so much work, and he's a wizard at all things automation. Salesforce, I loving it. So, David, thank you so much.

[Justin Yoder]

Absolutely. He's a lifesaver when it comes to that, because we've been using a software that just hasn't been cutting it for us, and so he's been stepping it up huge there. And we're kind of in this weird stage with LGBT outdoors where we're no longer just this little, like, fun idea with some couple volunteers doing some fun events here and there. We're like, we're getting known and we're getting bigger, and it's requiring staff. We actually have paid staff now. We're growing up. Don't worry. We're keeping our sense of play, but we're growing up as an organization, and part of that is is also needing funding, which isn't always the funnest thing to talk about. But we have this amazing new program that we've started, too, called the Trailblazer Society. This is an opportunity for anybody to jump in and be a part of making a real difference with LGBT outdoors and the outdoors, creating diversity and inclusion in the outdoor spaces, whether that's right out on trails or in the outdoor industry itself. And so, for as little as 15 bucks a month, people can join in, become a part, and become a member of the trailblazer Society and start making a real change. So check that out. If you go to our website, LGBToutdoors.com, click on Trailblazers. There's some really fun perks in there, too. T shirts you can get, having a tree planted in a national forest in your honor, different things like that that are fun kickbacks. So check that out and know that you're making a real difference in adding diversity to the outdoor spaces.

[Patrick]

Absolutely. And, like, one of the things we get, the queer community outside, like, by and large, that's our prime purpose. But we also do some advocacy stuff and some education stuff. Like, Justin's out there, especially during Pride Month, talking to all sorts of companies, people within the federal government, the Houston Astros he talked to last year. Like, we're trying to get some education and, you know, get a seat at the Table. And again, all of that stuff costs money, Michael. We don't like it, but there it is. And, you know, if everybody kind of joins hands and throws a little bit into the pot, like, there's a lot that we can do. So thanks for thinking about that. Appreciate it.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah, absolutely. So I think we should just go ahead and jump in with our guests. Yes. That's what everybody really wants to hear anyways, Right? I'm excited for our guest today, as I always am, obviously. But we have one of our ambassadors that are joining us today, so you're going to get to hear some of what an ambassador does and what. What that role is. Kind of like, she is from California. She's also an environmentalist engineer, which I.

[Patrick]

Have so many questions. And.

[Justin Yoder]

But for winery at that. Okay. Like, so that's going to be interesting. So I want to welcome Megan Stewart. Welcome to the podcast.

[Megan Stewart]

Hey, guys. Thanks for having me. I'm super stoked to be here.

[Patrick]

Hey, Megan, glad you're here.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah, we're so glad that you're here. You're a little bit newer to LGBT outdoors. As far as an ambassador, I think you've been following us for quite a while, though, right?

[Megan Stewart]

I have, I have. I was following you guys and following a couple of your ambassadors and people who were involved, and Josh McNabb hooked me and asked me to apply. You guys were looking for a California chapter, and here I am. So thanks to Josh. This is where we're at now.

[Patrick]

Yeah, we love Josh.

[Justin Yoder]

Was that around pride of this year, around June?

[Megan Stewart]

It might maybe a little later, but I think you're right, actually. It was definitely the summer. He just kind of poked me and.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah, yeah, because I feel like we were. I was out there. When I say out there, Denver for Denver Pride. And we were talking about it, and a guy that can multitask and run a booth and be recruiting ambassadors in other states at the same time. I was just like, all right, so, yeah, that's very cool. Well, I'd love for you to jump in and share a little bit about your background. Like, who is Megan? Let our. Let our listeners know, like, as deep as you want to go with it. Like, you know, I was born on.

[Megan Stewart]

A cold winter day in January.

[Justin Yoder]

There we go. There we go. Okay.

[Patrick]

Go on.

[Justin Yoder]

No, but I know there's a lot of fascinating things about you, and we're going to dive into it, but, like, just lay the foundation of who you are.

[Megan Stewart]

Cool. Yeah. So let's see. I am born and raised in Southern California, Palmdale, to Be specific. It's in the high desert just north of Los Angeles. And I mostly played sports out there. I didn't really have time to do actual outdoor stuff. But the beauty of growing up in the desert is it was, you know, a small enough town where the parents could cut you loose and you could just go exploring and make forts under the juniper trees. So in a roundabout way, I. I spent a lot of time in nature, but I wasn't, you know, like, finding out hikes to do and fishing or anything like that. It was just kind of more being a kid and having fun in the desert due to me playing lots of sports. You know, I didn't have time for hiking and all that fun stuff. But after I got through college, it was kind of like that. Now what moment? What do I do with my life? I don't have sports. I need to find something that still engages me and challenges me. And I like that aspect of training and setting goals for myself. So I just started exploring up in Humboldt county, which a lot of people, I'm sure, are familiar with, where the redwoods kind of meet the black sand beaches. And the Lost Coast Trail is up in Humboldt County. So no shortage of beautiful hikes I can kind of do out there. And I could do small hikes and just kind of, you know, get the taste for nature. But I would say it wasn't till I moved out to Utah. I worked at Snowbird Ski Resort for two years. Just kind of packed up my car and headed out there. Never even stepped foot in Utah before. I just wanted a life change. And, you know, it's hard to not want to explore the Wasatch Mountains. They're just, like, calling you to enjoy them and explore them. So that was kind of my first experience of doing solo hiking and solo adventures. And I think that just kind of kicked the door open for me to, you know, build that confidence. And researching is really fun. I nerd out on that. So. Gotta love that. So, yeah, I, you know, I just. That was kind of. I think my actual launching board for actually doing outdoor activities was Utah and the Wasatch front. I did so many different hikes, I don't even think I repeated a hike. I was only there for two years, and I know I barely scraped the surface on what I could have done out there. So. So, yeah. So anyways, after that, I moved back to California, and I've lived in Mendocino. I just recently moved two weeks ago down to Sonoma county, kind of same region. And I work in the wine industry. And yeah, life's good. I got the sierras that are four hours away from me. The beach is only about 35 minutes from me. I got redwoods, I got oaks. I kind of got it all. And San Francisco is a quick drive, maybe half an hour, 45 minutes from here. So. Got the city life down there as well. Yeah, that's kind of just my high level, quick 42 year history.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah, it sounds like a great place to be.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah.

[Patrick]

So what part of California you in?

[Megan Stewart]

So we're, I'm just north of San Francisco. So you kind of have Marin county, which is where Muir woods is. You know, the Golden Gate Bridge kind of touches into Marin County. And then you go one more county north and that's Sonoma County. Well known for wine region. Everyone thinks Napa is, you know, the wine industry, but Sonoma's heavily involved with the wine industry as well.

[Patrick]

Screw Napa. No.

[Justin Yoder]

Sorry, he did not just say that.

