We're two friends who not only share an astrological sign (it's Scorpio, thanks for asking!), but a love for mountains and seeing the world.
It all started in the Montana wilderness, where huckleberries and wildflowers blanket meadows and the sky seems endless.
We were new to the world of backpacking, ready to explore and learn. Of course, there were some stumps along the trail. There was the time when Katie melted the cooking stove, which meant either hiking out or eating uncooked food for 24 hours (we opted to hike out, drink huckleberry shakes for dinner and car camp).
Or The Night of No Sleep, when Megan kept hearing "a big animal" circling the tent. She repeatedly woke up Katie and sent Pickles the dog out to defend the tent, only to find the stomping noises were deer searching for snacks.
These misadventures helped us build up our backcountry skills and learn from our mistakes. They even inspired us to create outdoor adventures for other women!
Throughout our years of friendship, our professional background deviated in ways that today make us a great team.
From farms to sporks (yes, that's spoon-fork), Katie has worked with food in many ways. She’s grown it, taught kids about it, cooks it professionally and goes to bed dreaming about it.
Megan prefers to eat food that other people make. Some of her many job posts include leading a trail crew in the Montana and Wyoming backcountry and booking ski tours in the snowy mountains of Japan.
Both of us pride ourselves on our ability to laugh and to get silly. That's what the outdoors is for! In typical Scorpio fashion, we're always pushing ourselves to strive, to grow, to do.
So here we are, doing what we love. And that's getting women together in the outdoors and eating good food along the way.
We'll see you on the trails! Until then...
Happy LAAFing!
-Megan & Katie
 |  |
|---|---|
 |
Megan & Lou
Katie
 |
|---|
Your guides and LAAF ladies
Pic from one of our first backpacking trips
Our commitment to diversity & inclusion
We strive to foster the supportive, encouraging and silly environment on our trips that groups of women often create. This provides the space for LAAF ladies to get out of their comfort zones and connect with one another without distraction.
We acknowledge that we're limited by our own understanding and identities as two white, able-bodied and cisgender women. However, we're committed to continuing to learn how to create a space that is more inclusive and impactful on diverse communities.
The Global Diversity Practice recognizes diversity as being "about empowering people by respecting and appreciating what makes them different, in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, and national origin."
We'll do this by:
-
Challenging ourselves not only as individuals but as a company to align our intentions with our actions
-
Continuing to seek out advice from experts who work to make organizations more inclusive and equal
-
Supporting, partnering with and including women of color, transgender women and non-binary people in our LAAF Travels community
These efforts will always be a work in progress, and we'll always have something to learn from others from different backgrounds than us.
If you have any questions about the above, please ask away!
Our commitment to the environment
The more time we spend in nature, the more apparent our role in the planet's health becomes.
The nature of our business (pun intended) is adventuring in wild places, which means we have a responsibility to protect those spaces. For this reason, we ask LAAF ladies to follow these guidelines and also hold ourselves accountable to them:
-
Follow Leave No Trace Principles to leave outdoor spaces better than we found them
-
Reduce waste by using reusable containers and cookware on all of our trips
-
Carpool to trailheads when possible
We buy as much locally-sourced food as possible for all of our LAAF trips to keep emissions lower and to support sustainable agriculture.
Choices big and small can lead us all towards a better future.
Stay tuned for our efforts to be sustainable in adventure travel!