Brave Your Way Out of That Box: Paige Emerson of Chubby Hiker Reviews

Long time listeners, first time callers might remember a conversation I had with Paige Emerson of Chubby Hiker Reviews, back in June 2021. 

At the time, Paige seemed to be on the cusp of absolutely blowing up on social media with her inspiring and relatable posts about hiking, and her trail reviews that highlighted things most of us care about, like bathroom access, parking, whether our butts would get totally kicked or just partially kicked.

But with social media, sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for - all the attention Paige was getting kind of brought her down for a bit, and she fell off the radar.

Never fear! As of summer 2023, Paige is back with a VENGEANCE, with all kinds of activities on offer AND the beginnings of a structure that will (hopefully!) allow Chubby Hikers to blow up without taking her down again.

You can be part of Chubby Hiker's growth and get to know Paige and her team in a bunch of ways - 

• Follow @ChubbyHikerReviews on Instagram
• Join the Chubby Hikers of Maine Facebook Group
• Check out the new Chubby Hiker chapters in Waldo County, Cumberland County, Androscoggin County (Maine), plus now Connecticut
• Sign up for the Chubby Hiker Email List to keep up with all the fun!

If you haven't heard Paige's story, check out our first Guides Gone Wild conversation here: https://www.guidesgonewild.com/podcast/paige-emerson-chubby-hiker-reviews-ggw056

Read about Paige and Chubby Hiker Reviews in the Portland Press Herald: https://www.pressherald.com/2022/06/05/just-because-youre-bigger-you-can-still-be-a-hiker-there-shouldnt-be-barriers/

Join the July 30th Kindling Collective x Chubby Hikers Portland (ME) hike here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kindling-collective-x-chubby-hiker-tickets-608730849357

Join Paige, Tori Gray and Greg Sarnacki on their All Bodies Canoe Trip (Baxter State Park, ME - August 3rd): https://thewildernessguru.com/shop/ols/products/chubby-hiker-reviews---all-bodies-canoe-trip

And a enjoy a few more bonus links from this episode:

• Kindling Collective (queer-centered gear library)
• The Wilderness Guru (and Tori Gray's episode of Guides Gone Wild!)
• Forage River Outfitters - Greg Sarnacki

Transcript

Paige Emerson: 0:00

You know, I think the main thing that I've learned this past year is not to put yourself in a box, because even though I try to be this like inspiring person that says that no matter what size you are, you can do anything, I still have this voice inside my head that says, but can you? I think just, it's really important to fight against that and to not limit yourself, you know.

Jen: 0:22

Welcome to the Guides Gone Wild podcast. What is Guides Gone Wild, you ask? This is where you'll fill your ears and minds with the stories of everyday, extraordinary women who will inspire you to take your outdoor adventure game to the next level. Whether you're starting your journey from the couch or the trailhead, this is the place for you. So let's get a little wild. Welcome to Guides Gone Wild. This is Jen, and I've got a fun and super inspiring update for you today.

Jen: 0:52

Long time listeners, first time callers, might remember a conversation I had with Paige Emerson of Chubby Hiker Reviews back about a year into the podcast, long time ago. At that time, paige seemed to be on the cusp of absolutely blowing up on social media with her inspiring and relatable posts about hiking and her trail reviews. That highlighted things most of us care about, like bathroom access, parking, whether our butts would get totally kicked or just partially kicked, but with social media sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for All the attention Paige was getting kind of brought her down for a bit and she fell off the radar. But she is back and, in my opinion, back with a vengeance this summer, with all kinds of activities on offer and the beginnings of a structure that will hopefully allow Chubby Hikers to blow up without taking her down again. But I'm going to let you surf the wave of Paige's boneless enthusiasm yourself. Let's head outdoors, literally, because, as you'll hear in the audio a few times, she was right where she loves to be. And here what the Chubby Hikers of Maine are up to now with Paige Emerson.

Jen: 2:02

All right, paige Emerson Chubby Hiker Reviews. I am so stoked to catch up with you because literally the last two months has been like crazy watching your social media and stuff, with all the stuff that you've been doing, and when I was looking at it all, I realized that it was like almost exactly two years ago that we talked. It was like the end of June 2021, which is nuts and so much has happened. So I want you to walk us quickly through kind of the highs and lows between now and then, and then I really, really am excited to talk about all the stuff that you are doing right now, because it's like bonkers. It's literally bonkers, it's literally bonkers.