[Patrick]

Sonoma's where it's at.

[Megan Stewart]

It is, It's. It's beautiful. Sonoma county is a beautiful place. The, the ocean, you know, you got the coast, Bodega Bay and you got Jenner out there. And it's stunning. There's. Yeah, I love it here. I live in a small town. Not really small anymore, but Petaluma. Cute little old town vibes and, you know. Yeah. So. And then you go a little bit further. You know, Humboldt county now at this point is about four hours from me. So even just Northern California is a stretch from, you know, San Francisco up to the Oregon border. That's like a six hour drive. Um, so I'm kind of, you know, the bottom third of that north coast region that you hear about.

[Patrick]

Okay. Like, it dawned on me that I have absolutely no knowledge of California.

[Justin Yoder]

Geography.

[Patrick]

Geography.

[Justin Yoder]

Thank you.

[Patrick]

So I was like, is this north? The only thing I really know is like anaheim is about 45 minutes south of lake.

[Megan Stewart]

Do you go to Disneyland?

[Patrick]

Yes, I'm at Disney World.

[Megan Stewart]

There you go.

[Justin Yoder]

Does he go to Disneyland? Oh, my gosh. Disney World is more his thing, but if he's in California.

[Megan Stewart]

Okay. Doesn't pass up a chance. Awesome.

[Justin Yoder]

I would love to dive into a little bit about how you identify coming out story a little bit if you're comfortable with it and maybe even if nature had anything to do with that.

[Megan Stewart]

Sure. Let's see. I am gay. I have a girlfriend and she's wonderful. Yeah, she's super cool. We've been together three years and we just moved in together, so hooray. It took us three Years. That might be a record for lesbians.

[Justin Yoder]

I'm not sure.

[Patrick]

I wasn't gonna say anything.

[Justin Yoder]

I'll say it.

[Megan Stewart]

It's okay. So, yeah, my coming out story is not that exciting, to be honest. But I will say that my family, friends are all very supportive. I think I was always like that tomboy growing up. You know, I hated dresses and. Oh, gosh, I still hate dresses, but it just, you know, I always felt uncomfortable wearing my hair down. Like, this is the extent of my hair being down as a side braid and. Yeah, I just, you know, I don't think anyone was really surprised when I, you know, I just kind of always was rolling around with the boys and kind of tough and getting muddy and. Yeah, just, you know, kind of the path just happened the way it did. And like I said, I'm just super grateful. I've. I've got support around me because that, that can make all the difference, especially when you're coming out. It's.

[Justin Yoder]

It's.

[Megan Stewart]

It's scary.

[Justin Yoder]

But.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah, I, you know. Yeah, sorry, go ahead.

[Justin Yoder]

I hope for the day when, when like, everybody's coming out story is boring.

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Justin Yoder]

And like, that's why we love hearing them because there's so. Such a wide variety and we have so many different listeners too, that are. Some are allies, some are part. Part of the community as well. But everybody has a different story and everybody loves hearing people's stories. So, like, definitely don't belittle your story. I think that that's incredible.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah. Awesome.

[Justin Yoder]

So that's great.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah. Thank you. And, you know, thanks to my family and friends who stood by me through it all, that's. That's. That means a lot to me. Yeah.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah.

[Megan Stewart]

In terms of nature playing a part, you know, that I've never thought of that question before. I could honestly say it probably does because I feel like in nature there's no judgment on anything. It doesn't matter who you are, what color your skin is, how old you are, where you grew up, what kind of economic status you hold. Anybody can go into nature and feel the love from what's around you, be it redwood trees or even an urban, you know, park. I think you just always feel connected and you always feel welcomed. And I think, yeah, I think that's somewhere where maybe I was struggling with things in life. That's where I went was in the nature. That is where I went to check away and calm myself and recenter myself in. Nature is always there for you. Nature's always there with open arms. And I think it's a great place to just kind of go and do some reflecting and kind of recharge your soul a little bit and feel, you know, literally Mother Nature putting her arms around you, you know, her warm sunbeams coming through the trees or whatever. So I like that question. I've never thought of that before. I don't think it necessarily impacted my coming out story, but I think just as a person in general, I always feel welcomed out there. And it doesn't matter who I am or what my background is. It's nature's there to love me.

[Justin Yoder]

Oh, love that.

[Patrick]

We need to get that on the T shirt.

[Justin Yoder]

We had a guest one time. What was it? How did she word that? That Mother Nature doesn't care.

[Patrick]

Yep.

[Megan Stewart]

I dig it.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah. And so currently you are an environmental engineer, correct. For a winery?

[Megan Stewart]

Correct.

[Justin Yoder]

Let's unpack that. Yes.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah.

[Justin Yoder]

First of all, tell us what a environmental engineer does and is for anybody that's listening that might not know. And then let's dive into it, into a winery aspect.

[Megan Stewart]

Perfect. Yeah. So full disclosure, I didn't know what environmental engineer was either until about two years ago. Yeah. So the environmental engineer role within the wine industry, especially in California, we have lots of regulatory things going on to, you know, make sure the impacts of any type of industry is minimized to the Earth. We've done a lot of damage to this world already. So California, I'm sure a lot of people know, is kind of ahead of the game trying to put all these regulatory things in place. So my job is to kind of make sure our stormwater that sheets off our parking lots into the storm drains, which eventually flows out to the Russian river watershed. We're making sure our parking lots are full of oil and grease build up or we don't have a major chemical leak or wine going down the drain, which goes to the river and impacts so many different species from fish to birds to amphibians. So that's one thing we do. We sample the water, we test it, make sure it's within the range that California has set, and get the thumbs up that we're doing our part to minimize our impact on our watershed. Another thing we do is airborne is really big in California. So we're making sure our emissions are low through checking our refrigerant and all that fun stuff. But for me, the fun stuff I really like to do is kind of more the earthy things. This last April, I hosted an Earth Day fair and I pulled some of my employees who are doing impactful things. My wastewater guy One of my co workers who has a beehive near our winery. It's not on it, but it's near it. And let's see, our organic wine program. I had our assistant winemaker come and talk about that. And then all the employees from the winery could come and check in with each booth and kind of see how we're making an impact on the earth in a positive way in different departments.

