The Trail Less Traveled

12/23/2025

Episode 694 is LIVE! Join us in Missoula for an interview with three people who help define this town in very different and deeply rooted ways. Podcast available everywhere and at www.TrailLessTraveled.net

Aimee McQuilkin is the owner of Betty’s Divine and the Clark Fork Yacht Club, two small businesses that shape Missoula’s style, spirit, and sense of community.

Shane Clouse is a Missoula singer songwriter and the frontman of the band Stomping Ground, and he is also the owner and manager of the Pink Grizzly greenhouse and nursery, a longtime local garden center and family business.

Dave Stromeyer serves Missoula as a county commissioner and is currently working on a passenger rail project that imagines a more connected, accessible future for western Montana.

Listen to "The Trail Less Traveled" every Sunday evening from 6-7 MST
Tune in locally on the Trail 103.3 FM and STREAMING LIVE at www.Trail1033.com

Please help us keep the podcast version of the show advertisement free while also supporting our educational outreach efforts by donating $3/month on Patreon. To donate, visit Patreon.com/TrailLessTraveled

12/21/2025

Episode 694 premieres tonight from 6-7 MST. Join us in Missoula for an interview with three people who help define this town in very different and deeply rooted ways.

Aimee McQuilkin is the owner of Betty’s Divine and the Clark Fork Yacht Club, two small businesses that shape Missoula’s style, spirit, and sense of community.

Shane Clouse is a Missoula singer songwriter and the frontman of the band Stomping Ground, and he is also the owner and manager of the Pink Grizzly greenhouse and nursery, a longtime local garden center and family business.

Dave Stromeyer serves Missoula as a county commissioner and is currently working on a passenger rail project that imagines a more connected, accessible future for western Montana.

Each guest gets time to tell their story and share a song that matters to them.

Listen to “The Trail Less Traveled” every Sunday evening from 6-7 MST

Tune in locally on the Trail 103.3 FM and STREAMING LIVE at www.Trail1033.com

Podcast available everywhere and at www.TrailLessTraveled.net

Click here to listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zQfrbQRzXgdu7GfKwF42X?si=W9MHFzGkSBS76cEGov0Oxg

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trail-less-traveled/id1180249343?i=1000742122338

Please help us keep the podcast version of the show advertisement free while also supporting our educational outreach efforts by donating $3/month on Patreon. To donate, visit Patreon.com/TrailLessTraveled

12/14/2025

Episode 693 premieres tonight from 6-7 MST. Join us in the forest outside Missoula for an interview with Frank Szollosi, the Executive Director of the Montana Wildlife Federation.

The Montana Wildlife Federation is Montana's oldest and largest wildlife conservation organization focused on protecting wildlife habitat, public lands access, and science-based natural resource policy in Montana.

At MWF, Szollosi collaborates with state agencies including Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, tribal governments, landowners, businesses, and conservation partners to advance policies that sustain healthy wildlife populations and accessible wild places. He lives in Montana with his wife and four children and enjoys kayaking, downhill skiing, and backpacking.

Listen to "The Trail Less Traveled" every Sunday evening from 6-7 MST.

Tune in locally on the Trail 1033 FM and at Trail1033.com

Podcast available everywhere and at www.TrailLessTraveled.net

Please help us keep the podcast version of the show advertisement free while also supporting our educational outreach efforts by donating $3/month on Patreon. To donate, visit Patreon.com/TrailLessTraveled

12/12/2025

Episode 690 is out in the wild 🎧🏔️🐕

We recorded this one in the Grand Canyon and then took a hard left into Alaska’s winter legend. Meet John Wood, an Alaska musher with dry humor, honest trail wisdom, and four finishes on the Iditarod trail to Nome. He even called his own results an “unparalleled record of mediocrity” and still answered “hell yes” when asked if he would do it again. That energy is the whole episode.

