Rachel Taylor Jones - Adventure Mom

Arêt Since: 2016 | Location: Park City, Utah | Trade: Nurse & Mom | Basewear: High Cut Dune & Mars

Rachel is a new Mom maintaining her outdoor passions with her new life. Serving as a source of inspiration for all women, she continues to adventure with her daughter to bring her into the world with mother nature at her side. 

It’s hard to choose a favorite color, but I adore my TOURA high cut in Mars. Over the course of my pregnancy, I had some major body changes occur, most noticeably my breasts changed in every way possible! Nothing fit comfortably or supported my changing body quite like my TOURA and the color red is a color of power, love, and strength to me. I needed to channel all three of those things throughout. 

Hiking is one of my passions in this life. I never would have thought I would be a “hiker,” but after moving to Utah the summit views have stolen my heart. The first peak I ever hiked to in Park City will forever be special to me. This peak is what convinced me to leave San Diego, where I first had an inkling that I was ever pregnant, where I went to heal after a miscarriage and the place that gives me hope in all seasons of life. There is something incredibly cathartic about climbing steep trails that make your heart pump, your body sweat, make you question your fortitude, and reward you with 360-degree views at the top.

I have a few different adventure setups that I use depending on the adventure, but the most outlandish one has to be my car camping set up. I have an old Subaru Impreza that has faithfully taken me all over the mountain west with my glamping tent of choice, the Oz Tent, and my Yeti cooler. This tent is over the top but it is super rad. It sets up in less than two minutes and looks like a safari tent. Using the Oz Tent makes car camping feel extra luxurious, and it has been a tool to introduce people to camping. I’m pretty sure it gets a few laughs, too.

After adventuring I love to have a massive iced tea and a good bag of beef jerky. We have this cute local shop in the mountains where they smoke their own meat, and that jerky is downright addictive!

Survival focused: Water filter, knife, and a space blanket. Fun-focused: Freeze-dried ice cream, my dog, and a John Craigie album.

I am fortunate to have had many happy milestones to celebrate in my life and I consider them all great personal achievements for the season of life in which they occurred. What I am most proud of recently is finding joy again after loss. I had a miscarriage last summer, and I subsequently fell into a very dark spot emotionally. I had never truly experienced depression or anxiety until the month that followed the loss. I was numb to everything around me, and I felt like I would never experience joy & happiness the same way again. This depression had a big impact on my personality and my friends started to wonder what was going on, which forced me to do the hardest thing: I showed others my vulnerability. I allowed friends and family to see my pain and I accepted help. Showing raw emotion and allowing others to help were both foreign concepts for me, and I am so proud that I allowed them both to happen. I am so much stronger now because I am confident in my support systems, and most importantly I am confident in my inner strength.

My mom is the #1 female I look up to in life. She selflessly raised three independent children and still encourages each of us to pursue what we love most, even though the majority of our hobbies terrify her. She is the ultimate example of unconditional love and joy in all circumstances. I hope to be half the woman that she is one day.

I wish I could tell other women everywhere to support one another rather than compare themselves to others. Comparison can rob us of so much joy, but cheering other women on while they work towards their personal goals can bring joy.  

Trash on trails and the general disrespect for our outdoor spaces drive me bonkers! With the growing number of people seeking the outdoors, I am sure that most people have noticed that there is also a growing amount of litter taking over these spaces. It took me far longer than it should have to act, but I now always hike with a trash bag and pick up trash on my way down. It’s not just litter that impacts these places though. The way we as individuals use the land also greatly impacts these spaces. I encourage everyone to educate themselves on the principles of Leave No Trace. Leave No Trace is a wonderful organization that teaches individuals how to enjoy and respect the outdoors. It has been a wonderful resource for me and has a multitude of information online, as well as classes, to help educate ourselves on how we can keep the outdoors wild for the next generation.  

It would be rad to see more kindness in this world. I feel like a miss universe contestant with that answer, but I really feel that way. Something as simple smile to a stranger can make a huge impact in someone's day. 

I have found that one way to uplift others is by making a genuine effort to make personal connections. If we try not to stay away from surface level conversations and make efforts to get to know others, it tends to foster stronger connections. In turn, those stronger connections help us to truly support one another as we work towards personal goals.

I am a student at heart. I absolutely love continuing to research various specialties of the medical field, especially now that I can read for enjoyment and not because it’s an educational requirement. Our bodies are works of art and I love learning more about them!

I am a registered nurse recently turned stay at home mom. 

Being pregnant has been a whirlwind of an experience that has taught me that I am much stronger than I think. It is both a physically and emotionally taxing process that truly showcases how amazing the female body is and it has given me so much respect & confidence for my own body. Every extra pound, every lost muscle, every stretch mark is a sign that a human being grew inside of me for 9 months and is now a life force in the world. That’s a crazy concept when you take a step back and really think about it! 

I feel very fortunate that my obstetric team did an amazing job preparing me for each stage of pregnancy. The explanations that they provided helped me to cope with all the changes taking place in my body and also helped me be excited for what was to come with each new stage. What was most unexpected was the worry that consumed me from the moment I found out I was pregnant again. I was worried about what I ate, how she was developing, how I would be as a mom if I could ever live up to my own expectations, could I love this baby the way she deserves to be loved, and how my autoimmune conditions might affect her. Luckily, all those worries faded away once my daughter made her entrance into this world. My heart completely exploded with love for this new life, and I realized it the moment the doctor put her in my arms that I could spend the rest of my life worrying or I could accept the fact that all I can do is my best. My best might not be enough at times, but I have to be okay with that and just keep trying to be the best mama for her.

I am most looking forward to sharing experiences in nature with my daughter. We live in a world full of technology and it sure can do some wonderful things for our lives. However, leaving the tech behind for a few hours to spend time outside does wonderful things for the soul and teaches us so much about ourselves. I am so excited to be able to observe and guide my daughter as she experiences this world. She will likely wander off the trail from time to time, but helping her find the route again will be the fun (and challenging) part of this journey together.

Our daughter had a rocky start to life. Zoe went for a check-up the day after discharge from the hospital and was immediately admitted to the NICU. Seeing her lying helpless in an incubator while medical professionals swarmed around her was a terrifying thing to witness even though I knew she was in the best hands possible. I wasn’t able to touch her or feed her for a few days, and leaving her made me feel like I was leaving my heart outside of my body. One of her nurses gave me a bracelet on day two along with a card that said, “You can do hard things.” At the time, I couldn’t do anything for my little girl. I felt completely helpless, but that mantra stuck in my head. When I would start to feel overwhelmed with the unknown I would tell myself, “You can do hard things.” Eventually, I told myself that enough and I started to believe it. I moved forward one day at a time knowing that I can, in fact, do hard things. Being a mom is by far the most rewarding experience I have had in my life, but I know it will come with a multitude of challenges. I also now know that going forward I have the inner fortitude to overcome the challenges and do hard things. 

Pull you own femmespiration from Rachel Taylor Jones on her Instagram or find her on the trails in Utah. Watch her little Zoe grow and learn how to appreciate and protect the outdoors while being an inspiration for others!

Find Rachel on Instagram: @racheltaylorjones

Photo Credits: @hammertohome, @nick_wrz, @lomogogo and Rachel's loving husband.