[Patrick]

Awesome.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah, it was really cool. It was a cool turnout. I had my vineyard manager there. He's awesome. He's doing all sorts of wonderful things out in the vineyard to help get us, you know, fish friendly, certified, bee friendly, certified, which, again, is just showing that we're being mindful about how we are managing our vineyards. We're not just dumping a bunch of pesticides and herbicides into the ground. We're trying to find more sustainable ways, healthier ways, so we're not impacting the surrounding habitat with our vineyards and the oak groves and whatnot around us. And then just a couple weeks ago, right before this big atmospheric river came in, I did a trash cleanup day, asked for volunteers to come out, and let's just pick up trash around the site and in the creek before a big storm comes in and flushes the creek out. And, you know, I had about 20 people come out. We picked up, you know, just little things that accumulate over the year from guest visiting and, you know, just dumpster stuff blowing out of dumpsters. And we came away with quite a few bags of trash. And, you know, after the storm just came through, I'm feeling happy that we did not flush a bunch of trash down the drain or into the creek. So we made a huge impact. And that's the kind of stuff I like to do, is gathering the whole facility together as a family and trying to make an impact and bring awareness on how we can do better things with our job and the Earth.

[Patrick]

Yeah, that is so cool. And I mean, aside from taking care of planet Earth, which is super cool, there are now careers where, like, you get paid to do that, which I think is amazing. And I'm also grateful that there's people who are willing to, you know, put their money where their mouth is in order to make that happen. So your. Your explanation of being an environmental engineer is so much cooler than what I had pictured, because I'm thinking you're in, like, a lab creating, like, dolphin monkey hybrids or something, you know, like mad scientists kind of stuff. Maybe.

[Justin Yoder]

But I'm glad you're. I'm glad she's not doing that.

[Patrick]

Yeah, like I said, you know, you're. Your version is significantly cooler and much more impactful as well.

[Megan Stewart]

Thank you. I know I sound really smart. You get that engineer title. So I make my girlfriend roll her eyes quite often when someone is actual an engineer, and I'm like, hey, I'm an engineer, too. And she just rolls her eyes and. Yeah. So I like to throw that engineer title around a lot, even though I'm not. I'm not sure I want to. I didn't go to school for it, but I like the title. But I did get my master's in natural resources with my focus in ecological restoration. So it's kind of combining my wine industry history with my master's degree. And I think that's probably the coolest thing of all of this, is I'm just kind of blending my career and my, you know, my passion for the Earth. It's great. I'm pretty excited about it. So you guys are going have to come out and do some wine tasting.

[Patrick]

Out here that would be love to visit.

[Justin Yoder]

I'd love that.

[Patrick]

And so you've got this career, you know, protecting the environment. Like, at what point in your formative years did nature really jump out to you as being important? Like, was there some sort of memorable kind of highlight where you're like, oh, yeah, like this. This is definitely where I want to be 100%.

[Megan Stewart]

There was a moment here in California. We have a program called the California Naturalist Program, and there's little satellite campuses all over California that people can sign up and take this little course through. I think it's the ucanr, which I think is University California Agricultural Natural Resources. And they kind of get just common folks in the community to sign up and take this, and they teach you about your local region, from the watershed you live in to the trees that are growing around you. Geez, what else did we do? It was such a wonderful class. I took it with most retired people. I think I was one of the youngest people in there, but the speakers who came in, one of them actually founded the program, and she's a researcher out of UC Berkeley. And the way she was talking about the watershed that day, I was just like, wow, what a cool job. Like, to be able to, like, be immersed and study nature is the coolest thing. And after I took. I finished this UC Naturalist course, California Naturalist Course. Sorry. I wanted to dig in further, and so I started researching programs out there that I could get my master's in. And I found Colorado State University actually does a really incredible Online Masters in Natural Resource Stewardship Program. And it was incredible. I was very hesitant about online learning, just, you know, being that millennial, you know, we did everything in. In class. I'm like, oh, my gosh, what's this tech stuff? But it was really great. I. I felt like I caught a lot out of it. The thing you're missing is that hands on experience, which I think you would probably get if you were doing it in, you know, on campus learning. So I just started interning with a local nonprofit here in Sonoma County. They own a number of properties that they steward and maintain. So that was kind of how I got my hands on experience. And I've just kind of been hooked ever since then, trying, you know, to do fuel reduction where I can and just. Even just learn about the birds that are around me and the trees. And it really connects you to where you're living more. And then you. The more you care about it, the more you want to protect it, preserve it, you know, and so, yeah, that. That was the moment I took that California Naturalist class and just, I was like, wow, you can do this for a living. I didn't think about that.

[Patrick]

Nice. I. I might be uneducated on the topic. One of our local LGBT outdoors ambassadors named Kenneth is a master naturalist. I don't know if. If that's. I'm guessing it's kind of like a similar kind of program. I might be completely wrong, and I might get hate mail for this, but it's all like, you know, learning and growing and protecting the environment. But I wonder if it's something akin to that. I don't know.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah, it very well could be. And I do recommend that for any listeners or watchers out there. If you are feeling this need to want to learn about your region more or just be around common people who also have a passion for nature, look up and see if you do have a program in your area. For sure, all the Californians out there just look up California Naturalist program and see where your nearest chapter is. And, you know, it does cost some money, but I do think they also offer scholarships for those who need financial assistance. But I highly recommend it. It's a wonderful course and you get a cool little pin when you're done too, which is always fun.

[Patrick]

Nice. And you also mentioned Colorado State University. We had our LGBT Outdoor fest at Colorado State University Mountain Campus like a month or two ago. It was amazing. Gorgeous property, incredible people and staff. And speaking of Outdoor Fest, we might have a teaser at the end of this episode if you're listening. Hint, hint. Maybe.

[Justin Yoder]

Sorry.

[Patrick]

Perfect little segue.

[Justin Yoder]

Well, not a segue because you gotta wait till the end.

[Patrick]

It's a teaser.

[Justin Yoder]

Megan, let's. Yeah, a little bit of a teaser. Megan, tell us about maybe some of your adventures. If, if there's one that really stands out to you that was like this cool life changing moment or this destination that you went to. That was just amazing.

[Megan Stewart]

Man. That's like asking me to choose my favorite child. I mean I don't have any, but if I were to have children, but.

[Justin Yoder]

You know, that's rough stuff.

[Megan Stewart]

I'm gonna tell you. Don't tell them.

[Justin Yoder]

Okay. We won't share with them.

[Megan Stewart]

Geez. Yeah, that's. That's hard. I, I have been lucky to do some pretty cool trips. I. Wow, put me on the spot here. I did finally get to go to Havasu Bite in Arizona where those stunning teal aquamarine waterfalls flow through the red canyons. That was always a bucket list adventure. I did get to go do that in March before those awful floods went through there. But for anyone who is contemplating going, just, just go. It's worth it. It's a bucket list location. And it, geez, it, it's really how the pictures look. Just take that and times it by like 100. Because being there in real life is absolutely incredible. But I would probably revert to my favorite being an 18 day solo road trip that I did back in 2021. That kind of. I did a little loop through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nevada and just popped right back over to California. Let's see, I started with swimming in Crater Lake. I hiked down Cleatwood Cove and jumped in the plunging or the. Sorry. I plunged into the freezing Crater Lake. Really cool experience, but very cold. But recommend that, that's a good bucket list item. Let's see. I. From Crater Lake, I went to this place called East Lake, which is like a mini crater lake. It was formed also through volcanic, you know, activity and is also just kind of like this pit that is filled up with rainwater over the years. It's got great fishing. So I did a little fishing there and camped there for two nights. From there I went up and I went to the last blockbuster on earth in Bend, Oregon because you gotta go there as you're driving through Oregon.

