Welcome back to the 6th Episode of the Full Curl Podcast, with yours truly, Rachel Ahtila.

I honestly cant believe how fast the time is flying by. Pretty soon, most of us guides will be hitting the road and heading to the northern camps for the summer and fall hunting seasons. Outfitters are doing their final run through, and hunters are anxiously preparing for their upcoming adventures. Which brings me to this weeks episode.

One of the really neat things about hosting a podcast is the ability to share the stories of people of whom I admire. Whether they have been sheep hunters, or just newbie hunting enthusiasts, active conservationists, or recently engaged in the practice, each one brings a different path, and with them, some wild stories. Back when I was a freckle nose bleach blonde kid in the Muskwa-Kechika, I first started learning about the different hunting areas, and the families that ran the operations. The outfitting community is like a family, and although I am not related to any of them through blood, I was welcomed in at a young age. The running joke is that most outfitters just throw daughters, and coincidentally, mostly of the girls were blondes. With my dirt tan, albino hair, and affinity for the mountains, I fit right in amoungst the bush kids of the north.

It was over a campfire I first learned Two such blonde gals I learned about lived far to the north in the Mackenzie Mountains during the summer and fall months, along with their parents and crew. It wasn’t until later that I would finally get the opportunity to meet Meghan Simpson and her sister Bailey at the Wild Sheep Foundation show in Reno, Nevada. You can’t go very far in the hunting industry with out hearing about the dream rams that have come out of any of the Simpson’ Family Outfits that had spanned from as far north as the Northwest Territories down through British Columbia, and along the Alberta border.

Joining me today, Meghan shares some tidbits about their families outfitting tradition, what it has been to live a wild and crazy life on the road as a perpetual gypsy, and her new ventures as a blogger, helicopter charter, and her first book, Diamond in the Rough. If your feet are getting twitchy, and the mountains are starting to call your name, this is a podcast that will put a bit more fuel to your fire, and an appreciation for one of our continents oldest travel and adventure past-times.

Contact Meghan Simpson:  My Gypsy Skies | Gypsy Skies | Meghan's Instragram

SHOW NOTES:

Show Notes:    

4:13 Show Begins

5:08 The Simpson Family Tradition, bush money childhood, and new beginnings. 

8:00 Desire to become a pilot, Blue Whale Candy Store Bartering System- Enterpreneur in the making.

9:08 Getting a camp ready, logistics, horses, helicopters, and fixed wing aircraft. 

15:20 Process of becoming a boss babe pilot in the wilderness.

18:26 Biggest learning curve flying the Northwest Territories, and Meg’s hot tips  and a course she highly recommends to pilots with Mountain View Helicopters

20:05 Huge advantage to helicopter use in backcountry use. 

20:35 Transitioning from horses to helicopters, animal husbandry, resisting change or forward thinking when it comes to helicopter use. 

24:01 Reality of being a pilot in camp, and excitement of her first Big Horn sheep hunt in early fall temperatures.

27:10 Diamond in the Rough- collaboration from the Simpson Family outfitting, and Meghan’s first book

29:29 My Gyspy Skies-Available on Amazon and Barnes&Noble to purchase the book

30:42 North American Foundation for Wild Sheep birth; Wild Sheep Foundation, and their 35 years of donation, Safari Club International for the last 12 plus years. What does a donation mean? Where does that go conservationally speaking. 

33:10 My Gypsy Skies, Gypsy Skies, Operating certificates, Keeping the tradition going, passion with tourism, basing out of High River, Alberta, Canada. 

35:40 Hitting Grown up Status. Unique Helicopter tours that can customize for your experience. Permits, Banff, Canmore, Lake Louise, and how permits work. 

37:22 Connect and book your adventure today

40:00 Interview ends.