Listen now at www.TrailLessTraveled.net
The podcast is available everywhere you listen 🎙️

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trail-less-traveled/id1180249343?i=1000740923218

Click here to listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5bdn8eFunrmgeahL4MNcQu?si=f79a9b1c3b804b12

Help keep the podcast version ad free and support our educational outreach with 3 dollars per month on Patreon ❤️ Patreon.com TrailLessTraveled

12/01/2025

See you this Wednesday in Missoula!

THIS WEDNESDAY from 6:30-8pm! FREE and open to ALL AGES (children are encouraged to attend).

Journey across Australia’s ancient landscapes through sound, story, and spirit. Drawing from decades of travel and time spent learning from Aboriginal elders of the Kabi Kabi, Ngarigo, and other nations, Mandela shares the deep cultural and geological roots of the didgeridoo—an instrument that echoes the voice of the Earth itself.

This immersive presentation weaves adventure, ecology, and Indigenous wisdom into a rich tapestry of storytelling that celebrates connection to Country and the timeless rhythm of life in Australia. Discover what it means to live in balance—and how these lessons can guide our modern relationship with the Earth.

🎟️ RSPV to secure your seat! This event will sell out so visit us in person, online at XplorerMaps.com or by calling Xplorer Maps at (406) 546-4972

📅 December 3rd
⏰ 6:30 to 8:00 PM
📍 1245 S 3rd St W, Missoula, Montana

12/01/2025

What unfolded in the morning of November 29, 1864, on the banks of Colorado's Big Sandy Creek became one of the most chilling betrayals in the history of the American West—among “the most emotionally charged and controversial events in American history,” in the words of the National Park Service.

About 230 defenseless and peace-seeking Cheyenne and Arapaho were murdered in cold blood by the U.S. Army, most of them woman and children.

This is a story that started months before the killings itself, when fear-mongering, hate speech, and "us-versus-them" talk dominated American newspapers and was amplified by influential opinion-makers.

The Sand Creek Massacre is what can happen—what HAS happened—when American leaders, in this case a governor and military commander, gain power by turning struggling families into symbols of menace. When rhetoric becomes so charged that cruelty begins to feel like justified policy.

It began when a certain group of people was described as “less than human,” when fear eclipsed empathy, and when lies became the foundation for wanton violence.

But, there's another side to the story, too. A few lower-ranking Army officers ignored orders from Colonel Chivington and refused to participate in the slaughter of innocent people. They also refused to stay silent afterward and testified against their superiors.

Their courage—first refusing direct orders, then speaking up against politically powerful men—forced Congress and the Army to eventually confront the truth.

“Critically, the Sand Creek Massacre stands as a testament to a brutality that should be learned from and never repeated,” the National Park Service, which now manages the site as Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, says

“[It is] a lesson of what the rejection of conscience in the face of fear and hysteria can lead to."

Read the full story here: https://ourpubliclandsandwaters.substack.com/p/the-sand-creek-massacre-and-why-it

11/23/2025

Episode 690 premieres tonight from 6-7 MST. Join us in the Grand Canyon for an interview with John Wood, an Alaska musher who started chasing the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in the late nineteen seventies and went on to finish the thousand mile route to Nome four times in 1978, 1979, 1982 and 1986.

Known for his dry humor and honesty about the grind of the trail, he once joked that after three runs he had “an unparalleled record of mediocrity” and zero prize money, yet if you asked whether he planned to run again his answer was “hell yes,” because the race embodied adventure, excitement, competition and camaraderie that felt uniquely Alaskan.

John served as a musher representative on the Iditarod board and offered straight talking advice to rookies about staying upbeat, caring for their dog teams and setting realistic goals in a race where two weeks of little sleep and deep cold are the norm. The event he helped shape as a veteran competitor and mentor is itself legendary an annual March run from Anchorage to Nome of roughly one thousand miles across mountains, frozen rivers and Bering Sea coast, first completed in 1973 and often called the Last Great Race on Earth for its blend of brutal weather, wilderness travel and the deep historical ties between sled dogs and Alaska communities.

Listen to The Trail Less Traveled every Sunday evening from 6-7 MST.