[Patrick]

Interesting.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah. And it smells just like Blockbuster. So it just all comes flooding back when you walk in there.

[Patrick]

Like old carpet and popcorn rubbed into the carpet.

[Justin Yoder]

Right. Do we have generations now that are.

[Patrick]

Like what's a video rental?

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah, seriously what is this?

[Patrick]

Cassette tape or VHS rather. What was this?

[Justin Yoder]

What was this?

[Patrick]

Motive. Be kind rewind. As someone who worked at a video rental place, most people did not. Well, it's probably like 50. 50.

[Megan Stewart]

That's so cool. Oh goodness.

[Justin Yoder]

Are there any big trips or bucket lists of items that you haven't done yet that you want to. It could be anywhere in the world. Doesn't have to be in the States. But I'm just curious, like right now.

[Megan Stewart]

On my radar, I would like to go back to the Grand Canyon, the rim to rim and then tack on back to the rim. So the rim to rim to rim looks like a pretty incredible challenge. That kind of, you know, I did Mount Whitney a couple years ago. I think this would be another, you know, train your butt off to be able to go do it kind of hike. And I really want to spend more time in the Grand Canyon. Havasupai was just a little teaser. So that one's something that's on my radar for maybe next year. And then we tried to do Half Dome this last year. We finally got permits, but we had an early season snowstorm come in and it's just not safe to do Half Dome, so had to kick that one down the road. And hopefully we will apply for permits again this year and hopefully we'll get them. So we'll see. But Cap Dome and then Grand Canyon. Yeah. Thank you. Those are my two kind of foreseeable challenges coming up.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah, no, that's awesome.

[Patrick]

Big challenges for sure, which I hope you get to meet them. Speaking of challenges, if you haven't run into any challenges in like the outdoor spaces, as a queer person again, I'll be super grateful.

[Megan Stewart]

I have not. It's been very welcoming. I'm not shy about, you know, who I am and what I stand for and who my partner is. And I have, you know, people don't even bat an eye at it. From what I notice. They're very open. Even invite my partner to come out with us in future, you know, events. You know, especially the fly fishing community. It's pretty crazy. My Instagram is full of know other gay women who fly fish and it's, it's so cool to see, you know, I, it's just I've had no problems. I feel like the outdoor world is just kind of, you know, it's, I would hope it's full of really amazing, open minded people who are just out there for the same reason you are. And it would be a shame if somebody didn't wasn't kind to Somebody because of who they are. But I've again, been very fortunate and I've had people reach out to me who give me fly fishing tips or cool hiking tips, you know, through Instagram, who have never met me, but they do know who I am and my status and who my partner is. And I. It's just been a very, I don't know, pleasant experience. I've had no issues. I feel like it's opening more and more to more people as well, which is great. It used to be like a white man thing. And, you know, you go out there on these trails now and it's just different generations, and it's really cool to see. I. It warms my heart to see how many different types of people are out there hiking. We're all there for the same thing.

[Patrick]

I love that.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah, I do, too. But I don't also think, oh. Or wonder if part of it has to be with where you live, with being in California.

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Justin Yoder]

And I'm glad that's your experience.

[Megan Stewart]

Good point.

[Justin Yoder]

I love when I hear people having that experience. But we also have what is called the LGBT Outdoors Visibility Survey, which, if you're listening and you haven't taken it, go to our website and take it. It's great resource that we're putting together so that we can show the outdoor industry what some of our community goes to and some of the stories we hear through that is really heartbreaking, but it's a great way that we can put together. It's a survey, obviously, that people can take, and it gives us really critical information about, like, what percent of our community does, like getting into outdoors, how much money are we spending on outdoors industry. Right. All that kind of stuff that we can present to the outdoor industry to show the need for inclusion. And we even had a girl from North Carolina, I think she's from North Carolina, that came to Outdoor Fest this year, and she told us she's never even done anything in the outdoors with another queer person before because she's just surrounded by all these straight people in the outdoors. And there's nothing wrong with that. But when you get to do these outdoor things with your own community that understand your struggles and what you've been through, challenges, it's just a really special connection that can happen.

[Patrick]

Agreed. And I love that you just threw out that. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Talking about straight people. You know what?

[Justin Yoder]

Straight people. And our allies, too.

[Patrick]

Kind of an important. Never mind. Scratch that. Not going there. So, yeah, you do. Like, obviously like hiking. Obviously. Fly Fishing, I want to say, unfortunately, the term that comes to head is fly fisherman. It's inaccurate. Fly fisher person. A fly fisher connoisseur.

[Megan Stewart]

I like that one.

[Patrick]

Oh, okay, there we go. As a fly fisher connoisseur, can you throw us a few like hot tips when it comes to choosing the flies or choosing your location where you want to fish?

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah. I'll be honest, I'm 100 self taught. I taught myself on YouTube and just through practice. So I'm not, I would say I'm not one of those like hardcore people that's like, you know, picking up rocks and like, oh, okay. And I probably should, but I kind of just go with my gut and there's a couple patterns I always go with first and just if it works that's cool because they normally work for me. The little black ant for trout and any kind of stream fishing normally works for me. I've caught plenty of fish off of those. But I will say my warm water, still water species, the black woolly bugger, I have caught giant catfish off of them. I've caught largemouth and smallmouth bass, I've caught giant crappies, bluegill, anything that's in a lake. I just throw a black woolly bugger all day, any day and I'm not going to get skunked. I pretty much catch at least one fish a day doing that. But I'm telling you, catfish love those things. If you're thinking that you can't fly fish and go after any kind of like warm water species like the ones I just mentioned, go out there and throw a woolly bugger and I'd be surprised if you didn't catch a catfish at one point. And then in terms of locations, oh my gosh, I'll just go on a map, especially like in the Sierras and just look for maps. My last backpacking trip I did out in Yosemite. I truly found it just by playing on Google Maps and I saw a little trail that went to this lake and I started doing research on it and it paid off. I caught 15 brook trout within like six hours. And then actually I just called it a day because I was like, I just feel like I'm getting selfish at this point. So let the fishies rest for the day and I'll just enjoy. Enjoy cloud watching. Yeah, it was the fall bite so I think they were just hungry. I don't know if I went back, you know, in the spring if it would be as good. But it was a great day. Yeah, I think just doing Lots of research is important too. You know, there's a lot of information out there where you can kind of see if the fishing's good or not at a certain lake. Same with rivers and creeks. You know, I like my Tenkara rod, which is those telescoping rods they pack down to about this big. My blue one's actually behind me. For those who are watching on video, it's really easy to pack real lightweight. So if you're just even doing a hike that parallels a creek or a small river, bring that thing and just dip it in the water and see if you catch anything. You know, if the creek's dry, then whatever. That wasn't much weight to carry it. So the Tankara, I think kind of is a game changer in terms you can bring that on day hikes or any kind of backpacking trip. I brought that on backpacking trips as well. And again, it's not much weight. You don't have to carry the reel. The case for the giant, you know, nine foot fly rod, that's gone. So the Tenkara, I think if you're just kind of starting out to that, that's a good way to kind of get your feet wet in the fly fishing world.

