Foundation of Joy: Finding Hope, Resistance, and Rest in the Outdoors
I'd hoped to drive down the hill to Grass Valley, ride my bike, then chat in person with Teresa Baker, but it's been hot down there, I don't do well in heat, and honestly, sometimes the conversation you need to have doesn't wait for the ideal setting. So we hopped on a call instead. And I'm so glad we did, because I don't think I've needed a conversation more than I needed this one.
The Same Story, Different Sport
Teresa is the founder of the In Solidarity Project and co-director of the Outdoor Diversity Alliance, and her origin story hit me right in the chest. She's the only girl of nine siblings, raised competitive on a horse ranch in the Salinas Valley, playing basketball and football and never once thinking there was a "title" for what she was doing. She was just doing it.
That's my story too, minus the eight brothers. I grew up wrestling, supported by the people closest to me, never feeling like an outsider in a male-dominated sport until much later in life. Teresa and I talked about how strange it is to build confidence early and then, as adults, start questioning ourselves more than we ever did as kids. If you've ever felt like you're doing the confidence thing backwards, you're not alone.
From Yosemite to a Movement
Teresa's path into advocacy work started with something simple: a week-long trip to Yosemite where she looked around and realized she didn't see anyone who looked like her, not in visitors, not on staff. She went home, called the National Park Service, and told them there was a problem. That one phone call turned into a film, calls from brands like Patagonia, and eventually the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge and the Women's Outdoor Summit, which grew from 150 attendees six years ago to over 200 applications for just 65 spots this year.
We also got into the gear gatekeeping conversation, that false idea that you need the most expensive setup before you're "allowed" outside. Teresa put it plainly:
"I don't want people to have that be yet another obstacle of being outdoors."
Go to your local gear library. Borrow before you buy. Wear the Nikes you already own.
Joy Is Not a Luxury Right Now
This is the part of the conversation that cracked something open in me. With everything happening in the world right now, it's easy to feel guilty for feeling good. Teresa doesn't see it that way at all:
"If we are without joy, we are without hope."
She talked about how getting outside, even for a few quiet minutes, isn't an escape from the fight, it's part of what sustains it. And she made the case that joy has to be intentional, especially when the world feels like it's working overtime to take it from us.
On why she keeps putting her voice out there even when it feels like shouting into the void:
"I think all too often the messages we put out for the public to see are actually messages that we're sending to ourselves that we need to hear, that we need to read."
That one stuck with me. I've been in a stretch lately where I've questioned whether any of this, the podcast, the platform, any of it, is landing anywhere. Teresa's reminder that we're often talking to ourselves first was exactly the permission slip I didn't know I needed.
Where This Leaves Me
I don't have a big bow to tie this up with. Some days joy looks like a five-minute cup of coffee in the sun. Some days it's an eight-dollar latte just because. Teresa's closing message was simple, and I'm carrying it with me:
"Don't let the ugliness win."
Go listen to the birds. Go take the smaller trail. Go send the cold email to the person you've been too nervous to message. You never know who's watching, and you never know whose foundation you might be helping to hold up
Links & Love
Follow Teresa Baker: @teresabaker11
Learn more / get involved: insolidarityproject.com
Follow the podcast: @tarin.it.up.podcast
Newsletter: tarinitup.myflodesk.com
Support the pod: buymeacoffee.com/tarinitup