What’s Your 5 to 9?

A precision roll cast no fish can resist. Ten-mile rides at the mouth of the Hood River and inter–Hawaiian Islands foil crossings. Skiing a glacier in the Fann Mountains of Tajikistan. An 85-mile, 30,000-foot-vertical Bugaboos to Rogers ski traverse.

Patagonia sport ambassadors clock in on rivers, trails, sick lines and big swells. But when the waders, wetsuits and bibs come off is when their leave-it-better-than-they-found-it work begins.

Caroline Gleich

9–5: Snow Ambassador

5–9: Utah Sierra Club

A senate run. Prepping for a TEDx talk about women’s leadership. A ski trip to Tajikistan. Marching, speaking out and posting to defend our public lands from extractive industries.

Tired yet?

Try recovery by meditating, running, eating well, getting vitamin D, listening to birds, grounding, hiking with the dog, connecting with family. Oh, and backyard badminton.

“It’s hard not to laugh when you’re hitting the shuttlecock around,” says Caroline Gleich, 40, from her home in Utah. “I’m still picking up the pieces from my [Utah Senate] campaign. The last two years have been stressful for me with the campaign and these battles to save our public lands. Running for office isn’t just a campaign. It’s a full-body experience that rewires your nervous system. It’s risking your savings. It’s harassment and safety threats. It’s 12-hour days cold-calling donors just to be taken seriously. And it’s losing your identity in the process.

“Problematic as he was, Edward Abbey still has that great quote about not burning yourselves out and remembering to enjoy the land you’re fighting for. Being a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic and saving the other half of yourself for pleasure and adventure.

“The mountains of Utah have always been a huge source of inspiration for me. In the summer, instead of skiing down the south face of Little Cottonwood Canyon, we climb the south ridge. And then there’s my rescue dog Lila’s goal of climbing 100 unique peaks.

“Finding little moments to take breaks for self-care is so important. Sometimes, it’s just taking a book or my ukulele outside, lying on the porch and breathing. Rest is resistance, too.”

Hilary Hutcheson

9–5: Fish Ambassador

5–9: Redside Foundation

Each summer, Glacier Anglers & Outfitters fly fishing guide Hilary Hutcheson works alongside 120 employees—including 80 guides—who come to Glacier National Park from all over the country and the world.

“Many guides get their power from nature, a spiritual connection to the river,” she says. “The recognition that we’re losing our glaciers or that there’s a hybridization of cutthroat and rainbows that could be the fall of the intact ecosystem affects us mentally and physically because now we’re working in more undesirable conditions in a wildly desirable place.”

Hutcheson works with the Redside Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides mental health and substance abuse support for outdoor guides.

“I’m not a counselor,” she says, “but we do focus on holistic health, or whole guide health, to help our guides feel more connected physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. To help them deal with climate grief and the sense of loss when the season is over.

“Guiding through wildfires, low water or floods, temperatures that range from 100°F to 25°F takes a toll on your body. Then we hear about legislation being prepared to sell off some of these river areas or public lands for mining or development.

“I feel a bit responsible to not just help guides make money and have a good summer, but also to listen to them, to feel how they’re dealing, to understand what they’re taking away from this experience and how it might help them grow.”

Marie-France Roy

9–5: Snow Ambassador

5–9: Redd Fish Restoration Society

“Protect where you play,” says Marie-France Roy from her home on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It’s high summer in the north, a time for surfing, skateboarding, gardening and talking kelp.

“The snow we get to enjoy all winter eventually ends up in the ocean through our rivers, streams and estuaries,” she says. “Kelp farming can play a big role in maintaining and restoring the biodiversity of our coastlines, especially in areas that have seen declines over the past decades. The work I do with Redd Fish Restoration [on Vancouver Island] is all about monitoring the local kelp forests, assessing changes and identifying which areas can benefit from restoration and which methods will work best.”

The day before our conversation, she received exciting news that her approval for a kelp farm permit on the Barkley Sound was under final review.

“The permit I applied for is for a very small operation,” she says. “Finding an ideal location where the water is cold enough, not too deep, not too shallow, not too exposed, contains enough nutrients and doesn’t get in the way of fisheries, recreational users, main navigation corridors and protected areas is quite challenging.

“I feel a deep connection with the local people here, and the lands and waters of the Barkley Sound. And with it comes a great sense of responsibility. [This project] feels right and balanced with my life and the community’s needs. It gives me hope.”

Jack Ho

9–5: Surf Ambassador

5–9: Ocean Uprise

“Growing up here was like a fairy tale, a sheltered life in a beautiful place,” says Jack Ho from his home in Waikīkī. “And now that I’m starting to break into the professional surfing scene and traveling the world, all these people I’ve known for years are supporting me. I’m grateful for my friends, family and the place I call home.

“My great-grandfather built our house here on the slopes of Diamond Head in 1948, when Hawai‘i was a US territory, not a state. Being full Chinese, he needed a grant or sponsorship from the white missionary powers-that-be to build this close to Waikīkī Beach. My family is working class, so we are fortunate to have this house that’s just a 10-minute walk from the water. I never take any of this for granted.”

I catch Jack between trips, just back from the Ocean Uprise Youth Summit, a five-day gathering for young people to accelerate change #fortheoceans. (Their tagline is: The oceans are rising. So are we.) In three hours, he’ll catch a flight to Oregon, where he’ll foil the currents, flow and tides at the mouth of the Hood River. Ten-mile rides come standard.

Next up, a six-week foil tour of Europe with a stop in New York City and the wind swells off the Jersey Shore.

“I was talking with my dad,” he says, “and I told him I’m always carrying this Hawai‘i South Shore flag on my back. You’re bringing your community wherever you go. And with foiling, there’s so much untouched territory and waters. It feels like I’m on my own authentic journey to have the most fun.”