Missoula Valley, MT May 2024

Women

Mother.

I promise that I'm not conducting my family planning according to the themed editorial calendar but I do take great pleasure in the bright coincidence of my son being born in August (the Kid + Pet issue) and now, I'm expecting my second son this month (the Women's issue). It's like I'm subconsciously celebrating the glorious gift of motherhood from both sides, and I love it.

It's also a happy note that Mother's Day is also in May. There is something so transformative about becoming a mother—a born selflessness—that can only be truly enjoyed when we are humble enough to accept it and grow through it. Raising my first son for the last three years has made me live more in the present. I take the time to see what shapes the clouds make and I do my best to find the answers to questions I've never even thought of asking. My heart swells and my brain is reawakened. My senses are stronger now, with him being in my world. Even my second son, who is not here quite yet, reminds me that the miracle of life really is a tangible thing squirming beneath tight belly skin. There is such simplicity in observation and being there in the moment. Because all too soon, moments pass and become memories.

Which brings me to the next topic: preserving memories. During my nesting phase of this pregnancy, I sifted through thousands of family photographs. It took me weeks to organize them into categories and store them in a way that would ensure them being here when my sons call for them at some juncture of their lives. Perhaps they'll want to see what my face looked like as a baby when they have babies of their own. To see if the faces match—maybe my lips or ears or eyes will have resemblance and offer up some feeling of forever.

I also made a physical photo album of my wedding, and started two baby books that will be ongoing as the years tick on. There is something about holding physical pages in your hand—kind of like this magazine—that feels more real, more long-lasting than what any digital platform can offer. So if you want a sunny day project, print a ton of photos and spread them in the grass. Reminisce, laugh, and cherish the moments that have come and gone, and those as fleeting as the one you're in.

CHELSEA LYN AGRO, EDITOR @MVLMAGAZINE

May 2024

PUBLISHER

Mike Tucker | MTucker@CityLifestyle.com

EDITOR

Chelsea Lyn Agro | Chelsea.Agro@CityLifestyle.com

ACCOUNT MANAGER

Marla Huggins | Marla.Huggins@CityLifestyle.com

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Erika Spaulding | InspiredByMontana@Gmail.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Marko Capoferri, Shelby Humphreys, Emma Trotter, Susie Wall

Corporate Team

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steven Schowengerdt

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Matthew Perry

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HR Janeane Thompson

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Josh Klein

AD DESIGNER Evan Deuvall

LAYOUT DESIGNER Kelsey Ragain

Learn how to start your own publication at citylifestyle.com/franchise.

Departments

Women in Frame

The Driving Force

Meet Montana Enthusiast Susie Wall

Mother Nature Welcomes Every Body

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Butterfly Release

If you've ever wanted to watch newly emerged butterflies be released into the greenhouse at the Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium, now's your chance! Every Tuesday through Saturday at 10:30 a.m. visit the butterfly house to watch the first release of the day.

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Ladies' Pinball Night

OddPitch Brewing hosts a weekly Ladies' Night. Head on down every Wednesday and flip on their ten pinball machines and get drink discounts while you flip!

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Postpartum Pilates with Laurel Sears

If you're celebrating Mother's Day by being postpartum, here's a class that will help aid in your healing journey. Designed to recover and strengthen after childbirth, this weekly class will focus on abdominal, pelvic floor, and breathing muscles. Pilates offers a special pathway to recovery as it focuses on balancing muscle groups and toning while lengthening to create efficient and well supported movement. Infants 0-crawling are invited as well. 801 Sherwood Street, every Monday from 11 to 11:50 a.m.

Women in Frame

ARTICLE BY MARKO CAPOFERRI | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIKA SPAULDING

Emily Hall of Art Attic brings well-rounded education and experience to the world of framing as a means of preservation

We’ve all heard the expression “big things come in small packages,” probably more times than we care to keep track of. It’s one of those phrases that is so worn by time and use that it can cease to bear any weight at all. But such cliches also can invariably possess big truths.

