Who We Are

At The Fat Girl Hiking, we believe anything is possible. Maybe you’re just learning about hiking, or maybe you’ve gone on a few hikes and fell in love with it. Maybe you’re even a seasoned hiker looking for a new perspective, or tips you’ve never tried before. The Fat Girl Hiking is for all hiking levels! You’re in the right place to learn everything you need to know to begin your hiking journey, from staying safe to choosing the right gear to picking the right trails. Oh, and did I mention having fun? Getting started is always the hardest part, and I’m here to help you over that hurdle so that you can experience the peace, enjoyment, and health benefits that hiking has to offer. 

We’ve all been beginners, myself included, and through stories of our own hikes you’ll learn you are definitely not alone. So, come with us and laugh along at our humorous situations – life is better when you learn to laugh at yourself, right? So, let’s take a hike together!

Welcome! My name is Jodi, and I am The Fat Girl Hiking. My journey began one day after I had a hard time bending over to tie my shoes, which made me realize I needed to do something about my weight. At the beginning, I was all in and thought I needed to burn myself out with hard core exercise.

After watching a documentary on large people who turned to running for fitness, I decided to give it a try. Now, let me tell you, there is a reason why almost every jogger looks mad! I continued on for 8 months of torture, not enjoying one minute of it, before I realized it just wasn’t for me. And that’s ok! High-intensity cardio definitely isn’t for everyone, so I hopped online to find an alternative that was a better fit.

I began looking at my local land trust trails, picked one, took my dog, and off we went. It was fantastic! It was so peaceful and relaxing that it didn’t even feel like exercise to me. And another bonus – I no longer had to worry about cars almost hitting me, or honking their horns and scaring my dog! And my dog was lovin’ it, too. All the new smells, animals to look at, and of course, all those trees to mark! We’d found our perfect fit.

After that day, I started to research hiking trails in my state, and really began to enjoy it. With each hike, I enjoy the fresh air, I enjoy using my muscles, and I appreciate my body for what it can accomplish. Now, hiking has become a part of who I am, and I have been able to travel to places I have never heard of, and hike to some of the most beautiful and pristine sections of my great state of Maine. So, what are you waiting for? Join us on this exciting journey as we explore the country together! 

Alex aka The Husky Husband

After years of listening to me talk about hiking, I’ve finally influenced the person most important to me to join my hiking obsession – my husband, Alex! Alex says that he’s jumping on the bandwagon now because he likes hiking (I mean, who doesn’t, right?!) BUT if you ask me, he’s actually motivated by his desire to eat all the cookies and cakes in his path without them going straight to his waistline. There’s something about getting older that is motivating for this kind of thing; maybe it’s the ever-tightening jeans, the reality that you don’t know how much longer your body will be able to do these things for, or maybe I’m just convincing, who knows.

Either way, here’s Alex! I could not be more excited to have him joining us here. Just like me, Alex loves taking photos of beautiful places, from a safe distance behind the camera. You might not see his face much but know that he’s the one pressing the button to get many of the shots you see. I’m no model by any means, but with enough adventuring, Alex will have his photo work cut out for him.

When he’s not trying to catch up to me on the trail (cue an eye roll from Alex), he’s out on the water working as a commercial fisherman and kelp farmer. While I’d probably trip and fall off the boat if I did that all day, Alex seems to manage his 43’ boat with ease. He loves what he does, and I think his job is so damn cool.

When we are on the trail, Alex is my biggest hype man and motivator. If we’re doing a tough hike, he’ll be the first to cheer me on….he’s also the first to offer to carry the heavier pack, just like every good husband should. At least I think he offers? Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not sure he has a choice, but he does it with a smile at least! Alex is ready to hit the trail more, let’s just hope he can keep up. 😉

Eileen aka The Momster

My name is Eileen. I am the mom! After working at a desk job for the last 25 years, I really do need to get more exercise. I used to walk 4 miles a day, 5 days a week. I used to be in good shape, not just round. That is a shape, by the way…round. So now I sit at a computer for 10 hours a day or ride several hours in a car a day for work. When I am not working I like to read and watch movies. More sitting. The only exercise I get is mowing the lawn once a week during the summer months. Not very good for keeping the old bod in any kind of working order.

Shoveling snow, now that’s an exercise worth it’s weight in umm, snow? Rocks? Gold? Why is it always so heavy? Anyway, the hour and a half it takes me to shovel makes me hurt for 2-3 days. I feel better just in time to shovel all over again, then hurt some more. I need to do something. Briefly thought about a plow for the truck, but that isn’t helping me get healthier or stronger. Same thoughts with a ride on lawn mower. I would get no exercise if I went in that direction. So, what to do? Walking was the only option as far as I was concerned.

My daughter Jodi, decided I needed to do some hikes with her. Now, I’m all for a nice walk in the woods (I love that book by the way) but hiking sounded a bit much for this older, fat woman. Hiking is up hill, right? I like nice, even trails. I call these Grandma trails. Just my speed. Slow and even. Well, not all trails lead me on a nice, level, easy route. But more on that in the story section of this site! Adventures and sometimes misadventures, await!

Life is better when you hike!