Arkansas Mom Grows Courage + Confidence on the Trails

She Who Wanders

Jul 7

A Convo with Kate from @katepantier

Meet Kate. A native Arkansan, wife, mama to 3, poodle mom, storyteller, and nature enthusiast. She loves to share Arkansas trails, tips for hiking with kids & how an outdoor adventure lifestyle has led her family on a beautiful journey they never could have imagined for themselves. Most recently, her family has taken one of their biggest adventures yet by giving up their suburban neighborhood home for building a house on their new farm. Kate is an inspiration to do what makes you feel alive and push through fear to build the life you imagine.

Tell us a little about you and your family like where you’re from, where you live now, how old are your kids and anything interesting or unique you’d like people to know.

I’m Kate, I am a born & raised Arkansan & have lived all over the state. I currently live in Bentonville, Arkansas in the Northwest corner. I have 3 amazing kids, who are 14, 11, & 7.5. They are my adventure buddies! I am married to Todd who is my ultimate adventure partner. Our favorite thing to do together is to drive out to Colorado & hike 14ers in the summers. Nothing will bring you closer as a couple than climbing mountains.

I have had the travel bug in me since I was a little kid. I went on my first road trip without my parents when I was 8 with my aunt & uncle to West Virginia. I started traveling for sports in high school & loved visiting new cities. In college, I traveled for my collegiate basketball team, then went on two study abroad trips, one to Spain & the other to Mexico. Traveling will push you, mold you, & shape you in so many incredible ways! True story: my husband & I met while studying in Mexico in 2006. Travel will change your life!

The Great Wanderlust is all about moms stepping outside of the box and diving deeper in both travel and in life! The mission is to inspire mamas and families to feel fully alive through adventure and exploration! What is your great wanderlust? What most makes you come to life??

I feel the most alive when I am outside of my comfort zone trying something new. I want to travel to new places, see new sites, try new foods, & not get settled on going on the same trip to the same place. Some people love that & I love that for them! But I want to see the world & as much of it as I can!

I also like to travel without plans, which makes my very Type A husband twitchy. So depending on the trip & where we’re going, we will go on the trip my way or his way. A few summers ago, we loaded up our SUV with a tent, an ice chest, a bucket of camping supplies, 2 weeks worth of clothing, & we drove west without a single reservation. We drove to 10 states, 9 National Parks, & over 4000 miles in 12 days. It was glorious! Some trips require more planning & I’m glad I’m married to someone who can balance the free spirit part of me that wants no plan. Ha!

I love that you are a strong voice for women to continue to make time to do the things they love once they have kids. As your kids have gotten older, how do you make time for yourself regularly and what are some tips for moms who want to start doing more of what they love?

When I first became a mom, I had a lot of people telling me all the things I couldn’t do because I had a baby. I never really had anyone cheering me on or telling me that your life isn’t over simply because I have a kid now. Is life different now that you have kids? Yes. Is motherhood hard? One of the hardest tasks I’ve ever taken on in my life. I don’t want to diminish that, but I also never ever want to be the mom that is participating in holding a woman back purely because she has children. Once I figured out that I could still be me, chase what I love, AND bring my kids along, it made all the difference. I don’t think we realize how much power we have within us to make the things we believe in for ourselves & for our families happen. Don’t let the negative naysayers stop you from going for it!

Now that my kids are older it’s a lot easier for me to load the kids up (even when they don’t want to go) & do bigger trips with them. I also try to work in a solo trip with Todd when we have babysitters or go with a girlfriend when I can, but teenager life is busy, so squeezing it can be hard. My biggest tip for myself is to not have an all or nothing mentality. As much as I’d love to load up all my gear, hit the road, & backpack a thru hike, it’s just not a possibility for me right now. But taking the time to hike for a couple of days in the national park an hour & a half from me is just as life giving!

What are the two highest values you have for your family, and how have those values guided recent big decisions you’ve made?