Now, let’s think about the word “frame”: it’s a noun, a static structure that contains. It’s also a verb, a process, an act of creation. It’s a word that encompasses multitudes in a compact space. Art Attic Framing & Design, a longtime Missoula fixture in fine art framing, operates in much the same way. Driving along South Avenue, you’d be forgiven for mistaking its unassuming, single-family-home guise for just another of the many modest-sized houses that compose the surrounding neighborhood in every direction. It’s easy to miss, but once inside its doors you quickly get the impression that a lot happens between those four walls.

“I like that we’re in a little house,” says Emily Hall, Art Attic’s owner and guiding light. “I would love extra space, but I’m also very organized, so we’ve made pretty good use of a small space.”

Nestled in among cascading layers of frame samples (many of which are Italian, hand-finished) are paintings and prints by each of the shop’s employees, showcasing a wide spectrum of visual talents shared by Art Attic’s staff. It’s a place owned and operated by serious, practicing artists, which lends the shop’s core work of fine art framing a certain depth and vitality.

“You can learn how to do this,” Emily says, “but there are certain parts of this that you just have to know.”

“Having that passion for art and understanding where the art is coming from is helpful in this job,” she continues, “because it makes us more excited to do the job. We have backgrounds in art history, color theory, design, and all of that is a part of this job.”

Emily and her team come to every task with a plethora of skills, from acrylic and oil painting, collage, and printmaking, to curation and art installation. All of their specialties combine to make for a very unique and wide-ranging knowledge of materials and applications, with a collective artistic sensibility that’s near-impossible to match when it comes to custom framing.

While a deep aesthetic understanding is key to Art Attic’s success, there’s another equally important aspect to the work of framing that is easy to overlook when visual presentation is what leaves an impression on a viewer of a work of art. When asked what part of framing she particularly enjoys, Emily points to framing practices that can enhance and extend an artwork’s longevity, such as using UV-resistant glass or acid-free materials in mounting, or proper hinging methods to allow an artwork to be removed from its frame without damaging it.

“Having that passion for art and understanding where the art is coming from is helpful in this job because it makes us more excited to do the job. We have backgrounds in art history, color theory, design, and all of that is a part of this job.”

“The main purpose of framing is to preserve the artwork,” she explains. “I’m very passionate about conservation practices. I feel like if you’re taking time to spend money and invest in something you’re hopefully hanging on your wall for the rest of your life, you want it to last. Part of the design or presentation part of framing is the preservation.”

Longevity is a trait that is embedded in Art Attic’s DNA. The business first started in 1968 in a shop on South Higgins, back when framing in Missoula was much more in demand during those pre-digital times. As the number of frame shops dwindled to a handful, Art Attic has survived and thrived, through one move and two changes of ownership, with Emily Hall taking over in 2018 in Art Attic’s 50th year of existence.

As much as Art Attic has taken a long road to get to this point in time, Emily has had

quite her own journey to get here. Born and raised in Grangeville, Idaho, she went to college in Boise and then moved to Portland, Oregon, where she got her start in framing. When she was ready for a slightly slower pace, she found her way to Missoula in 2009 and pretty soon after started working at Art Attic.

“Missoula is a happy medium for me between Portland and Grangeville,” Emily says. “You have this small-town feel, the beautiful outdoors, outdoor recreation is everywhere, but you also get a little bit of culture. The arts scene here is amazing, the food is good, there’s great music...once I got my bearings I thought ‘I don’t ever want to leave.’ I appreciate that everyone’s in it to help the other person succeed. You don’t get as much of that in a bigger city.”

And it’s in this middle ground, the smalltown-meets-big-city intersection where Missoula sits, that to Emily makes it a fertile ground for the arts.

“Everyone wants the arts to succeed,” she says. “Missoula’s a very, very open-minded place. All walks of life are welcome, any type of art that you do is welcome, and people encourage you to be creative. It’s a safe environment for people to experiment.”

