Well.

Hello there.

Welcome to the November edition of North West Profiles.

I'm your host, Tom McArthur.

As fall arrives, many of us take time to reflect on the year's adventures.

There's nothing quite like spending summer in the great outdoors, hiking, backpacking and camping beneath open skies.

Our friends and neighbors with Parkinson's disease can find these activities especially challenging.

Bill Meyer understood the struggle firsthand.

Instead of giving up the trails he loved, he created an organization called Pass to Pass, a group dedicated to making multi-day hikes possible for people with Parkinson's.

Through teamwork, support and a shared love of the wilderness.

Pass to pass opens the door for participants to experience the joy and empowerment of backcountry adventure.

We're a pretty unique organization.

I don't think anybody's doing multi-day backpacking trips for people with Parkinson's.

There's a lot of us that are quite mobile.

We we could walk, we can talk, we can trip over logs.

And you know.

Actually, when I got on the meds, I quit tripping over logs.

I've done three New York City marathons since I got Parkinson's, and I'd always backpacked and been camping before, so I figured I'd give it a try.

And this is my second trip.

It's wonderful.

All my life I've been hiking, and anything that involves playing outside, and I saw this information about pass to Pass and hiking and out in the northwest, which I love.

And then finding out that the llamas carry my gear.

It's like perfect.

My name is Brian Lorenson.

I work part time for pass to Pass.

I do, recruitment, trail logistics and research.

I am just blown away by what he has accomplished in these, ten years.

The whole story, the history of it.

Bill Meyer had always been passionate about the outdoors, whether it was fishing, skiing, biking, rafting through the Pacific Northwest or hiking over 1000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.

But everything changed in 2009, when Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

He had been experiencing symptoms for years while working as a contractor and home inspector.

It started to interfere with my work.

The rigidity of my body, stiffness.

I knew something was wrong with it.

I had no idea what it was.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder that affects movement.

It occurs when nerve cells in the brain that produce dopamine become damaged or die, leading to symptoms like tremors, stiffness, slowed movement, and balance problems.

Well, after five years, tremors get worse.

Medication wasn't working that well.

I decided to do the DBS.

With deep brain stimulation, or DBS.

First, electrodes are inserted into a targeted area of the brain.

Second, an impulse generator battery is implanted below the collarbone.

It's most effective for people who experience disabling tremors.

It overnight changed me.

Lessen my tremors by more than 75%.

My medications were cut in half overnight, so I felt like I had a new sense of life.

Along with Bill's improvement came his desire to return to the mountains.

We've been told over and over again, you gotta get an exercise.

And I thought, well, if I can get back into the mountains and backpacking, it couldn't be any better.

We set up a test hike in 2015, and I modified some pack straps because they go my generators.

But that didn't work out too well and we were much too aggressive on the hike.

So we arranged the next year to get friends together and go hike, and just evolved from there.

Determined not to let Parkinson's define him.

Bill teamed up with fellow hiker Ken Kisch, who also lives with the disease, to co-found pass to Pass in 2016.

Their mission to make hiking and backpacking accessible to others with Parkinson's.

Each participant is carefully screened to assess physical limitations and experience with camping and backpacking.

Don't be messing with the parkie Every hiker with Parkinson's is paired with a volunteer support hiker who assists both on the trail and at camp.

To lighten the load Llamas carry the gear.

Is everybody okay?

Leadin the Llama?

Allowing participants to hike with just a daypack.

Horses were initially used in the first year, but proved too costly and complicated to manage.

But we've been using the llamas ever since, and they've worked out beautifully.

Walk along with us at our speed.

And, their lovable.

And everybody likes the llamas.

You had all night to eat, come on.

Boone, now is not the time.

Since 2016, a total of 283 Parkinson's hikers had participated in 59 multi-day hikes covering over 15,000 miles.

Tomorrow we will get to sit around or take a day hike or go swimming, and it will be nice.

This is the way we wash our clothes on passtopass.

But we haven't found anything that's a nonprofit like this where people can come and do it.

And it doesn't cost em anything except the gear they need and their food and get themselves to and from the trailhead.