My two highest values I have are living life for a greater calling than myself & a willingness to do the work to make that calling come true. You can have a calling, a purpose, a dream (whatever you want to label it) but it is not going to land in your lap. You must do the work to make it happen & become a reality! That work will be hard, but the end results are so worth it!

I’m going to add a third value & our family motto is “Feel the Fear & Do it Anyway!” I heard my kiddo standing on the bank of the river holding a rope swing in his hands muttering that motto under his breath & then he off he went. He came up out of the water with the biggest smiles & was proud he felt the fear & did it anyway!

In your research and experience, what are the most important benefits kids get from spending time outside? Have you seen these benefits change at all as your kids have gotten older?

My kids are calmer because of how much time they spend outside & I don’t mean from a hyperactivity stand point. Cause trust me, my kids are busy & on the move! I mean on the inside, they’re more sure of themselves & their abilities, & they’re less anxious. They seem to have a lot of peace within themselves. We have a child with a sensory processing disorder & having access to the outdoors helps them regulate tremendously. We always have better occupational therapy reports when lots of outside time has happened vs not!

The biggest benefit I’ve seen from how much time we’ve spent outdoors as the kids have become teenagers & preteens is the level of confidence they have from what they can accomplish. There’s a lot of life lessons you can learn from the challenges that come with being on the trail. I love that I’ve given my kids this gift!

What was your biggest fear in moving from the suburbs to a farm? How did you work through those doubts and make your dream happen anyway? Any tips for families who want to take a leap, but are paralyzed by all the what-ifs?

My biggest fear in moving away from the suburbs to a farm was taking my kids away from their neighbor friends. We had so many kids on our street the kids ran up & down the sidewalks playing with every day. That was hard to give up, I was very worried they’d sit around bored & angry that it’s just the 5 of us on 400 acres with 200 cows, a donkey, & a horse. Ha! But they haven’t! In fact, they’ve spent more time outside, they’re thriving, turns out a donkey, a horse, & cows make for great neighbors.

I believe in a higher calling than myself & moving my family to a farm is a calling I’ve felt for my family for many many years now. True story, the day before we moved, I told my husband I wasn’t sure I could go through with it. This had been a 10 year plan for us & all of a sudden the what-ifs felt too big. But we decided to put one foot in front of the other & continue on the path we had laid out before us. We had to do the work. And guess what? It has turned out to be the best decision we ever made & we have all said we will never ever live in a traditional neighborhood ever again! Plus, we got all the phone numbers for our neighbor friends & we plan on having them over for a farm day. It’s a win-win!

Now that you have kids who are a little bit older, what advice would you give to new moms or moms of toddlers who want to prioritize an outdoor lifestyle and raise kids who enjoy being outside?

Don’t let anyone tell you can’t take your kids hiking, backpacking, floating, climbing, camping, whatever it is you want to do in the great outdoors. Don’t let anyone tell you kids don’t belong there. Don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t capable of getting out there. Don’t let anyone tell you good moms don’t pursue those kinds of activities with their kids OR for themselves. Don’t let anyone tell you can’t go without a man. And finally, believe that you are allowed to be passionate about getting outside for you just as much as you are doing it for your kids. Our children need to see their mothers living in a big way!

Is there a question you wish I would have asked or anything else you’d like to share with other mamas relating to travel or life?

My biggest piece of advice if you’re wanting to get out there with your kids is to start small & build in confidence from there. If I can do this, you can do this too, I’m not anyone special! But I am your biggest cheerleader!

Where are you off to next and what are you most looking forward to about it??

There are so many different women I follow who inspire, but Taylor from @Meandering.May has the most epic road trips with her boys. I swear she’s super woman! Someday I’m driving outwest & just going with her on a trip whether she wants us there or not. Haha!

Jenny from @wasatchwildchild is an epic backpacker & she takes her son on the coolest backpacking trips & she really makes you believe you can take your kids on all kinds of trips.

Lydia from @myadventuregang road trips with her kids & she’s always encouraging moms to go on solo trips with friends in the outdoors!

I think you’ve featured a lot of the others I would have mentioned!