Custom frame shop, art gallery, wood shop, framing studio: Art Attic is all of these things, but it’s also something of a community locus or energy center. As much passion as Emily has for the preservation side of framing, it’s really the everyday interactions with her customers that bring her the most pleasure in her job.

“You see somebody different every single day,” she says. “You get to see amazing artwork all day long, getting to know the story behind what they’re framing and getting to know the people. Being a framer, it’s almost like you’re a therapist or a bartender. Everyone feels very comfortable and wants to open up. I love it. People choose to come here, and they leave feeling better.

“I feel like if you’re taking time to spend money and invest in something you’re hopefully hanging on your wall for the rest of your life, you want it to last.”

Left to right:

THE DRIVING FORCE

ARTICLE BY EMMA TROTTER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIKA SPAULDING

“Being a woman and having a lot on your plate as far as children and business, it’s hard,” she said, noting that she works

Elizabeth Hines—a mom of two who, along with her husband Tim, owns Pattee Creek Market—has some advice for other working women.

Elizabeth Hines of Pattee Creek Market embraces family, community, and local products alongside husband Tim

“These lambs have the best life. Our kids go out there and play with them. They’re spoiled baby lambs. They have the best quality of life any farm animal could have.”

- Elizabeth

out every day and rides her horses. “It’s OK to say no. It’s OK to be at work and be OK to be at work, and it’s OK to be at home and be OK to be at home.”

Tim calls Elizabeth “the driving force” behind the business, and he calls Pattee Creek Market a “small niche little community market.” That’s on purpose.

“There’s a dozen grocery stores in Missoula but their corporate office is not in Missoula,” he said. “They report to shareholders. We report to the community.”

“Every customer for us is not just a number,” Elizabeth added. “It’s an actual person.”

Since taking over the business last October, Elizabeth and Tim have been hard at work overhauling various aspects of the space with an emphasis on sustainability and meeting environmental standards.

Repeat visitors might notice brand new bulk bins made from recycled material. And an Amazon locker— “only one in Missoula,” noted Tim—now sits outside the store, allowing customers to pick up and return items en route to other errands without a delivery truck making a special trip. Behind the scenes, Tim is overseeing replumbing all the prep areas and installing grease traps.

Aesthetically, Elizabeth and Tim have been able to do more with less space through efficient organization. The store features 1,400 wines with about 150 added under the new ownership, but the footprint of wine shelving was greatly reduced to allow more visibility and customer foot traffic in the direction of the meat counter. The bulk bins take up about

eight feet less space than before, without sacrificing variety.

Elizabeth and Tim put great care into sourcing local items whenever possible, such as Tipu’s Chai tea, bulk spices from Silk Road, and a great selection of local beer. A cooler of Wagging Tail Biscuits, baked by a local teenager, sits near the entrance. All proceeds go to the Humane Society of Western Montana. For humans, baked goods from Grist, Le Petit Outre, and Florabella are delivered fresh. Local produce like carrots and potatoes, as well as poultry, come from nearby Hutterite colonies.

“Anything we can get locally, we try to bring it in,” said Tim, noting that the coffee and tea section was expanded by four-to-eight feet to make room for more local varieties.

The meat counter features local brands like Double K Ranch, Farmer Boy, Clark Fork Custom Meats, Sovereign Warrior, and Hatheway Sheep Ranch. That last local business has a special connection to the family because it is owned by Elizabeth’s dad and she currently handles day-to-day operations like caring for the lambs.

“These lambs have the best life,” Elizabeth said. “Our kids go out there and play with them. They’re spoiled baby lambs. They have the best quality of life any farm animal could have.”

To Elizabeth and Tim, family and community go hand-in-hand.

“It’s about knowing where our food comes from,” Elizabeth said. “Our kids eat here. We are all about the community and making a better future for the next generation.”

“I love being a butcher and getting to cut meat, then going out on the sales floor

“It’s about knowing where our food comes from. Our kids eat here. We are all about the community and making a better future for the next generation.” - Elizabeth

asking people if they need help finding anything,” said Tim, who has worked in the grocery business for 25 years. “I guess I’m just a people person.”