It's one of our main focuses is, you know, mitigating progression of symptoms through exercise.

I have the same passion he does, you know, wanting to continue and share the outdoors with people and exercise and do it together with this community.

And it's so supportive.

To get out here with other people who treat you as an equal.

They don't look down on you or feel sorry for you.

Pass to pass is probably the best thing I've come across with Parkinson's.

I've done it every year since 2021.

This is my first time.

We've done lots of hiking.

We were on the Pacific Crest Trail for four summers in a row.

About 50% come from the northwest.

Yeah, we've had 25 different states and three provinces so far.

And then we've had inquiries from people in Australia and Finland and all sorts of places.

He and his wife are just incredible what they have done.

It lets people know that, hey, you may have Parkinson's.

You can still get out and do all kinds of crazy stuff, whether it's with us or rock climbing or cycling.

If you work at it, you can do most of it.

It's an opportunity to find your own little community, and especially if people have had a history of being outdoors and thought they had to give it up.

They're very excited to find that there's other people.

I've met some of the best people, the toughest people on these hikes.

Bill's a great example.

The guy's unstoppable.

The first time we went on in 2017, he had his appendix out less than two weeks before the hike.

And as a support hiker, I was happy to be informed of this.

The day before we started.

So the best part is, gosh, it's just the people I meet so far, but it's been a lot of fun.

Look around.

I'm from New York.

I haven't heard a car horn honk in four days.

The pass to pass 2026 schedule is already on its website.

Visit past to pass.org.

This is the time of year when many of us in the United States sit down and break bread together for Thanksgiving.

So it feels especially fitting to sit down with Sean Thompson Duffy and learn about the bread he bakes.

Sean is one of the founding members of The Grain Shed, a bakery and brewery known for doing everything the hard way from milling local grains and baking with intention.

They're committed to craft at every step.

A lot of people tell us that we bake bread the hardest way possible, which is like, yes, it could be so much more refined.

But where's the fun in that?

You know.

Shaun Thompson Duffy is one of the owners of The Grain Shed, an employee owned bakery and brewery in Spokane, Washington.

The Grain Shed focuses on landrace grains, and traditional baking methods.

Shaun has spent years learning how to elevate bread.

But what ignited his passion for bread making?

The first thing that drew me to bread making was the mystery behind bread making.

I was working on the savory side in kitchens and, working in some high profile restaurants.

And bread really wasn't a focus.

And so I started, just digging into it.

How can, like, four ingredients, sometimes three ingredients turn into something that really delicious.

Shaun grew up in and around Dallas, Texas and came to Spokane in 2010.

In 2015, he formed Culture Breads, an artisan bread baking company available by subscription.

I would deliver bread to the Perry Street Brewery.

They would use it on like charcuterie board and stuff like that.

And then I met Joel Williamson.

Whose my business partner.

He started link Foods co-op.

Whenever you started talking grains with somebody and they don't fall asleep, but they're really interested.

It's like, well, this guy's a grain guy.

Then in 2018, with the help of brewer Teddy Benson, and Palouse Heritage co-owner Don Sherman, they were ready to bring their dream to fruition.

The bread and the beer is like the two foundations that we built this place upon.

This is, our classic dough.

We're just going to stretch and fold it.

This is how we knead it.

So that's the mill right there.

This is the runner stone.

The bed stone is stationary.

Then the runner stone moves.

The wheat drops in, and then it just starts working its way out and making it in the flour.

We get most of our grain from a place called Palouse Heritage.

The landrace grains that Palouse Heritage has like their their germ is larger.

It makes your flour more enriched.

You get a little floury at this job sometimes.

This is our rye levain.

So this is just a mixture of rye flour and water.

And then this is our wheat levain.

Natural levain and natural sourdough.

They call it sourdough.

You harvest the natural bacteria in yeast and in the wheat.

So this is what makes things rise.

One of the top priorities of The Grain Shed is using traditional baking methods to create healthy and delicious breads.

We're just like reinventing stuff from the past.

Everybody used to use these landrace grains before they started breeding different attributes into the grain for like harvesting and monocultures.