[Patrick]

Nice.

[Justin Yoder]

Great tips. Are you familiar with trout routes?

[Megan Stewart]

No.

[Justin Yoder]

All right, so go drop one of our sponsors here. Get it. So Trout routes is now they've integrated with Onx, if anybody knows about On X, which is kind of like tracking your movements in the field hike, tracking your hiking, stuff like that. But Trout Route specifically is an app to let you know, like, what the water conditions are at certain rivers. They've mapped out pretty much all of the rivers in the U.S. what's biting where, what they're hitting on, all this kind of stuff. So it's a great app that people can use as well. Mostly geared, of course, for trout fishing, as it is called Trout routes after all. But yeah, you should check it out. Awesome.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah, I will. I would love to use some, especially in my area. The fishing's a little imperiled around here with the. The rivers kind of struggling. But I did just move next to the Petaluma river that has a bunch of stripers going up and down it. So that could be my next. My next adventure is trying to catch a striper. But I'm super curious about this trout route.

[Justin Yoder]

Yep.

[Megan Stewart]

Okay.

[Justin Yoder]

That's an app you can get. Yeah.

[Megan Stewart]

Sweet. I'm gonna check it out. Thanks for that.

[Justin Yoder]

We'll connect later. I might be able to hook you up.

[Patrick]

He knows people.

[Justin Yoder]

Wow. I might know somebody.

[Patrick]

So we're gonna go ahead and jump in and take a little break, and when we get back, we're going to talk about LGBT outdoors more and what it's like to be an ambassador. So I'll see you on the other side. Is that stupid? See you on the other side.

[Megan Stewart]

No, it's great. Leave it in.

[Justin Yoder]

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[Patrick]

We are back. We are excited to continue having our discussion with Megan from California. Lots of cool stuff to talk about, including what it's like to be an LGBT outdoors ambassador. What does an ambassador do, Megan?

[Megan Stewart]

Well, good question. Right now, as an ambassador, I am trying to organize hikes, outdoor activities, events that are within my region. So I kind of call my region the North Bay region. Those from California, specifically the Bay Area, kind of know what that region means. And I just, you know, come up with creative, fun things that I think can kind of match all skill levels. I'm not going to, you know, sign us up to go do Mount Whitney next week because I'm probably going to isolate a lot of people from being able to do that. So for me, the point of this is to try to get anybody out, maybe someone who's been hesitant about even going on a small hike with people. I want them to feel confident that they can come out and do this activity in a wonderful atmosphere with like minded people. So I've only done two events so far. I did a hike off the Sonoma coast near the Cordham Trail on Sonoma Coast State park, and it was foggy. It was supposed to be a sunset hike. And of Course, the fog rolled in and decided to change plans on me. And in the most recent one, I did Kirby Cove, which is this stunning hike. It's on the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. And you hike down to this beautiful black sand cove with perfect views of the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco. It's truly one of the most beautiful hikes up here in this region. And shouts to the crew from Texas who flew all the way out to come to that event. That was super cool.

[Justin Yoder]

But how did I not know that even happened?

[Megan Stewart]

Yes. Yes. Super cool. I was flattered.

[Justin Yoder]

Who was there?

[Megan Stewart]

Emilio.

[Patrick]

Right on. Okay.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah, Emilio.

[Patrick]

Way to go, Emilio.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah. You brought a couple friends, so it was really great. And then I did have a local come out as well, so. Yeah.

[Patrick]

How cool?

[Megan Stewart]

It was really cool. So, yeah. Coming up. You know, I've been trying to brainstorm some fun ideas. I'm thinking Muir woods, which is the redwood grove in Marin County. Redwoods are always fun to hike in in the winter. Yeah. And here in California, you know, we don't really get snow where I'm at. It's just rain, rain, rain. And redwoods in the rain are truly incredible. You're going to get wet. But there's just something really magical about being in the redwoods, in their element, what kind of makes them what they are. And that's the high amount of rain we get here in the wintertime. So plug in that for either early January or early February. Stay tuned. Check the links, check the Facebook pages, all that fun stuff. And I also have some other ideas, like taking a ferry out to Angel Island. I think I want to do that one day. You can either rent bikes or hike around that island, which is out in the San Francisco Bay. And then I'm thinking maybe there's a bicycle path in Napa and you can rent bikes or bring your own bike. I'm thinking that would be fun to do, like, a winery tour on your bikes. You know, I mean, you can't really drink and ride your bike, but you can, like, at least, like, poke your head in and check some things out. I'm not going to promote drinking and riding bikes. Do that on your own time, not on our time.

[Justin Yoder]

That's why we have release for.

[Patrick]

Yes.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah, exactly. But, you know, I think it would be really cool to try to, you know, just kind of cruise through the Napa Valley on a bike, see things in a different view. So more to come. Still brainstorming some future, you know, activities to do. But, yeah, it's. It's been great, and I appreciate you guys. You know, you built this organization from the ground up, and I'm glad we finally got California on the map. We have two other ambassadors now in the Central Valley and down in San Diego. So if you don't live up here, check those guys out. They also are ambassadors for those regions, so.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah, absolutely. And people, if they don't realize, too, we have Facebook groups for the states where we have chapters, so there is a California chapter for LGBT Outdoors, which you should be able to just search in Facebook. LGBT outdoors California. But the specific link, if you type fb.com backslash groups backslash LGBT outdoors ca.

[Patrick]

Correct.

[Justin Yoder]

You can get to the group as well.

[Patrick]

Yep.

[Justin Yoder]

That's awesome. Have you. So I know that you've only done two events so far, a lot more coming, but have you noticed any cool impacts that have happened maybe already, or great connections, fun stories, anything like that?