It makes sense for the couple that reinvesting in Missoula is also a priority. Elizabeth and Tim have partnered with local nonprofit Missoula Works, which was founded with the goal of assisting returning citizens—mainly people coming out of incarceration and treatment— with finding employment. And that wouldn’t work, of course, without local businesses willing to hire them.

“It’s completely vital,” said Daisy Alexander, personal development coordinator at Missoula Works. “Having reliable employment is the

number one factor in preventing recidivism. It’s the best chance they have at moving forward and making a life.”

“Pattee Creek has been amazing,” she went on. “We have several very happy and grateful individuals placed there, and the owners have been very communicative with us so we know what is going on and what they need. They are our most active hiring partner right now.”

“If you can just change one person’s life, get them back on their feet,” Tim said. “Our main thing is we’re here to support the community,” Elizabeth added.

So what’s next for Pattee Creek Market? “That will be a forever thing,” Tim said. “Honestly, I’m really considering an olive bar.”

Meet Montana Enthusiast Susie Wall

ARTICLE BY CHELSEA LYN AGRO PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIKA SPAULDING

SUSIE, YOU'VE JUST HAD YOUR FIRST BOOK PUBLISHED. CAN YOU TELL ME HOW IT FEELS TO RELEASE THIS COLLECTION OF ADVENTURES OUT INTO THE WORLD? WHAT DO YOU HOPE READERS WILL TAKE AWAY FROM THE BOOK?

It feels amazing! I love seeing the final result after spending all of 2023 researching and writing the book. More than that, it’s a thrill to have this opportunity to share my deep love of Montana on the page.

First, I want to emphasize that the 100 Things are in no particular order. It’s a list, not a ranking, and #100 is just as amazing as #1. Second, I want visitors to Montana to use this book. I’ve tried

MISSOULA VALLEY LIFESTYLE CONTRIBUTOR

SUSIE WALL BECOMES A PUBLISHED AUTHOR

100 THINGS TO DO IN MONTANA BEFORE YOU DIE

IS AVAILABLE HERE IN MISSOULA AT FACT AND FICTION AND BARNES AND NOBLE.

to fill it with things that locals love to see and do as well as things that are off the beaten path and may not be advertised in other visitor guides. But what I really want readers to take away from my book is that it’s not only a guidebook but also a celebration of the wonderful people and places of Montana.

CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THIS PROCESS OF WRITING, EDITING, AND PUBLISHING HAS BEEN LIKE FOR YOU? MANY ASPIRING WRITERS ARE ALWAYS CURIOUS ABOUT HOW FINISHED MATERIAL LIKE A BOOK WINDS UP IN THE RIGHT HANDS THAT WILL CHAMPION IT.

I’ve written dozens of articles but as you mentioned, this is my first book so it was a huge learning experience. I learned about Reedy Press and their series of travel guides,  100 Things to Do Before You Die, through a travel writer friend of mine. After a quick search of Reedy Press’ website, I noticed that they hadn’t published anything for Montana at the time and were always looking for authors. Since then, Nancy Icopini and Gina Tarnacki wrote 100 Things to Do in Billings Before You Die. I approached them about writing  100 Things to Do in Montana Before You Die, and following a brief interview process, I was given the assignment. Then I got to work on the fun part, which was traveling and writing.

Once I turned in my rough draft, Reedy Press did an amazing job of guiding me through the editing process. It really pays to have an experienced editor and publisher on your side. They worked with me on fact checking as well as the layout and wording. They have also been a huge support with promotion and sales. Just about everything about this experience has been a new but very exciting challenge for me.

"I’VE TRIED TO FILL IT WITH THINGS THAT LOCALS LOVE TO SEE AND DO AS WELL AS THINGS THAT ARE OFF THE BEATEN PATH AND MAY NOT BE ADVERTISED IN OTHER VISITOR GUIDES."

