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Wild Ideas Worth Living

Retracing Historical Expeditions with Lise Wortley

Wild Ideas Worth Living

REI Co-op

Rei, Writing, Trailrunning, Mountaineering, Author, Sailing, Girlboss, Sports, Environmentalism, Lifestyle, Health, Entrepreneurship, Snowboarding, Paddle, Activelifestyle, Outdoorsports, Rockclimbing, Health & Fitness, Running, Surfing, Inspiration, Athlete, Skiing, Nutrition, Vegan, Alternativelifestyle, Watersports, Podcast, Camping, Climbing, Yoga, Travel, Society & Culture, Snowsports, Places & Travel, Cycling, Backpacking, Fitness, Adventure, Wilderness, Endurancesports, Wildideas, Outdoors, Sup, Womensadventure

4.71.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Lise Wortley retraces the footsteps of historical women explorers whose achievements have long been overlooked. To fully immerse herself in their experiences, she replicates the clothing and equipment used over a century ago, avoiding modern gear to see the world as they did. Through these journeys, she shines a light on their remarkable stories and brings their legacies back into focus.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

If you're a gearhead, you know that outdoor equipment has evolved greatly over the years.

0:07.0

There are ultralight backpacks that weigh virtually nothing, water bottles that keep your drink cold or hot for days, and the most waterproof raincoats you've worn.

0:16.8

Lee's Wortley chooses not to use any of it. No nylon, no vortex, no crampons.

0:23.3

Instead, Lees's expeditions retrace the footsteps of historical women explorers whose achievements have been overlooked.

0:31.8

I was reading the book and there's this part in it where she sleeps in her yak wool coat on a mountain pass in the snow.

0:40.4

And I was thinking, how do you do that if you don't have a modern day puff jacket or a sleeping bag to like keep me from freezing to death?

0:47.9

And that's what kind of started it.

0:49.7

And I would think, well, I'm never going to understand what she went through or how she actually did

0:54.8

this and the challenges she faced if I was in modern day clothing. Like I'm going to have to

1:00.1

wear what she wore. Before each journey, leaves absorbs all the information she can find about

1:07.2

these women. She reads their journals and researches their roots, equipment they used,

1:12.4

and clothes they wore. Then she sources the most authentic, historically accurate pieces to wear

1:18.3

on the trail, from hobnail boots to vintage underwear. Replicating the clothing and equipment

1:24.6

from more than 100 years ago allows Lees to experience the adventure through the eyes of these remarkable women and raise awareness about their accomplishments.

1:34.1

I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living, an REI Co-op Studios production presented by Capital One and the REI Co-OPE MasterCard.

1:51.7

Lisa Wortley, welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living.

1:55.7

You have one of the most exciting wild ideas I've heard in a very long time.

1:58.6

So I found you on Instagram and I was like, who is this girl?

2:02.3

You recreate famous adventures by historical women in the clothes they would have worn at the time, like in the hundreds of years ago,

2:06.5

or in the 1800s. You just seem like a badass. How do you introduce yourself and your wild idea

2:12.2

to people who just haven't heard of you before? I love that intro. Thank you. I don't know. Usually I just say I'm an

2:21.2

accidental adventurer, but yours is a lot, a lot better than that. Well, I want to hear how you

...

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