Jacquetta Megarry – Founding Rucksack Readers, Walking Adventures, and Building Confidence in the Outdoors
Release Date: 01/19/2026
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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Jacquetta Megarry – Founding Rucksack Readers, Walking Adventures, and Building Confidence in the Outdoors
Tough Girl Podcast
Jacquetta Megarry didn’t grow up in the outdoors, and she certainly didn’t see herself as an adventurer—or a publisher. But turning 50 sparked a journey that would transform her life. From walking the West Highland Way with friends to summiting Mt Kilimanjaro, Jacquetta discovered the power of pacing yourself, listening to your body, and building unshakeable self-belief. Her adventures inspired her to found Rucksack Readers, a guidebook company that helps hikers navigate trails around the world. Over 25 years later, Jacquetta shares stories from her experiences—from hiking in the UK...
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Tough Girl Podcast
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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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From the jungles of India to the global stage of wildlife conservation, Dr Latika Nath has spent her life studying and protecting big cats, becoming the first woman in the world to study tigers in the wild. Known as Nat Geo’s “Tiger Princess,” she shares stories from deep in the forests where she observed tigers using tools, hunting porcupines, and navigating complex human-wildlife conflicts. In this episode, Latika takes us on her journey from a childhood spent exploring the outdoors to pursuing her dream in a male-dominated field, studying elephants and tigers in the wild. She shares...
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Kaytlyn Gerbin – Motherhood, Mountains, and 100-Mile Runs: Her Ultra Running Comeback
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What does it take to return to the top of the ultra running world after major life changes and a “career-ending” surgery? Kaytlyn Gerbin knows. In this episode, Kaytlyn shares her journey from a scientist with a love for the outdoors to a world-class trail and ultra runner. Growing up active but without formal running experience, she discovered her talent in her mid-twenties and quickly fell in love with the 100-mile distance. Since then, she’s set course records, tackled some of the most technical alpine trails in the Pacific Northwest, and stood on podiums at legendary races like UTMB,...
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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_outlineJacquetta Megarry didn’t grow up in the outdoors, and she certainly didn’t see herself as an adventurer—or a publisher. But turning 50 sparked a journey that would transform her life. From walking the West Highland Way with friends to summiting Mt Kilimanjaro, Jacquetta discovered the power of pacing yourself, listening to your body, and building unshakeable self-belief.
Her adventures inspired her to found Rucksack Readers, a guidebook company that helps hikers navigate trails around the world. Over 25 years later, Jacquetta shares stories from her experiences—from hiking in the UK during Storm Amy, to trekking the Inca Trail, to exploring Antarctica—along with lessons on making mistakes, learning from them, and embracing challenges at any age.
In this episode, Jacquetta shares how stepping outside your everyday life can open doors to new passions, transform confidence, and even create a career doing what you love. She offers practical tips for hikers, insights into publishing, and encouragement for women ready to explore the world on their own terms.
This episode is for you if you:
- Want inspiration to start a new adventure at any age
- Dream of hiking, trekking, or exploring the outdoors
- Are curious about publishing guidebooks and sharing your knowledge
- Believe it’s never too late to embrace challenges and grow
Ready to be inspired? Hit play and let Jacquetta take you on a journey of mountains, maps, and life-changing adventures.
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Show notes
- Who is Jacquetta
- Growing up in London and going to school there
- Living all her adult life in Scotland
- Living in Edinburgh
- Founding Rucksack Readers a guidebook company
- Not being sporty or into the great outdoors at a young age
- Turning 50 and deciding to go and walk the West Highland Way with 4 female friends to celebrate 200 years of womanhood
- Feeling dissatisfied with the official guidebook
- This frustration lay dormant for 18 months
- Heading off to climb Mt Kilimanjaro for the first time and why the altitude was a great leveller
- How climbing Kilimanjaro gave her the self belief in order to make a career change
- Going from working in IT to starting a guidebook company
- The importance of pacing yourself and listening to your body
- Building self belief on the mountain
- How only 9 out of the 16 made it to the summit
- Feeling health, taking photos and enjoying the experience
- Doing something so far outside your normal everyday life and how it can make you think differently about life
- Becoming a publisher and having the confidence to think you can write a guidebook after one experience
- Deciding to do the Inca Trail in 2001 and the challenges involved in gathering the info for a guidebook
- Why would you not want the paper to be rainproof?
- Hiking the Dales Way during Storm Amy
- Creating little map booklets for hikers (waterproof)
- Apps verses Guidebooks
- Planning a walk with ChatGPT
- The structure of the guidebook
- Mapping and keeping route information updated
- Being a volunteer - on the Xtreme Everest Project
- Dealing with altitude sickness - keeping well hydrated and monitoring her heart
- Maintaining a base level of fitness…
- Celebrating 25 years of Rucksack Readers
- Writing about the mistakes made in publishing
- Talking about failure and mistakes and the lessons made
- Visiting Antarctica and wanting to go sea kayaking and see the emperor penguins
- Dealing with the cold and the conditions on the ship
- How her hiking has changed now entering her 70s
- The joy of being a publisher and being able to follow her passions
- Future challenge and revisiting the Dales Way
- Succession planning for Rucksack Readers
- Having a year of consolidation and looking after the future
- How to connect with Jacquetta and Rucksack Readers
- Discount code for the listeners of the Tough Girl Podcast—use toughgirl for a 20% discount of all books
- Final words of advice for other women who want to go on more adventures and challenges around the world
- Mistakes and being afraid of getting it wrong.
- Get out there, make the mistakes, and be sure to learn from them.
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