Paige Emerson: 2:45

Yeah, there's so much that has happened between then and now. I don't even know if I can remember at all, but I definitely have been in the news a couple times, which has been really cool. The most recent one was the Portland Press Herald last year, and so that was really exciting, and after that I kind of took some time off from my page. And then this spring I was like, you know, I want to start that back up, and it's kind of just exploded this time. You know, there's so many people that are really excited about it, and so we've got some events coming up, we've got some collabs, I'm starting some different hiking groups, and then I'm also looking for looking towards getting my guide license this summer as well. So there's just so much happening.

Jen: 3:30

Yeah, that was basically the thing. Like I think we talked in that June and then you kind of backed off a bit, like I think it just got to be too much. And then, literally like a year later in June of 2022, you announced that you were going to, you'd taken a glide course and you announced that you were going to pursue your guide license. And then you were in Portland Press Herald and so it was like bam, bam, bam. And then it was like there's. Then you disappeared for a while, but then a year later you came back and you're like you know what that's this noise? I'm going after the guide license after all.

Jen: 4:07

Who am I to tell myself that I can't do this? That's BS. And you've got like, as you said, all these collabs coming up, all these trips. You've already had some meetups and you're doing chapters, you're taking it on the road, which is the most exciting thing I've ever seen. So you know, if you, if you are willing to tell us a little bit about like where all this regression and progression kind of came from for the last two years, and then what was the stimulus this year to be like you know what? Let's get this shit done already.

Paige Emerson: 4:38

Yeah, I think a large part of it is. Just I didn't realize how like time consuming it can be to run social media, you know, because so many people like message you and then they want an answer right away and I want people to feel like I care about them, and so I try to respond to everybody's comments.

Paige Emerson: 4:56

But it just takes a toll on, like my own mental health and then, probably for the last I don't know two or three years, every year something like crazy has happened in my life, and when that happens I kind of just like hibernate and I'm like waiting until it gets over. But the thing that I've noticed is like hiking is my passion, it's the thing that makes me feel better, and so I need to stop like not doing that when I don't feel good, because it makes me feel better, you know, and it makes things better even when life sucks, you know. So that's kind of part of it is just life has kind of come in waves, you know I had several job changes recently and so hiking kind of took a back burner. And then the thing with the guide license is I really got in my head with it and just kind of told myself you know, like you don't look like the typical guide and you're not as outdoorsy as them, so you don't know as much and I got kind of got that imposter syndrome of like who am I? I don't belong in this circle and so I just kind of tabled it.

Paige Emerson: 6:01

And then this year I was like, you know, it would be so cool for people to hire somebody that looks like them to do trails that they're interested in but are nervous to try or they've never hiked before that kind of thing, you know, because I'm sure they exist, but I've never seen a plus size guide. And so you know why not try, and I might not succeed on the first time, and that's okay, because at least I'll know for next time, like what areas I need to study more. But I've asked several people, you know, do you think that my body type will, like put me at a disadvantage for this test? And basically everyone has said, like that the guides are not looking for this like specific outdoorsy, like male type. They just want to know that you're going to be safe in the woods and that you have the knowledge to lead other people. That's all they're wanting to know. And so I think, as long as I study well and I'm competent, I think that's what's going to matter and what's going to shine through.

Jen: 6:58

Yeah, absolutely, and I've definitely also heard, I mean, there's a. I think that the rec guide space especially has been expanding quite a bit and there's just so much opportunity there because, to your point, like, especially you know, during COVID, people started going outside who hadn't really thought about doing that in the past. And I think that representation is everything and you know you're not opening, you know, your typical outdoor magazine or catalog really, unless you're specifically shopping for, you know, something not traditional. It's really hard to find, it's hard to find gray-haired ladies like me, you know, it's just hard to find pretty much anyone except the traditional. So I think I commend you and I think it'll be amazing and you'll be shocked at, I think, how much momentum you get, and you're already getting the momentum just riding along with some other guides. So tell us a little bit about the stuff that you've got coming up.

Jen: 7:49

Because you got back into hiking, you decided to pursue the guide license. Are you still juggling a full-time job too on top of all this? Oh, yeah, yeah, you are insane, oh my goodness.

Paige Emerson: 8:00

I work 40 to 50 hours a week as a medical social worker. So, yeah, I mean it is a lot, but this is my hobby, you know, and so I'm happy to spend my time outside of work doing that. I think just a big part is trying to find a happy balance and so, instead of answering comments and messages for hours, like I try to do it for maybe like a half an hour after work and then spend the rest of the time with my family, you know, and not let it be so time consuming, because there will always be another day where I can answer a message. It doesn't have to be right now?

