Ep 46: Megan Taylor on Belay Expeditions & Ecopsychology

Megan "Belay" Taylor is the owner of Belay Expeditions . She is a mountain climber, long-distance expeditionist, and extreme minimalist. Once entirely nomadic living only on the open road with her bicycle, She now calls Lake City, Colorado home. 

Belay turned full-time entrepreneur at the age of 35 even though her love for the great outdoors has been ironclad since she was 23. Her entrepreneurial endeavors came after the tumultuous yet life-changing decision to exit a life-long career in academia.

Megan lives by and operates BELAY EXPEDITIONS by three values: BE Outside, BE Simple, and BE in Pursuit. She believes these three values coalesce for a life lived better. Hence the BE motto: BE You. Better.

Belay credits her achievements and happy life to these three guiding values and motto.

Quotes:
"Where there is interest there is education"
"If you don't care about something you're not going to preserve it"

Topics Discussed:

• How Megan got into mountain guiding
• How she became an extreme minimalist
• Why she considers her expeditions to be a "journey" 
• Why her nickname "belay" has nothing to do with rock climbing
• How challenging experiences in nature contribute to a higher quality life
• Why she wants to own nothing
• How her personal values of be outside, be simple, be in pursuit affect everything she does
• Why schools should require a field trip to landfills
• Why ecopsychology is so important for us all to understand
• How epigenetics affect people's interest in the outdoors
• Why the best gear makes all the difference in your outdoor experience
• What the "3 day effect is"
• Her required expedition gear
• Why Belay quit social media

Resources Mentioned:

• Belay Expeditions
• Big Agnes Copper Spur tent
• Sea to Summit
• Big Agnes
• Jet Boil
• Patagonia
• Book: Wild New World
• Book: Let My People Go Surfing
• Book: The Man Who Quit Money
• Book: The Outrage Machine

The Adventure Made Podcast is sponsored by Rewild Gear. Essential gear built for the great outdoors, designed to fuel your next adventure. Come find your wild at RewildGear.com!