Our Team
The crew behind Adventure Awaits! We all take the position of “adult camp counselor” extremely seriously.
Amanda Imes
Retreat Leader, Yoga Teacher, Canoe GuideAmanda is a Boreal Bliss co-owner. She will be joining Shannon McGrath’s alumni group on a 2-night Boundary Waters adventure. She will teaching wilderness yoga, inspire writing, meaningful conversation, and mindfulness in the great outdoors.
She lives in Duluth, MN and loves hanging out with her two young children and husband.
Amanda is an economist for the State of MN, and an adjunct professor at the College of St. Scholastica where she teaches Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics.
She enjoys an annual trip to the Boundary Waters with her husband and their friends. It is an uplifting experience to be able to empower women-only groups to paddle, portage, and canoe camp.
Stacy Nightwine
Retreat Leader, Yoga Teacher, Canoe GuideStacy (camp name Carrot) is a lead yoga teacher at Boreal Bliss. With harmonica in hand, she loves to join Nora in bringing a small group of alumni into the wilderness for a 2-night canoe camping experience. Stacy teaches yoga, mindfulness sessions, and teams up with Nora to offer women an A+ getaway in nature. Her passion for inviting women to let loose, embrace fun, and try something new is contagious.
Stacy lives in Two Harbors, MN, where she loves the simple life and time outdoors.
Shannon McGrath
Wilderness Canoe GuideWith 28 yrs of wilderness canoe experience, Shannon is a natural problem-solver, adventure-seeker, and leader who loves bringing people together for meaningful experiences.
This is her 6th year of Adventure Awaits; one year as a retreater and the last five as a guide.
Shannon lives in Shoreview, MN with her husband and 4 kids.
By day, she manages complex infrastructure projects; in the wilderness, she finds a different kind of fulfillment in navigating waterways, embracing the unexpected, and helping women discover what they’re capable of.
She believes some of life’s best lessons come from getting outside your comfort zone, connecting with nature, and sharing the journey with other incredible women. For Shannon, adventure is about more than the destination; it’s about the transformation along the way.
Jessica Wiens
Wilderness Canoe GuideJessica has been a patient, inspiring, and educational guide at Adventure Awaits for 5 years. She attended the retreat prior to joining the team as well.
Jessica discovered her love for the outdoors, camping, hiking, and yoga all as a 20-something adult. In 2012, Shannon (one of the other Canoe Guides) asked her to go on a 7-day canoe trip to the Boundary Waters. Jessica had never portaged, never spent more than an hour in a canoe, and never slept on the ground, but she was immediately hooked.
Jessica is thrilled to share the Boundary Water’s wonder and appeal with others. She'll help you feel confident about balancing the canoe on your shoulders and paddling. She’s happy to share insights into trip options, entry permits, gear preferences, packing lists, food prep, map reading, and more.
Jessica lives in Northeast Minneapolis with her son. She loves being in the passenger seat on road trips with a coffee in one hand and a paper map in the other. She works in government public relations and is a repeat Boreal Bliss Yoga retreater.
Cindy Geibe
Reiki Practitioner, Canoe GuideA Boreal Bliss retreat regular since 2019, Cindy loves the connection, adventure, and the community of like-minded individuals these retreats bring together. An avid nature lover and hiker, her favorite retreat is Adventure Awaits on the edge of the BWCA.
At retreats, Cindy offers Reiki sessions and helps lead workshops exploring Reiki, chakras, meditation, ritual and more.
Inner Harmony Healing is located in Eagan, where she offers Reiki, Healing Touch, energy healing, and intuitive readings to help people reconnect with themselves and find greater balance within.
Cindy is a dog mom, corporate burnout survivor, enjoys deep conversations, loves draft horses, a reader, and is currently working to visit all MN State Parks with her husband and new camper. She loves to see the delight and magic in all things, especially DQ M&M blizzards.
Interested in exploring your own energy? Learn more at InnerHarmonyHealingMN.com.
Bridget Douglas
Wilderness Canoe GuideBridget (camp name Bogs) grew up on the shores of Lake of the Woods, and spent her middle and high school years paddling the lake's Ontario waters with the summer canoe camp Laketrails. She spent 5+ summer seasons at Laketrails guiding wilderness trips for teenagers, exploring the remote and largely unexplored forests, lakes, portage trails, and bogs, teaching her campers to love the lake she grew up on and to grow confidence in themselves and their wilderness skills.
After moving to the Duluth to pursue her full time career in residential interior design & sauna design, she also guided women's specific trips for three seasons with a women's focused canoe trip outfitting business in the Boundary Waters.
Bridget loves the transformative power of canoe trips to inspire individual and communal flourishing; believes that wilderness canoe travel is a balm to the human soul and an antidote to the maladies of modern society; and considers it part of her life's vocation to share the soul altering beauty of canoe country with others.
She's married to the Laketrails Camp Director, Troy and spends her summers on their island base camp with their puppy Louie, first baby, and the youth that come to canoe camp.
Bryana Cook
Retreat Leader, Yoga Teacher, Canoe GuideCo-owner of Boreal Bliss Yoga Retreats, Bryana has delighted in partnering with Ashley Bredemus to bring women in the Boundary Waters and Birchwood for the last 7 years.
She prioritizes her own time in this wilderness annually with her friend Nora. Where they’ve spent at least a week in the Boundary Waters for the last 11 years. Just two women, and occasionally a dog or two is allowed.
To share the wilderness paired with yoga and mindfulness with other women is an absolute life highlight. To empower others to paddle a canoe, disconnect, and embrace nature is a dream.
Bryana lives in Longville, MN with her husband Dan Ryan, their two young sons, dog, cat, and chickens.
Ashley Bredemus
Retreat HostCo-owner and year-round resident of Birchwood Wilderness Camp, Ashley (camp name Penny) lives on the edge of the BWCAW with her husband Victor (camp name Stryde), their toddler son Kit, 2 dogs (Arlo & Max) and 2 cats (Louie & Moses).
After five years as a mechanical engineer in Florida, Ashley decided to quit her job and move to Birchwood for one winter before finding another engineering job in Minnesota. The one winter she spent at camp was all it took to change career paths, become the co-owner of Birchwood, and live on the property year-round with her dad, Dan. She has loved writing all her life and enjoys writing about the benefits and fullness of a life lived outdoors! Follow her at @ashleybredemus.
Nora Woodworth
Naturalist, Canoe Guide, Yoga TeacherNora (camp name Doc) joins this retreat as a yoga teacher, wilderness canoe guide, and overall nature hype lady. She did her 200-hour yoga teacher training with Boreal Bliss and swore she would never teach yoga, but Boreal Bliss lets her infuse yoga with nature and animal facts (some rated M for mature) and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Nora is the Program Manager at Happy Dancing Turtle, a small nonprofit whose mission is to grow good stewards of the planet through education, programs, and experiences for you and adults that inspire wonder and empower change.
She lives in Trempeleau, WI (read Winona, MN) and loves getting out for a wide range of adventures with her husband, Jake, and dog Stryder. You can follow along on her nature adventures & learn some fun facts on her Instagram account, @NeatureNora.
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