Tune in locally on the Trail 1033 FM and at Trail1033.com

Podcast available everywhere and at www.TrailLessTraveled.net

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trail-less-traveled/id1180249343?i=1000740923218

Click here to listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5bdn8eFunrmgeahL4MNcQu?si=f79a9b1c3b804b12

Please help us keep the podcast version of the show advertisement free while also supporting our educational outreach efforts by donating $3/month on Patreon. To donate, visit Patreon.com/TrailLessTraveled

11/02/2025

These rescue dogs’ joyful faces capture the heart of what it means to serve with loyalty and love. During a training session in the snow, they discovered a person buried beneath — their instincts and excitement shining through in every wag and stare.

Each expression tells a story of courage, teamwork, and the unspoken bond between humans and dogs. These amazing animals dedicate their lives to saving others, braving harsh conditions with unwavering determination.

In their eyes, you can see purpose — proof that compassion doesn’t always come from words, but from action and devotion. 🐾❄️

10/01/2025

Dr. Jane Goodall walked a trail that changed the world. From the forests of Gombe to stages across the globe, she showed us that science and storytelling could live side by side… that wonder could be as powerful as data, and that compassion could fuel conservation.

On “The Trail Less Traveled,” we explore the wild edges where adventure and conservation meet. Jane blazed that path LONG before us. She taught us that every trek into the unknown is an opportunity to learn, to protect, and to believe in ourselves.

Her three simple truths: work hard, take every opportunity, believe in yourself — remain a compass for anyone seeking to live with purpose in wild places.

Jane’s journey continues in each of us who choose curiosity, empathy, and courage. May we honor her by carrying the torch forward, one trail at a time. 🕯️

🌍💚🐒

09/21/2025

Episode 681 premieres tonight from 6-7 MST. Join us for an interview with, Kelly Dix, retired scientist and volunteer with the “Visiting Naturalist in the Schools Program” with the Montana Natural History Center.

Throughout her career in biomedical research she spent her spare time backpacking and exploring the mountain west with her husband. Kelly found her true passion in retirement, sharing her enthusiasm for science and nature with others. After moving to Montana with her husband in 2016 Kelly found her home at the MNHC and she has been involved with the VNS, Montana Master Naturalist, WOW, and other programs ever since. When she’s not volunteering at MNHC, you can find her at the Missoula Butterfly House and Insectarium, hiking almost anywhere, or taking way too many photos of just about anything in the natural world.

Listen every Sunday evening from 6-7 MST.

Tune in locally on the Trail 103.3 FM and STREAM the show LIVE at Trail1033.com

Podcast available everywhere and at www.TrailLessTraveled.net

Please help us keep the podcast version of the show advertisement free while also supporting our educational outreach efforts by donating $3/month on Patreon. To donate, visit Patreon.com/TrailLessTraveled

09/08/2025

We love this woman and her words. Are you following the Freeflow Institute?

09/05/2025

This.

Launched by Filipino artist and surfer Archie Geotina (), the Pearls Project (.online) began in the waters of Siargao. The project created a space for renewed narratives where the modern Filipino women move with confidence and purpose.

In an offshoot project called Pearls: Baler, the exhibit brought intergenerational stories of Filipina surfers. Marie Cabel, originally from Davao, took on dual roles as both photographer and muse while seven months pregnant. “I wanted to share my own journey, as a pregnant surfer and a mom who continues to surf, hoping it would add another layer of inspiration,” Cabel tells Vogue Philippines. “I think this project beautifully demonstrates that surfing is for everyone, regardless of age or life stage, and can be a source of empowerment and strength for women.”

Read more here: Filipino artist and surfer Archie Geotina launched the Pearls Project, a photo series set in the waters of Siargao. The project created a space for renewed narratives where the modern Filipino women move with confidence and purpose.

Read more here: https://vogue.ph/beauty/pearls-project-surfing-philippines-and-beyond/

Photographed by and , Beauty Editor .orena, styling by and , written by , Vogue Philippines, September 2025.