I’m Linda Åkeson McGurk – Swedish-American writer, speaker, and author who believes life is better outside. I live with the love of my life and two daughters and two bonus daughters in a little house at the edge of the woods in rural Sweden. My biggest vice is my addiction to dark chocolate, and my secret superpower is my mad parallel parking skills.
I was raised in the Scandinavian friluftsliv tradition, learning early on how to hike, camp, swim, ski, ice skate and forage for wild berries with my parents and grandparents. Still, we didn’t consider ourselves particularly outdoorsy – we were just like most families in Sweden at the time.
For the past 15 years, I’ve helped people just like you step outside with their families, rain or shine, and see the world a little differently. First through my blog, books (There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather and The Open-Air Life) and Substack newsletter. And now, in real life, as a nature guide in my native Sweden.
I started Tales & Trails in 2025 because something felt increasingly off. The digital world was growing louder, angrier, and more hollow by the day. Social media had turned into an endless scroll of brain rot and outrage. AI quietly erased much of my freelance work as a copywriter. And while Big Tech rushed to automate and virtualize our lives from energy-hungry server halls in the desert, our connection to nature – and to each other – seemed to be quietly unraveling.
Something had to give.
So, I created a company that offers something different. One rooted in real conversations, muddy boots, quiet reflection, and the pure joy that only comes from spending time under the open skies. Tales & Trails is my way back to what feels essential – stepping away from the screen, into the landscape, and walking alongside others who feel the same pull.
If we haven’t met yet, I hope we will. Preferably on a hiking trail in the Swedish highlands, covering ground (kilometers, of course), drinking water straight out of a stream and remembering that nature is our true home.
I’m Linda Åkeson McGurk – Swedish-American writer, speaker, and author who believes life is better outside. I live with the love of my life and two daughters and two bonus daughters in a little house at the edge of the woods in rural Sweden. My biggest vice is my addiction to dark chocolate, and my secret superpower is my mad parallel parking skills.
I was raised in the Scandinavian friluftsliv tradition, learning early on how to hike, camp, swim, ski, ice skate and forage for wild berries with my parents and grandparents. Still, we didn’t consider ourselves particularly outdoorsy – we were just like most families in Sweden at the time.
For the past 15 years, I’ve helped people just like you step outside with their families, rain or shine, and see the world a little differently. First through my blog, books (There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather and The Open-Air Life) and Substack newsletter. And now, in real life, as a nature guide in my native Sweden.
I started Tales & Trails in 2025 because something felt increasingly off. The digital world was growing louder, angrier, and more hollow by the day. Social media had turned into an endless scroll of brain rot and outrage. AI quietly erased much of my freelance work as a copywriter. And while Big Tech rushed to automate and virtualize our lives from energy-hungry server halls in the desert, our connection to nature – and to each other – seemed to be quietly unraveling.
Something had to give.
So, I created a company that offers something different. One rooted in real conversations, muddy boots, quiet reflection, and the pure joy that only comes from spending time under the open skies. Tales & Trails is my way back to what feels essential – stepping away from the screen, into the landscape, and walking alongside others who feel the same pull.
If we haven’t met yet, I hope we will. Preferably on a hiking trail in the Swedish highlands, covering ground (kilometers, of course), drinking water straight out of a stream and remembering that nature is our true home.
Tales & Trails exists to restore our sense of belonging to nature, to each other, and to a slower, more intentional way of being – one step, one trail at a time.
We believe humans belong in nature – not as visitors, consumers, or conquerors, but as parts of a living whole.
We practice friluftsliv – open-air life – not as an extreme sport or a lifestyle trend, but to restore balance and feel joy.
We value slowness over speed, presence over productivity, and depth over distance covered.
We acknowledge the environmental cost of travel, minimizing impact, protecting non-human life and doing better whenever we can.
We travel in a way that respects Indigenous people and benefits local communities.
We value shared silence as much as shared stories, and see both as ways of connecting to the land and to each other.
We lift each other up and challenge ourselves in order to grow, without feeling pressure to compete.
We align ourselves with the weather and find something to love about every season.
Above all, we believe the future depends on our ability to feel that we are part of nature again – and to act accordingly.
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