Your True Wild Nature - Anne McGuffey

Your True Wild Nature - Anne McGuffey Helping you connect with wild nature and your true nature. Wellness coach, wilderness advocate.

Hi, I'm Anne, and I'm a Wellness Coach, Nutrition Advisor and Energy Medicine Practitioner, with a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology and over 35 years experience in the health and wellness field. My passion is helping women be active and not let age be a hindrance in enjoying adventure outdoors. I started hiking in my teens, and I've backpacked thousands of miles, with the majority of my outdoor adventures occurring since entering my 60s.

Jupiter and Venus are stunning in the early evening sky. Look to the west tonight during twilight, they will be even clo...
09/06/2026

Jupiter and Venus are stunning in the early evening sky. Look to the west tonight during twilight, they will be even closer than last night.

I successfully completed The Great Outdoors Challenge East (TGOC East) across the Scottish Highlands yesterday, on the b...
22/05/2026

I successfully completed The Great Outdoors Challenge East (TGOC East) across the Scottish Highlands yesterday, on the beach on Scotland’s east coast near Montrose.

Wow, this adventure redefines the word “challenge” for me! 😳 The terrain was more difficult than I expected — long stretches of wet bogs, mud, too many stream crossings to count, wet feet sometimes all day long, “pathless terrain” (that’s the term here) through tough, woody heather, and more. To be fair, I knew all this was possible, but the reality of it! Oh my.

And then the weather. Most days it was almost winter in May. Very cold, hours of rain, strong winds, hail, clouds, rain, wind, hail, repeat. Which is not unusual for Scotland, and I knew that too! I got used to being wet, and having wet gear, as I’ve never experienced before. Yes, I brought good rain gear!

If it wasn’t for all the fantastic “challengers” I met every day, I could not have completed this. Everyone welcomed me (as a “first-timer” in the TGO Challenge) and were so supportive. In the toughest spots, someone would come along and give me confidence, motivate me to push harder, and sometimes guide me through some very challenging stretches. The photo of 3 guys from Wales, US, and England are some of the angels who showed up for me. 🙏

This event showed me that I’m capable of way more than I thought. That’s why we challenge ourselves to do things like this, to uncover our capabilities. 💪🏼

Massive gratitude to the organizers and all participants of The Great Outdoors Challenge (which has been going on since 1980!) — the people make this event amazing!

Knowing you were following along and supporting me in this endeavor also kept me going — thank you!! 🩷🥰

I’ll share more in the coming days/weeks, so stay tuned! 💜

I’m starting day 4 of my hike through the Scottish Highlands as part of The Great Outdoors Challenge. It’s been unusuall...
17/05/2026

I’m starting day 4 of my hike through the Scottish Highlands as part of The Great Outdoors Challenge. It’s been unusually cold, with beautiful scenery, and I’m meeting lots of other “challengers.”

To summarize, it’s been cold, rainy, sleet and hail, some sun, lots of wind, wet and boggy in places, and fording streams. Which means wet feet. Overall it’s going well, and I’ll share more when I can!

The day is finally here - the start of my 8-day hike in The Great Outdoors Challenge across the Scottish Highlands!! I’m...
14/05/2026

The day is finally here - the start of my 8-day hike in The Great Outdoors Challenge across the Scottish Highlands!! I’m hiking from Kingussie (the blue dot) to Montrose on the coast (the red marker).

Looks like a rainy day today, with better weather ahead.

So much has led to this moment - years of hiking and backpacking, planning, research, training, buying and testing new gear, so many details, anxiety, and excitement. Now I can relax a bit and just walk! I’ll post as I can along the way, depending on cell signal, battery, and my energy. And off I go!

I hiked Arthur’s Seat TWICE while in Edinburgh. First, on a very cloudy day, and the second time on a bright, sunny and ...
13/05/2026

I hiked Arthur’s Seat TWICE while in Edinburgh. First, on a very cloudy day, and the second time on a bright, sunny and extremely windy day.

Why? Because I’m here in Scotland to challenge myself with an 8-day backpacking hike, The Great Outdoors Challenge. Arthur’s Seat is a tall rock hill surrounded by Edinburgh, and easy to get to from the city. It’s challenging. It kept my hiking legs in shape while I handled lots of logistics for the adventure, and allowed time for some awesome sight-seeing.

My 8-day hike across the Scottish Highlands in The Great Outdoors Challenge starts tomorrow! Eek!

Edinburgh Castle, the second castle, royal residence and fortress I visited. Built on an extinct volcano, the history he...
13/05/2026

Edinburgh Castle, the second castle, royal residence and fortress I visited. Built on an extinct volcano, the history here goes back a very long time. Fascinating place. While in Edinburgh for 5 days, I viewed this castle on the hill every day from all angles. After leaving the castle, I went to the rooftop bar at The Johnnie Walker Experience and enjoyed some whisky, with amazing views of the castle and the city. Fabulous times in Edinburgh!!

Stirling Castle — a Scottish royal residence and fortress that dates back to the 12th century. So much fascinating histo...
13/05/2026

Stirling Castle — a Scottish royal residence and fortress that dates back to the 12th century. So much fascinating history here!

I’m in Edinburgh prepping for my hiking adventure in a few days, AND doing some sightseeing. The Kelpies sculptures near...
11/05/2026

I’m in Edinburgh prepping for my hiking adventure in a few days, AND doing some sightseeing. The Kelpies sculptures near Falkirk have fascinated me ever since a drive-by viewing 7 years ago. They represent mythological water beasts, and the large horses of Scottish industry. It was amazing to have an up-close experience with them.

I also visited Stirling Castle and Edinburgh Castle — Scottish royal residences and fortresses that have centuries of fascinating history. I’ll share photos in another post.

The Kelpies, however, captured my heart. ❤️

First couple days exploring Edinburgh, enjoying the sights, food, and yes - some whisky. I’m also prepping for my hike, ...
10/05/2026

First couple days exploring Edinburgh, enjoying the sights, food, and yes - some whisky. I’m also prepping for my hike, which starts on Thursday — buying supplies, and a bit of hiking. More to come! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

04/05/2026

In a few days, I’m flying to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤩😳 to participate in The Great Outdoors Challenge (TGOC), a backpacking event across the Scottish Highlands. I treated my clothing with permethrin today to repel ticks, the main problematic insect I’ll encounter. (I’m unlikely to run into midges on my journey, the other nasty biting insect in Scotland.)

My route in the TGOC is 100 miles over 8 days. This will be my first time backpacking in Scotland (carrying all my gear) — I’ve day hiked about 300 miles there on previous trips.

The TGOC is an organized event with several hundred participants hiking various routes, most of which are 15 days long. I’m doing a “short” route for my first backpack there. The majority hike solo, as I will, and I look forward to crossing paths with other hikers.

I’m a bit nervous about backpacking in a place where I’ve never slept outside before, but I’m sure it will be amazing, beautiful, and yes, challenging. That’s part of the appeal, to challenge ourselves!

My hike begins on May 14th, and I’ll as I can along the way, and afterward. For now, I need to get back to packing my gear!

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