[Megan Stewart]

Absolutely. I think two of the people were on the Kirby Cove. I think it was impactful for both of them. One of the people who is a local, they were really grateful. They actually were looking for this kind of organization within this region and came across LGBTQ Outdoors, and she was like, wow, this is super cool. And they were incredibly grateful that we were hosting this hike and totally plan on coming to more of my events. And I even kind of checked her calendar to make sure she'd be able to come out with us. I was like, oh, you're gonna be out of town. Okay, I'll make sure I don't set it up for that, because, you know, that's what it means to me is if I'm even impacting just one person who wants to come out, that's important to me. So, yeah, I got great feedback from, you know, the two of them that are part of the community, and the. I think just the energy, it just, you know, it is Northern California. I think we all know San Francisco's very supportive of the community and a little bit. And, yeah, I think you just can feel that energy all around. And to be able to do hikes in this region, you know, I. I think just kind of forces or reinforces how impactful that is. But, you know, I don't think there's many organizations like this within the Bay Area, which is crazy. And that was. The feedback I had received was I looked all over for organizations like this, and I couldn't find any, except for you guys. So, yeah, that's. That's. That's wonderful. And again, I think it speaks a lot to, you know, Both of you, for what you have done that in the Bay Area of all places. This is one of the organizations that combines, you know, the LGBT community and outdoors and hoping we can, you know, build up the chapter a little bit more. I think it's still kind of growing. People are still, you know, trying to feel it out a little bit, but I'm hoping, you know, with the John Muir, the Muir woods event coming up, hopefully I can get a few more people to come out and just kind of grow. Grow our chapter with each event.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah. That's so cool. We always say that the Ambassador program is the heartbeat of LGBT outdoors, and that just, like, 100amplifies that. Like, we're based here in North Texas, and we have these incredible ambassadors all across the US that are connecting their communities directly to the outdoors because of this wild idea. And here we are in North Texas, jealous of all these people.

[Patrick]

The jealousy is real.

[Justin Yoder]

The jealousy is real. Like, you talking about the redwoods in winter. Like, I want to go to that.

[Megan Stewart]

Fly on out. You got a place to stay?

[Patrick]

Nice. We had that recorded. Right? Okay.

[Justin Yoder]

So we are in California. You talked about this a little bit, but how do you feel about representation, the importance of it with the queer community and the outdoors?

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah, I think it is important. Just so people. It normalizes it. Right. Well, let's make this not like a. Whoa, there's a. There's a gay person in nature. Whoo. Spooky. Like.

[Justin Yoder]

I thought they were only in the mall.

[Megan Stewart]

That checks out. Look at this gay girl hiking that. Yeah. I'm not surprised by that. You know, like, let's normalize this stuff. So I think it is important, and, you know, it's not shoving it down people's throat. It's not like I'm walking out in my, you know, pride flags as I'm hiking like this. But, you know, it's. It's just being comfortable in who you are and letting people know that we're not scary, we're not spooky, we're not weird. Maybe a little weird. I'm a little weird, but I embrace it. But, yeah, I think it is important. Just like, people of color. Like, he didn't normalize that. Why? You know, it hurts my heart when I have friends who are people of color, and they tell me that, you know, they have to do certain things when they're on backpacking trips, so people feel comfortable when they pass them, or they're scared to do a solo trip because they're a person of color and they're Afraid that somebody's going to look at them weird and. Or just, you know, kind of give them a hard time because they don't belong in nature. And I don't. I. That hurts my heart that people have to go through that. So, you know, I think we need to normalize that. The outdoors is truly for everyone. It's not just for one race, one, you know, type of sexuality. It's truly nobody owns nature, you know, and. Yeah, so I think just us getting out there, I think making a difference, joining nonprofits or doing conservation, doing fuel reduction in your area, planning native plants, pulling invasive species. I think also getting involved in your local area to do conservation or just, even, you know, doing a Christmas bird count, which, you know, they autobahn does here in California, it might be nationwide, and you just go out and count the birds and, you know, little things like that. Getting you out into the community, I think also can be impactful and again, normalizes that when you're out there. There's some really cool nonprofits out here that have specific LGBT days to do a fuel reduction program, and I think that's wonderful. Again, benefit of living where I live, but why not start that in North Texas? You know, that we have a day where we're planting native trees and, you know, along the river or something. So, yeah, it is important. I want everyone to feel comfortable. I truly. Everyone. So I think it starts with just being a good ambassador to nature and just being a kind human soul. And from there, it's like, how can anyone not accept you or want you out there?

[Patrick]

Absolutely. And when you combine the two things of this nature that doesn't care, that embraces you, that recharges you, encourages you, inspires you, while being, like, fully authentic to yourself, like, there's this sort of superpower that grows there, at least for me, that goes beyond, like, you know, just hanging out and, you know, going on a walk, like, the. There's like this exponential freedom that comes with the. The privilege of being able to be, like, fully real in nature, in a sunset, the ocean, like, whatever it is. There's so many opportunities. And, like, that's. That's what we're out to do, like, just to show that that is a thing that is possible and. And it's good for you and more people should do it.

[Megan Stewart]

I agree. I agree, I agree.

[Justin Yoder]

You. You're kind of commenting on this, but I was wondering, are there any specific organizations, advanced movements, whether it's in your area or national, that you think some of our listeners might like to know About?

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah, that's a great question. Geez. Locally, I just started working with the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance. They're here in Petaluma, and they kind of help manage and maintain our local wetlands. So I'm going to kind of help launch their social media. They. They are mostly retired folks, and so technology is not their thing. And I'm no pro at social media, but I figure anything's better than nothing to kind of promote them and help bring awareness about them. So that's something, you know, people could do, too. If you have fun on your social media, maybe look around and see if there's a local nonprofit that's struggling with that, and you can even devote your time to that. For me, it's like those smaller organizations that really need help. I. You know, you have your nationwide, like, nature conservancy, and I'm sure there's tons of, like, national, you know, things that are out there. But for me, I think the most impactful thing is to look up what's in your backyard that. That really, truly needs that help. So that's what I would recommend. That's kind of how I found this Petaluma Wetlands Alliance. I just kind of googled nonprofits in my area or conservation, and they popped up, and that's also how I found who I interned with within Sonoma County. I just kind of googled, you know, a nonprofit in my area. To me, those are impactful. Not many people know about them. They're not in the newspaper. They're not, you know, so you can find those, like, little smaller organizations. I think any kind of volunteer hours or whatever you can do is incredibly impactful to them. Especially, like I said, most are, like, retired. So, you know, I think they could use some young blood in there. If you can have it. They'll take it with open arms. I know that much.

[Patrick]

Yeah, it's that old phrase, like, think global, act local.

[Megan Stewart]

Yes, yes, 100. Because, you know, for here, the wetlands, we have migratory birds that are going from Canada down to, you know, South America. So you're exactly what you just said, Patrick. What we're doing here can truly impact thousands of different birds and, you know, 100 different species that are migrating. If they have a place to land here and do their thing they got to do in the middle of their migration, you know, that's an impact you are having globally, which is kind of cool to think about that.

[Patrick]

Absolutely.

