Outdoor Education, Community & Skill Building

At With The Wild Things we believe that everyone should be able to enjoy the outdoors and hope to share resources that help make that possible while staying safe and protecting the environment. Join our community where learning is a fun and continuous journey. Our courses span a variety of topics and levels, focusing primarily on Wilderness Medicine, ultralight backpacking and Leave No Trace. As a queer and woman owned company With The Wild Things seeks to challenge the predominate narrative in the outdoor industry.Instructor Bio:Danielle O'Farrell (she/they) grew up in San Francisco and as a city kid learned to find nature in the sidewalk cracks. It wasn’t until she was 18 that she went on her first backpacking trip. Though slow to “catch the bug”, they ended up falling for backpacking.After graduating from Tufts University with a BS in Biology as well as Child Development, she began guiding. She worked leading backcountry canoeing and backpacking trips in New England. Most of their students were city kids from New York, who had never been in the backcountry before. One of her favorite things was seeing her students overcome their fears and challenges as they expanded their comfort in the outdoors.Shortly before leaving New England, Danielle obtained their Wilderness EMT certification. She then moved out west to continue teaching environmental science to inner city kids and guiding (this time with adults!) Danielle also worked at REI and later became the store manager of Last Minute Gear, an outdoor gear shop that focuses on access and the environment by providing affordable rental ( and borrowable!) gear in addition to gear for purchase.In 2017’s high snow year, Danielle hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and thru-hiking became her main focus. The following year she sought to expand her skill set and completed several off-trail routes, putting her navigation skills and scrambling to the test. In 2019 she completed the Continental Divide Trail and the Wind River High Route. Most recently, she hiked the Great Divide Trail in Canada with her girlfriend.As Leave No Trace Master Educator, California Naturalist, SOLO Wilderness Medicine Instructor, American Red Cross Instructor, and ACE Personal Trainer, Danielle hopes to prepare her students to push themselves in the outdoors while staying safe and taking care of the natural world and those around them. She loves chocolate and a good laugh and hopes to meet you in her next class!