WHAT DOES THIS SUMMER LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? ARE YOU TRAVELING TO ANYWHERE YOU'VE LISTED WITHIN THE BOOK OR LOOKING TO BROADEN YOUR BORDERS? ANY BOOK EVENTS THAT LOCALS CAN ATTEND?

Summer for me means traveling in Montana! I hate to leave during our few months of glorious sun-filled days. Dave, my husband and favorite travel companion, loves to go with me on road trips but he wasn’t able to join me on several of my trips last year. I’m really excited to return to places like the Bair Family Museum in Martinsdale and Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge in Malta with him by my side. And I’m sure I’ll discover even more wonderful spots.

Other than that, my main goal this summer is to promote my book around the state. I have several book signings on the calendar at some wonderful independent bookstores in places like Butte, Dillon, and Livingston. I’ll be at Travelers’ Rest State Park, which is in the book, for their Expedition Days on June 29 and 30, and I hope to continue to schedule more events in the Missoula area throughout the rest of the year.

WHAT MADE YOU REALIZE THAT YOU COULD WRITE? AND HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE TRAVEL SPACE?

I’ve always enjoyed writing but I didn’t have an educational background in it, unless you count book reports and college essays. I was living in Colorado at the time and found a night class at a local college that taught tips for getting

“MY DREAM OF TRAVEL WRITING REALLY CAME FULL CIRCLE WHEN I DISCOVERED NORTHWEST TRAVEL & LIFE, WHICH FOCUSES ON TRAVEL IN THE NORTHWEST U.S., INCLUDING MONTANA.”

published in magazines. The instructor emphasized that if you stick to the adage of “write what you know,” you’ll soon run out of things to write about, so I took advantage of the fact that I’m a curious person and looked around for other subjects that piqued my interests like nature, food, and profiles of small business owners and entrepreneurs.

It wasn’t until I moved to Montana that I had any real success. I am forever grateful to Carolyn Kurtz who offered me my first published article on scat identification here in Missoula for  Montana Naturalist , the magazine for the Montana Natural History Center. Once I could put “published writer” on my resume, I was off to the races.

My dream of travel writing really came full circle when I discovered  Northwest Travel & Life , which focuses on travel in the northwest U.S., including Montana. It’s one of the few remaining print publications that focuses solely on local travel.

TELL US AGAIN (FOR ANYONE WHO MISSED YOUR LAST TRAVEL STORY IN MVL) ABOUT HOW YOU SETTLED IN MISSOULA.

In 2007, Dave and I were living in Estes Park, Colorado, and experiencing somewhat of an early mid-life crisis. Looking to shake things up, we shoved all our camping gear and some provisions in our little Toyota Echo and traveled around the country for six months in search of new beginnings. Missoula won our contest for new hometown by a landslide.

Planting Spring Flowers

Helpful tips for planting spring flowers

Sun-Loving Plants:

Spring is here! We compiled a list of flowers that - depending on your planting zone - can be planted in the season.

Plumbago

Has beautiful dark blue or white flowers on a large shrub of 3 to 5 feet. This tends to freeze down in winter and comes back from roots in the spring.

Hibiscus

The tropical variety will not survive the winters so move those pots inside. The plant can get up to 5 feet tall and there are many different colors and varieties. The perennial varieties will freeze to the ground but come back in the spring. The variety Moy Grande is known as the dinner plate hibiscus. The Texas star hibiscus has beautiful flowers in red or white.

Bougainvillea

These colorful plants can be planted in baskets and pots, not in water-logged or low areas where water might collect. They will grow best when given enough space to spread out, and should be planted in an area that will allow them a minimum of 5-6 hours of sunlight every day. Colors include orange, pink, purple, white, red, tangerine and fuschia to name a few.

Purslane

This is great in baskets for trailing leaves with lots of colors. The bees love it!

Butterfly Weed

This 3 to 4-foot bush is a must for monarch lovers. Monarchs feed on the leaves before making their cocoons. It has beautiful orange and yellow flowers.