Jen: 8:34

Yeah, absolutely, and I think this is where your whole chapter idea is really gonna come probably to fruition too and be helpful. Yeah, I mean, obviously it's just a natural next step, but where did you get the idea from? And then, kind of, how did you put it into play? And I have the iteration of, like, june 12th here's the call for leaders. June 19th, first leader. June 21st second leader. I mean, it's been crazy to watch. So tell us a little bit about how the rollout went too.

Paige Emerson: 9:03

Yeah, I had been wanting to do like group hikes for a while, but I didn't know where to start and it seemed kind of overwhelming to me because, you know, this hiking page that I've created is very close to my heart, like it's my baby, and so to share it with other people is being really vulnerable and that's really scary, because are they gonna respect it? Are they gonna, you know, have the same passion for it that I do? But I realized I can't do everything on my own and I can't be everywhere at once. You know, people want, they want group hikes for plus-sized people in Southern Maine and in Northern Maine and in other states, and I'm just one person and I work a full-time job. So I finally was like, okay, maybe we'll branch out and we'll share it with other people, but I've been really careful about vetting the people that come to me, because I want to make sure that they're, like I said, gonna respect it, gonna follow the mission that I set out, and that it's gonna be a good thing. And so I've been doing really thorough like interviews with people and just kind of setting up some ground rules for accountability, you know, just so things go smoothly and it's been good. I'm still nervous, you know, because I've never done something like this before, but I think it's gonna be a good thing we have.

Paige Emerson: 10:24

I started in Maine. Originally, my idea was to do a group for each county in Maine and we have a leader for Anders Coggan, for Waldo and for Cumberland and we got our first male leader, which I think is really cool, because a lot of the people that have been reaching out to me have been female hikers, but I want people of all genders to feel welcome in this community, so it's super cool to have a male on board. And then somebody actually came to one of our group hikes recently in May from Connecticut and said that you know, I know you're looking for Maine people, but like I really would love to expand this to Connecticut, and so I was like why not, you know? And so, even though I'm still trying to fill out Maine for all of our counties, I would love to add other states. I think that would be really cool.

Jen: 11:10

So yeah, it's so cool and it was like just so fun to kind of watch the whole thing ramp out. And you know, and I think you've you've been super structured about it too, because each of these subgroups has its own Facebook group. Each subject subgroup has its own Instagram page where, you know, you're encouraging people to share stuff and, you know, submit stuff and that way you can share, you can pick and choose what you're going to share on your kind of national, you know, central page, and I just think it's awesome. So, and it sounds like people are already starting to connect within the Facebook groups to just, like you know, plan their own stuff, Because even if it's just a conduit for people to find each other, to find a hiking partner or whatever, for a random last minute thing, I mean that's, that's just amazing, so super cool.

Paige Emerson: 11:56

Yeah, I think that's been the best part of it so far, because I started a Facebook group for plus-ice hikers in Maine to get connected and from there we've kind of split off into the different counties and stuff. But that Maine group has over 500 people in it now and a lot of friendships are being built just because of the connections and the posts that people are making. You know, like, hey, I'm going to go do the bird sanctuary in Louisston, Does anybody want to come? And then they meet each other and and they make friendships from that. And so that's kind of. All I've ever wanted is to encourage more people to get outdoors, for them to feel welcome and for them to have a community, and I think people have been wanting more community in this area for a long time, and so I'm finally. I finally decided to be brave and to put that together.

Jen: 12:40

So yeah, yeah, it's amazing. And so now tell me, speaking of, tell me about your partnership with Kindling Collective. I saw that you had planned an event back in May that got so many people signed up for it that you had to, like, change locations and do you still more responsibly? And you have another event coming up with them. So tell me a little bit about that partnership.

Paige Emerson: 13:03

That was crazy. So Kindle and Collective is super cool. For anybody that doesn't know, they're a gear library in Portland specifically focused around the queer community, but they have. You know. You pay a membership fee every month. It's like getting a library card and then you can check out bags and backpacks and sleeping bags and tents and things like this Stuff that you know. If you're not certain that you're going to like hiking or going to like backpacking, you can go try it out for a small fee before you spend the big bucks on this. And so it's super cool.

Paige Emerson: 13:37

And they reached out to me back in like it was a while ago now. It might have been last year, towards the end of last year, and I had a lot going on and so we didn't really get anything going until this past May and we put together a hike in Portland. It had a huge response. Like you said, it was a free event but it was sold out because you know we wanted to cap it, so we didn't have too many people. I believe there was 30 tickets and there was so much interest that we even had a wait list.