Before steam ovens, everybody was baking out of a wood fired oven.

The information is just got lost, you know, because we don't.

Nobody does it anymore.

Bread baking should teach us that we're all the same.

We're not different.

Every culture had their form of taking flour and water and mixing it together and making something.

Well, what I really like is that there's sort of like a meditative nature to making 200 loaves of bread, Everybody gets along and you can sort of laugh and work at the same time.

I think that there's, a sense of, among all the employees something of a service to the community.

One of the main reasons why I wanted to start The Grain Shed was to be in a neighborhood and to see, like, kids walking around here.

They want a cookie or a croissant or something like that.

You know, those stories are gonna they're going to grow up and they're going to talk about this bakery.

And I was down at the end of their block in Spokane, Washington, of all places.

That really makes me happy.

Were a part of people's lives through bread or through beer, through pastries.

They take us home.

The Grain Shed hosts regular live music right inside the bakery.

Check their schedule online.

And don't forget, Monday is pizza night.

Note to self.

Our next story takes us to the Methow Valley, where we meet a neighbor who works as a clinical herbalist.

She practices phyto therapy using plants and their properties for medicinal support.

Drawing on her deep knowledge of the natural world, she helps people find the remedies and guidance they need on their healing journey.

Next to her home in Carlton, Washington, In the Methow Valley, Robin Bair peruses a wide array of plants, taking stock of some of the bounty of herbs and berries that she grows and harvests for her Phytotherapeutic business.

In 2014 after a devastating fire Where her house and all of her Original plants were destroyed Robin rebuilt, and the process of regeneration is back.

It burned so hot that it took me several years to put the nutrients back in the ground.

As it's recovered, things are definitely coming back and itll never quite be what it was probably unless we have ten years of no drought.

With the help of irrigation, Robin has created a garden of sorts to grow some of her favorite medicinal plants.

This plant here is comfrey.

I get some nice, pretty leaves.

I use the leaves for sprains or wounds.

I dry the leaves some, and then I use them to make up, a general kind of wounds salve.

I also use the root Comfrey is abundant and spreads around, I can dig some up.

And the root has a lot of like mucilage in it.

So it really helps heal damaged tissue.

I'm a clinical herbalist here in the Methow Valley.

I've been doing this for oh, 30 plus years, kind of gradually moving it into more and more of a clinical practice.

what the herbs do is they kick your organs into functioning better instead of bypassing them.

Like using antibiotics long term.

Start to have detrimental effects on your digestion and all that.

So if you're taking those and I'll recommend things that support the things that they're hurting, but there's also other options to like keep your own system strong.

some people I work with don't want to have anything to do with standard medicine.

And some people are in that world and they're looking for something to help support it.

And what I do can do a lot towards supporting people through their digestive system, through how they react to inflammation, through a lot of the side effects of medication.

Having grown up in New York City, Robin at an early age took a shine to plants and developed an interest in Native American teachings of looking at medicine as being all around you.

when I was in high school, I got more interested in how to be kind of independent, and some of that was learning how to grow your own food and recognize things as things that could take care of you.

And then in college, I studied botany and all that a little bit more.

then I actually went to school in Santa Fe in the early 90s, and, went to the National College of phytotherapy.

I got a lot more intensive kind of the science background, but also the materia medica, which is all the plant science.

As she wanders through her garden, we had the chance to find out what types of plants Robin grows and for what they're commonly used.

This is camomile.

And camomile is kind of one of my all time favorite plants because it's pretty much safe for everyone.

There's a few rare people that are allergic to things in this daisy plant family, this is a very mild but very potent medicine.

The flowers should have, like, a nice kind of bitter sweet, smell and flavor.

I like to pick it ideally when it's got a lot of petal on it.

I still have to order camomile because I use so much of it.

But sprinkling this in makes the formulas so much tastier especially for my teas, I do quite a few teas.

I love these guys This here is a young elderberry.

around it is Yarrow Yarrow is an amazing first aid remedy.

The leaves for like bee stings or like allergic reactions The flowers are also beneficial.

I use this in plants for the kidney bladder formulas.

It's a really good diuretic.

