082 | (Best of) From John Muir to Toddler Hikes with Courtney Fleet

Jul 6, 2022

Replay of Episode 007 with Courtney Fleet where she discusses everything from studying abroad in Italy to hiking the John Muir trail to now hiking with Toddlers.  This episode launched in December of 2020 so I wanted to give an update on Courtney Fleet.  Since recording this episode she now has THREE girls.

To connect or Follow Courtney she has a new social media handle: Happy Trails and Ponytails on Instagram

Courtney is a native Oklahoman who grew up traveling throughout the US with her family. She has visited 43 states, lived in two countries, and now resides in North Carolina with her husband, two daughters and two dogs. Hiking and backpacking have been growing passions of hers since she was young and something she enjoys doing with her sister and now with her young girls. When she’s not entertaining her kids, she works full time as a physical therapist.

I am excited to share Courtney’s adventure story.  As you will soon hear she emulates the spirit of adventure, being brave and helping remind all of us to simply “get out the door”  and yes sometimes things will be hard, but that is temporary and the season of hard things will pass and in the end we will have shared experiences that will sear lifelong memories into our soul.  I am so excited that Courtney was willing to be brave and make her first ever guest podcast appearance on Ordinary Sherpa.

Key Takeaways

1. Having adventure baked into the family culture helps spontaneous experiences come much more naturally throughout life. 
2. Approach the opportunity of unplanned time with a curious mindset, not all experiences can be planned for three memories equals shared experiences.
3. Having a shared experience with family fosters connection while the adventure will end. The memory of that experience can stay with you for as long as you want. 
4. The  habit of enjoying the moment and waking up with a smile on your face can go with you wherever you land. 
5. Use your connections to create a different experience.Her experience in South Africa would never have happened as a tourist 
6. The shared experience of hiking with her sister was not mutually exclusive to together time 
7. How do you build into your process, time for coming down from an adventure and transitioning back into daily life? 
8. Becoming a mom doesn't mean you leave your passion.It means you adapt it to include the ones you love. I needed to put my sadness aside and honor the accomplishment of my daughter. It was a good frame of reference and mindset that I needed to be able to do this with both kids and include them in my passion.
9. Get out the door, getting out the door is the hardest part. You won't get it right. You won't get it perfect. But just try it. 
10. Try again. As Courtney noted in her stone mountain hike. When you reach that peak, my mama heart, my hiking heart, were smiling at the summit. It was a new level of accomplishment that I had never experienced before. 
11. The gear is far less important than the doing Mary Janes and ruffle socks are perfectly okay.
12. Embrace the mindset that everything is temporary. There are hard things. Aren't going to go as hoped. This is just a season and we can always try again, this tantrum, this moment, this season, it's all temporary. And by the way, this will be funny tomorrow. 

To Follow or Connect with Courtney:

Facebook: She is a member of the free Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ordinarysherpa 
Instagram: @happytrailsandponytails