Paige Emerson: 14:05

Well, the day of the event, only I think it was four or five people came, which was kind of a bummer, you know, because we had so much excitement. But I think part of it was where you realized a lot of our emails were going to spam. So I think after the initial excitement people forgot to put it on their calendars and then didn't see the reminder emails. So that's fine, that's like a learning curve for the future. You know, we're going to remind people to put us on their contact list so that we can or they can see our future emails. But we're doing another hike this July 30th I believe it's a Sunday. We're going to Jewel Falls in Portland, which is a beautiful low waterfall. It's a pretty easy hike and perfect for beginners. I love the way kindling kind of structures their hikes, you know, they make sure that nobody's left behind or we're going at a good pace for everybody and they really make you feel welcome. So I've enjoyed that partnership so far and I hope it continues.

Jen: 15:00

Yeah, absolutely. Next time charge like $2. It's fine, I think that that's been proven. If you know, people have just a tiny bit of skin in the game. They like wind up showing up.

Paige Emerson: 15:09

But yeah, that's like tricky because you can't charge for money, I guess, unless you're a guy. So I think that might get us in trouble, but but I don't know how to make it, how to get people more committed to it, but something that we're trying to figure out for the long run, yeah.

Jen: 15:25

Well, I think it's. I think it's great and just creating the opportunities are fantastic and people are going to see what's going on, and obviously I'm sure you're going to have quite a few people join you July 30th, which is great, and then the next thing you have coming up after that is a collab with one of the guides I just talked to recently Tori Gray from the Wilderness Guru and Greg Sarnacki of Forage River Outfitters and you are doing a canoe trip. So tell me all about that. That sounds wicked fun. I'm super excited about it.

Paige Emerson: 15:57

So I met Greg, actually at the guide course that I did last year. He did our first aid certification. He's a super cool guide. I believe he's a oh, what is it called when they're master main guy? Yeah, he's a master guy, yeah, yeah. So he's been doing this for a long time, super cool dude.

Paige Emerson: 16:14

And then I found Tori on Instagram under the wilderness guru, and so I've been following her page for a while. Well, I didn't know that she was connected to Greg. I just reached out to her and said hey, would you like to do a collab sometime? I'm looking for a guide to kind of Lead some events until I get my own guide license. She was like sure, I'd love that. And we talked about doing a canoe trip and she was like let me reach out to my boyfriend and see if he has canoes available that day. Well, then I find out that her boyfriend is Greg Sarnackie, who I had met. So it was just funny how it all worked out. So they're both coming with me to lead that canoe trip.

Paige Emerson: 16:49

We're calling it an all-bodies canoe trip. So we've done some events in the past that are just for plus-size hikers, but this one is specifically, you know, all body types. So however you identify, you can come. It's open to people that have never canoed before or if you're super adept at canoeing, you're welcome. They're gonna be doing some canoeing instruction, kind of teaching us some facts about back to backster state park and you know the history of it as well as some animal and plant ID. So it's gonna be a super fun day. That's on August 3rd and you can register on the wilderness guru's website.

Jen: 17:27

Yeah, definitely I'll look that up because that looks like a super. I mean, it's just such a beautiful spot anyway and that's just gonna be a lot of fun and it's super reasonably priced and yeah, yeah for two guys and for their time. Yeah, and they're. Yeah, they're both like phenomenal, phenomenal people. They know so much about everything. So it's gonna be a great day, so that's cool. So what's next? What do you think? Like you? I mean, this is like a crazy amount of stuff that you've just like been banging out this summer.

Paige Emerson: 17:56

I know it's been crazy, but it's been so good, you know, and I'm really excited for what's coming. So Tori and I are looking to put together a river float trip in September. We're still kind of solidifying details for that, but we've been talking about doing. I've seen other events in the past where they do like anything floats so you can bring whatever, as long as it's gonna float down the river. You could go down and like a inflatable mattress or a cooler, however. You can make that work, you know. So it's gonna be goofy, but everybody's welcome to that one. So we're planning that sometime, I believe in the beginning of September. And then Tori also offered to do a free Hiking info session in September, and so that's gonna be open to. You know, people that are near to hiking and want tips for Navigation or for gear. You know she's gonna be inviting people to come bring their gear and we'll help them fit it to them and set things up and stuff. So that'll be super awesome.

