Becky Wandell – Reinvention, Solo Travel, and Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail at 55
Release Date: 01/13/2026
Alexandra Nemeth: Beyond the Seven Summits — Highs, Lows, and Life in Extreme Places.
Tough Girl Podcast
Alex is a qualified International Mountain Leader, Polar Guide, and a professional Photographer based in St. Moritz, Switzerland. From scaling the world’s highest peaks to leading expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica, she thrives where the wild meets the extreme. Her passion for high-altitude exploration took her on a relentless quest; climbing the highest mountain on every continent, culminating on the summit of Mt. Everest in 2018. She became the first ever Hungarian to climb the Seven Summits. This journey ignited her mission to guide others through the raw beauty of the mountains...
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Tough Girl Podcast
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Becky Wandell – Reinvention, Solo Travel, and Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail at 55
Tough Girl Podcast
Becky Wandell is a Teacher, Writer, Tour Guide, Volunteer, and Solo Traveler. At 47, while weathering a difficult divorce and the death of four close relatives, she clawed her way up from the depths of grief and, in her words, set out to “find her way back to Becky again”. To do this, she quit her job, sold all of her belongings and charted a plan to complete a series of adventures she had always dreamed of doing. Joining the US Peace Corps, learning to speak Spanish and gaining her confidence in solo travel and living abroad set the stage for several years of living her best life...
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Dr Latika Nath – Nat Geo’s Tiger Princess: Pioneering Conservation and Studying Big Cats in the Wild
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Sheryl Ramstad – Surviving the Impossible: A 1% Miracle, Radical Resilience, and Rebuilding Life After a Plane Crash
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Sheryl Ramstad’s story is nothing short of extraordinary. After surviving a catastrophic plane crash with less than a 1% chance of survival, Sheryl’s life was forever changed. What began as her first solo flight at age 29 became a harrowing journey through life-threatening burns, multiple surgeries, overwhelming grief, and two years of excruciating rehabilitation. But this isn’t just a survival story—it’s a testament to the power of resilience, faith, and the unbreakable human spirit. In this powerful conversation, Sheryl shares how she transformed unimaginable trauma into...
info_outlineBecky Wandell is a Teacher, Writer, Tour Guide, Volunteer, and Solo Traveler. At 47, while weathering a difficult divorce and the death of four close relatives, she clawed her way up from the depths of grief and, in her words, set out to “find her way back to Becky again”.
To do this, she quit her job, sold all of her belongings and charted a plan to complete a series of adventures she had always dreamed of doing. Joining the US Peace Corps, learning to speak Spanish and gaining her confidence in solo travel and living abroad set the stage for several years of living her best life throughout South America; a life rich with opportunities to learn, grow, serve others through volunteering, integrate deeply into cultures, and make connections - especially with women.
Then, in 2024 at the age of 55, she hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada.
It was there, with thousands of footsteps across the desert, over the mountains and back home to the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, she was finally able to release the last of her regrets, coming away from the trek feeling lighter, freer, more confident and beautiful than ever before.
Turns out, living life to the fullest and fulfilling all your dreams brings joy.
Now, Becky works as a seasonal Tour Guide in Alaska which allows her to spend the rest of the year living out of her backpack, always ready for the next adventure.
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Show notes
- Who is Becky
- Teacher, writer, solo traveller, volunteer and tour guide
- Starting her life in the Mid-West
- Knowing she always wanted to live by mountains
- Starting to work for the forest service in environmental programs
- Having a wonderful career and life
- Needing to make a pivot in her life and needing to figure out what she really wanted to do
- Joining the Peace Corps at 47
- Wanting to travel more, learn a new language and experience more of the world
- Deciding to hike the Pacific Crest Trail at 55 from Mexico to Canada
- Gaining a huge amount of confidence
- Wanting to slow travel more and working as a tour guide in Alaska
- Living her dream and being the best beaky she can be
- The pivot at 47
- The love letters….. the origin story to her relationship
- Giving up her dreams and “compromising”
- Typing out all the things that she wanted to do back then
- Sacrificing her dreams
- What the Peace Corps is
- Learning so much about herself, other people and cultures
- Living in Ecuador with a family and leaning the language
- Her new path and dealing with lonely moments
- Losing her parents
- Slow travel and volunteering around South America
- Workaway
- Spending 2 years travelling around Patagonia
- Her dream of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)
- Feeling ready to take on the hike
- Not having fears or concerns before the hike
- Letting go of fear
- Getting her trail name
- Challenging sections on the PCT
- Why 700 miles in the desert was the real challenge
- Being supported by her friends during the tough moments
- The mental game
- Doing hard things
- Writing a letter to herself
- Can she push her body that hard to make the hike happen
- Preparing for the trail really well
- Needing to hike her hike her way
- Learning about her last name
- Sharing a little video from the end of the PCT
- Finally identifying as a tough girl
- How to connect with Becky
- Final words of advice
- Give up the fear, your going to be ok
- Start planning, take the step.
Social Media
Blog: onthewingadventures.com
Instagram: @beckysonthewingadventures