ARTICLE BY LORI HAWKINS

Shade-Loving Plants:

Lantana

This is a great hot weather plant that comes in many colors and varieties. Trailing varieties only get about 1 foot tall but can get 3 to 4 feet wide. There are bush varieties that get 4 feet tall and dwarf bushes only get about 2 feet tall. It comes in yellows, purples, reds, oranges, pinks, fuschia, and many others.

Greggs Blue Mist

This fuzzy light blue flower is a butterfly favorite.

Pentas

This is another bee and butterfly favorite that grows about 10 to 12 inches tall. There is a graffiti variety in different colors that works in beds or pots.

Vinca/Periwinkle

This plant comes in upright or trailing varieties. There are many colors to choose from: lavender, white with a red center, peach, white and red pink to strawberry.

Sages

There are many varieties of sage. The Texas sage is a shrub that has beautiful lavender flowers - a favorite for bees. They usually bloom around the time it rains. Henry Duelberg variety is a smaller bush 18 to 20 inches tall with blue stalks of blooms. Russian Sage is a tall silver lacey foliage with light blue flower spikes and grows to 4 feet tall. Deer tend to stay away from most of the sages.

Turk’s Cap

This plant makes a large bush of red or pink flowers. It has low water needs once established and can tolerate drought conditions and hot temperatures. Prune back plant in winter if it gets too leggy.

Impatiens

These need more water than most other plants and come in many colors. They are valued for their vibrant colors, abundant blooms, and tolerance for shade.

Caladiums

With lush multicolored leaves, many larger than the palm of your hand, caladiums have become one of the most popular foliage plants for shady or semi-shady gardens—with many recent introductions being sun tolerant.

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If you’ve been thinking about transforming your home’s interior into something truly special, we’re here to help.

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ARTICLE BY LEANN PARKER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIE JONES

Spring Floral Bowl

BRING THE BRIGHTNESS AND FRESHNESS OF SPRING INDOORS BY CREATING YOUR OWN FLORAL BOWL ARRANGEMENT.

Spring, come quickly! And if not, bring spring indoors anyway. Flowers brighten any room, any day of the year. No need to wait for a special occasion or holiday – give yourself permission to brighten everyday life with a bowl full of flowers. Place florals in an entryway, kitchen, living room space or even bathroom. Florals make any room come alive with pops of color and the smells of spring that’s just about ready to burst outside.

Consider this your personal invitation to play with flowers by creating your very own Floral Bowl Arrangement. Use any cereal bowl in the kitchen and a bundle of store bought flowers. For extra texture and depth, look for small spring branches and ornamental grasses found in your yard to pop into the arrangement, like I did here. Then, place your floral bowl in a place where you need that burst of joy most. Enjoy!

Supplies:

• 1 bundle of flowers (about 24 stems) + floral food packet

• spring branches & ornamental grasses found in your yard (optional)

• 6” bowl (cereal bowl size)

• floral shears (or garden clippers, kitchen shears, even craft scissors in a pinch)

• 12” square cut chicken wire

• wire cutters

• garden gloves to protect your hands when forming chicken wire

• clear floral tape (scotch tape will also do)

• lazy susan to easily move your arrangement and work from all sides (optional)

Preparation & Assembly:

• First prepare the mechanics. The mechanics are the non-floral elements used to assemble a floral arrangement. These materials will act as a grid in which the flowers are built into to hold each stem in its place.

• Wearing garden gloves, cut chicken wire roughly into a 12” square. Loosely form the chicken wire into a ball and place inside the bowl.

• Use clear floral tape to make an X shape over the top of the bowl to hold the chicken wire securely into place. This will also give extra support when adding the floral elements later.

• Fill the bowl with water and mix in a flower food packet, if your flowers came with one.

• Begin to arrange floral elements into the bowl. As a general rule, you will want to start with the strongest, thickest stems and end with the most delicate stems. Here, I began with branches, then the largest base flowers followed by taller focal flowers, and finally delicate stems, grasses and wispy greens.