Paige Emerson: 18:49

And then one of our New team leaders for Cumberland, cumberland County His name is John Clader. He's helping me put together a bigger body's beach day also in September. He's got a private beach which I think will be really cool. So that's in I can't remember the town, but somewhere in Cumberland County and it's gonna be super cool, and so we're doing a barbecue and stuff that day too, and then I also have my guide test in September. So September is super packed month, wow. But yeah, I'm really excited to, you know, get this page going again and stuff. It's been really fun and I'm really thankful too that, like, my followers are always Really kind when I need to like hibernate for a little while because life's just going crazy. So I'm just thankful for people being flexible.

Jen: 19:37

Well, they hang on for long enough and then you're like nail them with the biggest bag of goods ever that they can participate in. So I think you delivered on your last pause page, jeez, louise. So where's the best place for people to kind of keep track? I mean, I assume at Chabrie Hiker reviews is where the is the central spot right, and you'll be kind of probably reposting anything that each of the different chapters is doing. Yes, as that stuff kind of comes out Yep.

Paige Emerson: 20:05

So there's kind of a lot of ways to connect with us. Probably the maybe the best way is the Instagram. Under my highlights, I have listed all of our team leaders with links to their Instagram pages and the Facebook pages, and then I also have a highlight that has all of our upcoming events with links to register for them.

Jen: 20:25

And you have highlights that you're all. The highlights of your hikes that you had done are in like by region too.

Paige Emerson: 20:31

So that's like you made good use of your highlights. Thank you, yeah, there's a lot of resources there. Like you said, all the hikes that I've done are broken down by region so you can find them. That way makes Instagram a lot easier to navigate. So there's that. And then, if you're not on Instagram, we also have Facebook pages. So we've got the large one which is called Chabrie Hikers of Maine, and then each county has one that are linked from that main Facebook page so you can find us there. I also have my personal hiking Facebook page, which is Chabrie Hiker. Reviews Stuff will be posted there as well. And then, if you want even more connection, we have an email list so I can maybe you can link that later, but I usually send out like their registration links before they get posted on Instagram and stuff so that people on the email list have like first dibs basically. So that's kind of a good way to have insider knowledge and stay connected.

Jen: 21:27

That sounds awesome. All right, cool. Anything we, anything else you need to let us know about any other words of wisdom and inspiration before I let you get back to studying for your guide test. Oh gosh.

Paige Emerson: 21:40

You know, I think the main thing that I've learned this past year is not to put yourself in a box. You know, because, even though I try to be this like inspiring person that says that, you know, no matter what size you are, you can do anything, I still have this voice inside my head that says, but can you like? You don't look like the typical person, so maybe you can't, but I think, just it's really important to fight against that and to not limit yourself. You know, um, and so, yeah, I'm just trying to fight against the, the imposter syndrome, and do things that I never thought I could.

Jen: 22:12

So, yeah, that's awesome, and and if you feel that way today, that's fine, but but try not to feel that way tomorrow, right yeah?

Paige Emerson: 22:21

exactly.

Jen: 22:21

Exactly, awesome. Well, paige, you are actually just the tonic that I need right now, because I'm having my own problems getting motivated and feeling imposter-ish. So I'm like this is exactly the inspiration I need right now. When I I ever saw like the fifteenth thing in a row that I'm like, oh my god, look at what she's doing now, I'm like we got. We got to get you on the pot again and and do an update, because this is just crazy. It's like a whole brave new chubby hiker world out there and we got to talk about it. So, yeah, next time it'll be the merch we're going to talk about. Yes, paige Emerson, soon to be licensed main guide. So, alright, awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time today and I hope everybody checks out all of you and joins, joins you on all of these exciting trips and doesn't necessarily ask you all the questions. Make good use of your chapter guide or your chapter leader. Right, Exactly, exactly, alright, thank you so much Thank you.

Jen: 23:23

I love it. I just love it. Girlfriend is no imposter, am I right? So get your body moving with Paige in a few weeks and check out a few beautiful spots in Maine. You can hike with Paige and Kindling Collective in Portland on Sunday July 30th, or paddle with Paige, tori and Greg at the southern end of Baxter State Park on Sunday August 3rd. And, of course, follow Paige for more information on her upcoming events and new Chubby Hiker chapters at Chubby Hiker reviews on Instagram or by requesting to join the Chubby Hikers of Maine group on Facebook. Links to those and all the chapters in the show notes, of course. Have a look, and with that I'm going to run and start testing out some random things to float on in case Paige and Tori get that. Everything goes flow till on the books for September, because really, after all the rain this year, that's going to be an awesome opportunity to get a little bit wild.