meet
Kim Payes
im Payes has always loved living life to the fullest and exploring everything from mountain trails to cosmopolitan cities. That adventurous streak is at the core of who she is, earning her the nickname “Dora the Explorer.” When she was 8 years old in rural New Jersey, Kim would grab her bike, her best friend and a couple of tuna fish sandwiches and get lost exploring for the day. Her love for nature grew when she moved to Sun Valley, Idaho, for middle school and high school. As an adult, she would still love to be in a new place each day. She says, “There’s just so much to see and appreciate.”
Kim is recharged by nature. The sights, the smells, the beauty make her feel at peace and close to her late mother. “That was her church,” Kim says about her mother. “I’ve gotten a lot more spiritual in the last seven years and have found this [nature] to be a way to connect with my mom.” More often than not, Kim’s only trail buddy is her Bernadoodle, Boden. This allows her to really be present on their hikes and feel grounded by the landscape around them. Their favorite trails are Green Mountain, Gregory Canyon, Shadow Canyon and the Lower Bluestem Trail.
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realproducersmag.com
To keep the outdoors beautiful and healthy, Kim donates to and sponsors an Inland Ocean Coalition event yearly. This organization helps raise awareness about and address the largest threats to the oceans. Lowering carbon emissions, reducing plastic and other pollution, protecting our fisheries, safeguarding watersheds, promoting marine protected areas and fighting for legislation that supports our oceans, waterways and climate can happen from anywhere in the world. Kim wants to ensure the nature she knows and loves is around for many generations to come. It’s not just the outdoors that keeps Kim healthy and active; she is also a big yogi, practicing at Yoga Pod Boulder and Mecha. Both yoga and Pilates lead to a body less prone to injury, so they are a great complement to running and hiking for Kim. For reformer Pilates, Kim says, “You really have to focus and be present, so it is a spiritual quieting of the mind.” She claims it’s great for people with high energy and a lot of things firing off in their brains all at once. Pilates is also good for body alignment and strengthening the core. “Yoga is for heat, centering and grounding,” says Kim. Both require you to move with your breath.
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