MOTHER NATURE Welcomes Every Body

FAT GIRLS HIKING IS AN INCLUSIVE HIKING CLUB FOR ALL BODIES

ARTICLE BY SHELBY HUMPHREYS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIKA SPAULDING

In the summer of 2018, an unlikely group of hikers converged at Missoula’s Blue Mountain Trailhead. I was among them. While waiting for any latecomers, we filled our circle with small talk. I remember noticing one woman with sun-kissed cheeks and summer-washed blonde hair. She looked like any other outdoorsy woman. Except, she wore a bright floral dress that flounced just above her sunburned kneecaps. I did a double-check. Yep, she was wearing hiking boots. She had a backpack, too. In fact, as she introduced herself, I realized that she was the leader of our hike. Her name was Summer Michaud-Skog and she was touring the country and hitting the trails to launch chapters of her new organization, Fat Girls Hiking.

We listened as Summer shared her mission and promised that no one would be left behind on the hike that day. Indeed, no one was. We enjoyed a beautiful ramble at a comfortable pace. We stopped to examine chartreuse lichens and pet velvety tufts of moss (one of Summer’s favorite things). By the time we returned to the trailhead, everyone was all smiles. When Summer asked if anyone would like to lead a Missoula chapter, my hand shot up. Along with another volunteer, Jenny, my adventure as an ambassador for Fat Girls Hiking began.

I’ve always loved hiking and I’ve always lived in a bigger body. As a Missoula native, I’ve been exploring our trails my whole life. When I was a girl, I escaped to the hills above my home in Lolo. Shortly after my daughter was born, I tackled Strawberry Hill up the Rattlesnake. Being outdoors

"It may be our bodies that bring us to the trailhead but it's our love of the outdoors that turns strangers into friends along the trail."

has always returned me to my best self. Whatever that “best self” has meant over the years, it has never been about my weight. Even so, when I first started leading hikes, using the word “fat” took some getting used to for me.

Friction around the word “fat” is exactly why Summer began Fat Girls Hiking (FGH). In her book “Fat Girls Hiking: An Inclusive Guide to Getting Outdoors at Any Size or Ability,” she shared what inspired her to create FGH. “I noticed that I didn’t often see people who looked like me on trails. I am a queer, fat, heavily tattooed woman with chronic pain who hikes in dresses. I wanted to amplify and showcase other fat women, queers, and women of color who were out here taking up space in the outdoors just like me and my friends.”

Today, Fat Girls Hiking has over 26 chapters in three countries. Missoula’s club was among the first wave to launch—no surprise, given our outdoorsy population and easy access to recreation. In the last six years, our group has logged many miles. We’ve wandered the routes surrounding our valley in every direction, trekked alongside whitewater rushing down from the mountains in the Bitterroots, stood atop batholiths to

look out over the national forest up Highway 12, and investigated historical spots in the 9 Mile Valley. Our hikes are one-to-two miles, mostly on wide, wheelchair-friendly trails, with little elevation gain. We always go at the pace of the slowest hiker (which is usually me) and stop mid-way for a snack break.

The best thing about being an ambassador for Fat Girls Hiking is the people. I’ve met hikers of all sizes, abilities, and from all walks of life. Along the way, I’ve come to understand that the name “Fat Girls Hiking” is an invitation. It may be our bodies that bring us to the trailhead but it’s our love of the outdoors that turns strangers into friends along the trail. Without the pressure to keep up or look a certain way, we’re just another group of outdoor recreationists walking in nature simply for the joy of it.

Fat Girls Hiking - Missoula is open to all genders and abilities. They hike every second Saturday of each month. For details on upcoming hikes, you can follow @fatgirlshiking_missoula on Instagram or search the calendar at missoulaevents.net. Learn more about the international organization at www.FatGirlsHiking.com

- Shelby Humphreys

Sustainability in Action

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