Hi there, I'm Lalei Arakoglu, and this is Women Who Travel.

When I last caught up with Emily Pennington, she was promoting her book, Feral, all about her

year-long journey to every national park in the US. It was a physically and at times emotionally

intense experience. But in the year since we

last spoke, Emily's made some small changes closer to home. I think that going on a huge, wild

adventure that totally ruptures your sense of self and the core of who you are puts your

perspectives in place in a way that few other things will. But one thing that's been really

cool is that I have since relocated from Los Angeles to Boulder, Colorado, which I think

personally is quite a big self-care move. It's much smaller.

There's no traffic. There's mountains literally outside my window right now. I think that I'm

learning how to how to be more of a weekend warrior and have non-adrenaline-fueled activities that I get into on a regular basis.

In addition to my love of the wilderness in national parks has been a big part of the last 12 to 18 months.

One of the things that I love so much about living much closer to a national park and closer to numerous wilderness areas is having the

opportunity to do both depending on what my energy level dictates. And also, I just turned 37,

like two months ago. And so I am keenly aware in a new way of having my energy level and

desire to do certain activities change. Which is a liberating thing,

I think. I mean, my body is kind of like the period at the end of the sentence of what I'm going to

do. You know, if my legs are cramping and I can't go up a mountain, then I'm not going up a

mountain and I don't need to like scream and yell about it. Yeah, your body tells you when it's done.

Yes, exactly.

But of course, even as she's prioritizing her well-being, Emily is still finding ways to get out

into the wilderness.

...