[Justin Yoder]

Definitely. Do you have any cool plans coming up in the future next year? What's. What's going on with you? Any travels, fun adventures?

[Megan Stewart]

Probably go out to Tucson again. My brother moved to Tucson about two years ago and let me tell you, Tucson's. I'm sure people who live there and live in Arizona already know, but Tucson's a truly awesome town. I highly recommend it. Very community friendly. You know, it's a college town and you see pride flags kind of hanging in windows of businesses and breweries. It's, it's a really wonderful welcoming town and there's so much to do. You got the national parks, the Wearos out there, and you got the biosphere out there, which I also recommend. The biosphere, if you saw bio down similar to that without Pauly Shore. So I recommend that. Sorry, Polly Shore's not in there, which might be a good thing. But highly recommend Tucson for those of you. But I'll probably cruise out there again. And then actually my girlfriend's brother lives in the Denver area. So we're thinking of going back up to Colorado again this summer and doing a little more exploring. Because going out there two summers ago was not enough. That was my first time in Colorado and a week was not enough to see what I wanted to see. So probably gonna head back out to Colorado again. Yeah.

[Justin Yoder]

And we have great chapters in both of those states, Arizona and Colorado too.

[Megan Stewart]

I've seen that. Yeah.

[Justin Yoder]

Anybody that's listening, they can get plugged in there as well. You've done a lot of traveling and hiking and everything. Have you ever had any fun experience with any wildlife?

[Megan Stewart]

You know, I, I, I was thinking about that one and I'm sure I've got some crazy story where I'm like, oh my gosh, like I fended off a grizzly bear, but I did not fend off a grizzly bear at any time.

[Patrick]

I mean, we couldn't tell if you were lying.

[Megan Stewart]

Okay, cut that and let's go back into my grizzly bear story.

[Justin Yoder]

This is how she got attacked by a grizzly bear in California, where there are no grizzly bears, although the grizzly bear is on their state flag.

[Megan Stewart]

I know, actually, sad story. This is the hundred year mark of when our last grizzly bear roamed California and was killed off. So yeah, RIP our grizzly bears in California, you know, geez. I just had some really beautiful moments where if you sit still long enough and just observe animals from a distance. I got one for you. I worked at Snowbird, as I said earlier, and from the office I worked in, there was this window that looked out across Mount Superior, which anybody from the Salt Lake region knows all about. Mount Superior. Well, it's summertime, and mountain goats kind of hang out up there. And we had a little scope, you know, at our office, so we could kind of check out the mountain goats from our office. And I was watching these two kids kind of playing with each other. You know, they were practicing, like, headbutting each other and just being goofy, goofy little goats. And there was an adult just below them, and as they were goofing around, they kicked this giant rock loose, and they both, like. It was like, truly like two, like, human children that, like, stared at each other like, oh, no, we're in trouble. And then their heads. Their heads look down at, like, mom down there, and they're like, oh, Mom. And the boulder just kind of chunks down and flies right by the adult. And you could, like, see they both were, like, holding their breath. And then they just started playing again once they were fine. And that moment was so funny to me. It was just such a cool moment. Like, no one else saw that, you know, in that moment unless they had a spotting scope looking up there. But I don't think anyone had a scope looking up there at that moment. So sometimes just sitting and watching nature do nature, you know, moose kind of, you know, eating in the little pond. Yeah. But I think that mountain goat story is probably one of my favorite stories I like to tell.

[Patrick]

Nice.

[Justin Yoder]

That's awesome. Love it. Should we do some rapid fire questions with her?

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Justin Yoder]

All right, I'm ready. You want to start? You want me to start?

[Patrick]

What is your favorite trail snack?

[Megan Stewart]

I like cashews. I like that salty, but they're also soft. Yeah, I don't want to, like, chew too hard. So give me some cashews. That salt.

[Justin Yoder]

Take it center. Hammock.

[Megan Stewart]

I like tent for the privacy. That's the only reason. If hammocks had a little more privacy, I'd be all about it. Give me a tent.

[Patrick]

Okay. Sunrise or sunset hikes?

[Megan Stewart]

Sunrise. I love to hear the birds waking up and love to watch the color change from stars to that beautiful blue hint in the morning.

[Justin Yoder]

Mountain, forest or beach?

[Megan Stewart]

Give me mountains. I got forest and beach here in my backyard. I'll love to go see the Sierras.

[Justin Yoder]

Love it. I gotta throw one more in there.

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Justin Yoder]

Go for favorite animal.

[Megan Stewart]

Oh, my gosh. Oh, man, that's hard. I do love mountain lions. I feel like we've demonized them as humans, and really we need to learn how to coexist. Mountain lions, they're wonderful creatures, and if you could do research, if you have livestock to learn how to coexist with them. I would appreciate that. But yeah, mountain lions are super cool and I. I love them. They're precious kitties, but I'll never pet them.

[Justin Yoder]

I agree. Yeah, don't pet the giant kitties. I will say, though, like, a little bit of North Texas news here. We. We have been having spotty in the Dallas Fort Worth area, like, being caught on security cameras and, wow, ring doorbells and stuff. Like, I know in Frisco, Rockwall. So, yeah, I don't want to make people afraid of them at all. But, like, be use wisdom and cautious caution.

[Megan Stewart]

Exactly.

[Justin Yoder]

Around them, for sure. Yeah.

[Patrick]

Well, we also need to be looking at what area of theirs are we destroying that is kind of pushing them into public spaces. You know, I feel like that's probably where they're coming from, but there's a.

[Justin Yoder]

Lot of land in Texas.

[Patrick]

Like, you think I'm screwing with California geography?

[Justin Yoder]

They might just want some Taco Bell. I'd love to kind of hear some words of wisdom from you. What is a piece of advice that you would love to give somebody that they might be nervous about getting to the outdoors? They're a queer person. They grow up in the city. Maybe they've never done anything in the outdoors. Any thoughts, advice that you'd like to pass on to them to try to encourage them to do that? Which I guess if they're listening to our podcast, they're probably already on the outdoor side. But who knows?

[Patrick]

Maybe somebody just stumbled across or at least outdoors. Curious.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah, absolutely. I like that. Honestly, I just do it. Just do it. Maybe do some research first. If you're really nervous, if you do have one of our chapters around you, that's a good way to get your feet wet. For me, I always wanted to do fly fishing, and I was like, I can never fly fish. I'm in California. Like, we don't have pristine rivers and creeks flowing around me, like in Montana and whatnot. And you know what? I did some research and I was like, oh, I can just go fish the lake outside in my backyard. Like, I didn't know I could do that. So there's things like that that can kind of open your eyes and you might think it's harder than it is. You know, same with, like, any kind of mountaineering. Like, if you can't afford it, like, maybe get a guide. I've never had a fly fishing guide. I would love to have one, but, I mean, they're pricey, so I understand that people can't afford that stuff, but if you can, that's another good way to build your confidence and test something out if you like it or not. They often have rental gear. Why spend thousands of dollars on mountaineering gear, even backpacking gear? There's, you know, little organizations you can just go do a backpacking trip with and you can rent a backpack and you can rent a bear can and all that fun stuff. So if you're like, you know, I don't want to invest in thousands of dollars worth a year if I'm not going to do it every year. Well, maybe try like renting or borrowing something from a friend. And if you only do one trip a year, that's, that's great.

[Patrick]

That's.

[Megan Stewart]

That's still incredible and that's still worthwhile. And, you know, don't let that hold you back if you're worried about your stuff. You know, there's, there's a lot of stuff out there that can be really overwhelming. And, you know, just do a little research, Talk to some friends. Don't let that hold you back. But just get out there. Seriously. Don't, don't hesitate if you're nervous. There's, you know, our cell phones now can even text when you don't have cell service. My last trip, I used the satellite on Apple to text my family. It was super cool. So, you know, communication has even improved greatly. You don't have to carry a garment with you anymore if you want to be in contact with your loved ones. So, yeah, that, that's my advice. Just do some research, you know, and honestly, just motivate yourself. Just go. Don't, don't hesitate. If you're on the fence, it's well worth it. And it's a life changer. It truly is.

[Patrick]

And like, stepping out and going out into the outdoors for, you know, the first time or the second time where you're nervous and you're scared, like, that is a big time act of bravery. We've run into many people through our events and LGBT Outdoor Fest who say, I was petrified. I sat out in the parking lot for 30 minutes or I didn't want to get on my plane here. And every single one has said it is absolutely worth it, worth choosing and willing myself to get over the fear. So if you're not into doing it by yourself, you know, like I said, we have tons of chapters of LGBT outdoors groups all around the country. Check it out. There was a quote from one of our Outdoor Fest attendees who said that, like, finding her tribe to explore the outdoors in, success and failure meant the world, meaning, like, if we go fishing and you strike out and you're, quote, unquote, failing, like, you're not really failing, like, it's okay to, you know, come in new and, you know, being open to learning stuff. So to your point, like, there's. There's safe ways to do it if you can kind of get over your nerves.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah. Beautifully said.

[Justin Yoder]

Yeah. I'd love to know, is there one thing that you would encourage our listeners to do to foster inclusivity in the outdoor spaces?

[Megan Stewart]

Ooh. Oh, geez. Yeah. Just get outside and be good to everybody. Like, smile. I mean, I know they make. There's, like, reels making fun of, like, people saying hi to people on hikes, but I love saying hi to people when I pass them on a hike. And if you don't, like, I'm kind of like, dude, you're in nature. Like, come on now. Like, maybe don't hike with AirPods in that closes you off and, you know, and you can't even hear what's going on around you. Go out and try to genuinely connect with people out there. I, you know, even just in Utah, I ran into these two people, and we stopped and talked for, like, 20 minutes on the trail. I love doing that stuff. I think it's wonderful. I'm never going to see those people again. I don't know their name, but they left a positive impact on me, and hopefully I left a positive impact on them. And I think that's just a way of fostering that inclusivity, is just making eye contact with people. And even if you just give a smile and a nod as you pass them, that makes me feel comfortable and makes me feel that you're truly enjoying your time out here. I know sometimes we're on a mission to get down off the mountain and we're just kind of hauling and don't have time or we're gassed from. From a hike. But I always do try to, like, at least make eye contact and nod to somebody. And if I can stop and chat with people, I'm a Chatty Cathy. But I think it's. I think it's wonderful. I. So I. To me, that would be a way to kind of just make everybody feel comfortable is, you know, you don't have to talk to every person on the trail. You never get to your destination. But, you know, I think just kind of seeking people out and chatting with them. If you both stop at a lake, you know, and you're having lunch, it's kind of fun to chat and see where people are from. Have they ever done this hike before? Yada, yada, yada. So that would be my. My little piece of advice.

[Patrick]

Love it.

[Justin Yoder]

Perfect. Perfect. And don't wear a boombox either.

[Patrick]

No, please don't. Please don't.

[Megan Stewart]

We.

[Justin Yoder]

We don't want to listen to that.

[Megan Stewart]

No, thanks.

[Justin Yoder]

Oh, Megan, we have loved having you.

[Patrick]

Yeah.

[Justin Yoder]

And I'd love for people to get connected with you.

[Patrick]

Where.

[Justin Yoder]

What's the best way for people to do that? Instagram, Facebook, Something else.

[Megan Stewart]

Yeah. Yeah. I am one of the administrators on the California Facebook page. So if you want to plop on that, I'm on there and I will post any upcoming hikes. Otherwise, if you just kind of want a more, you know, want to see some of the more adventures I'm doing, my Instagram page is my most active thing. I'm on it daily. It is. My handle is Schmeegans Underscore Adventures. Schmeegans is S H M E E G I N S Underscore Adventures. And yeah, hit me up on that. And let's connect. Let's do this. Let's go on outdoor adventures together.

[Patrick]

Yeah. And we'll make sure to put a link to your Instagram on the show. Notes.

[Megan Stewart]

Right on.

[Justin Yoder]

Thank you so much, Megan, for joining. Thank you guys.

[Megan Stewart]

Appreciate everything you guys do. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you.

[Justin Yoder]

I want to thank all of our listeners and those that are watching on YouTube for tuning in today. We love chatting with Megan. I got a lot of great information out of it. I hope you did, too. A reminder, check out the Trailblazer Society if you like what this podcast is doing, what LGBT outdoors is doing, and want to make a true difference in outdoor spaces with diversity and inclusion. Join it. It will help us with our mission so much.

[Patrick]

Absolutely.

[Justin Yoder]

Until next time.

[Megan Stewart]

Wait, hang on, hang on.

[Patrick]

Are we going to tease OutdoorFest?

[Justin Yoder]

Are we? Sure. Until next time.

[Patrick]

I thought.

[Justin Yoder]

Until until next time.

[Patrick]

No, no.

[Justin Yoder]

We have to tease.

[Patrick]

We'll tease it. We have to go ahead.

[Justin Yoder]

Tease it.

[Patrick]

Okay. Do we want to do the date or the location? Yeah, both.

[Justin Yoder]

Well, I mean.

[Patrick]

Okay, so we can tell you definitively that LGBT Outdoor Fest 2025 will be in the state of New York, going up to the northeast. It will be September 11th through the 14th, 2025, so put that on your calendar. More details will be coming out here in not too distant future. But we wanted to let y'all know to save those dates. And stay tuned for more information on LGBT Outdoor Fest 2025. It's going to be awesome.

[Justin Yoder]

Can't wait. It's always an amazing time. All right, until next time. Get out there.