It helps for fevers And it is a pretty strong stiptic, to help stop bleeding.

this is calendula.

I love calendula.

I use a ton of it.

the petals are kind of sticky.

And those oils in there are really great for wound healing.

So this is Saint John's wort, this is sunshine.

This is one of those plants that they use for people who have seasonal affective disorder where like lack of sunshine.

the flowers and these leaves have this bright red oil.

And it's that almost like Burgundy color.

If I was doing something to help someone with mood to some extent with this plant, I might also throw in some lavender It has some bitter properties and those really kind of help with mood also.

And it smells good and it's pretty.

And there's something to be said for medicine that's pretty to look at.

Some things that we have here in abundance are like currants, whether you consider them edible is a matter of taste.

There's hawthorn berries which are really seedy, but they're amazing heart medicine.

elderberry and hawthorn flowers are really valuable.

and I make tincture out of the flower, and then a later Ill go and collect the berries because there's different, medicines and different parts of the plant.

the elderberries we have here, supports all your pathways, veins, arteries, Circulation.

some of the other thing with herbs is that people a lot of times just don't take nearly enough.

It's like a few drops of something won't necessarily do it because they don't see it in relationship to a medication they're taking, which is so powerful.

But you're just taking a little pill so you're not realizing in relationship...what you're taking.

I think one thing that's probably important to mention is just that there's a certain personal responsibility when you're doing alternative medicine to do some of the research yourself as with any over-the-counter medication, it's like you have to have some idea of what you're doing.

It's not safe just because it's on the shelf... for you.

Robin says that becoming a clinical herbalist requires patience, commitment, and years of diligent study.

But for her, the real reward is unlocking the power of plants and sharing that healing potential with others.

Finally, tonight, we visit a Coeur d'Alene business that proves a little creativity, and a lot of kindness can go a long way.

Mountain Madness Soap Company is cleaning up in all the best ways.

One customer story that is really funny is we will have people come in with their tiny little bar soap in a Ziploc bag saying, what is this?

What smell is this?

[laughs] So, I grew up in North Pole, Alaska, which was pretty rural.

We really were into being self-sustainable and also crafting.

And so, one year for Christmas, I was thinking, what can I do for my family and friends that would, be a nice homemade gift.

And so I made a batch of soap.

That's what started this entire thing was that first batch of soap for Christmas gifts.

I'm Jennifer Morsell.

I own Mountain Madness Soap Company.

We've been in business for 25 years, and we have a store in downtown Coeur dAlene.

Jennifer's hobby has transformed into a thriving operation, one that now offers far more than just bar soap.

We sell body butter, deodorant, shampoo bars, solid bar soap, bath bombs, solid dish soap, conditioning bar.

If it's hygiene related, we got you.

But, it isn't just me that's doing it anymore.

This is definitely a collaboration and a huge group effort.

I'm Cody Naylor, I am production manager here and one of two soap makers at Mountain Madness Soap Company.

Something that people might find surprising is the amount of kitchen supplies that we use here.

KitchenAid mixers, spatulas, homemade.

Literally.

You could do this in your kitchen.

That's how Jen started the business.

From the tools to the techniques, Mountain Madness still honors its humble beginnings.

But the operation today is much bigger than a kitchen countertop.

This here is our warehouse and this is where all of the magic happens.

We make everything here.

Our process is, you know, to make it and then to cut it and then shelf it, it cures.

When I say cure, it's we cut it and then when we had it, it's a little bit soft.

The longer it sits on the shelf, the harder it's going to get.

At one time, we have over 200 items on the shelf here and, multiple of each item.

So we're sitting in the middle of soap that is probably going to end up at somebody's house here soon.

But beyond shelves of curing soap, the team is driven by a larger purpose, one focus on responsibility and kindness.

I really think what helps us stand out is just kind of our sustainability aspect.

Our mission is literally just, a culture of kindness to people and a culture of kindness to earth.

And with that mission comes a commitment to reducing waste at every step, even when the process doesn't go exactly as planned.

The most challenging part of soap making?

The human variable.

Making mistakes, leaving something out putting too much of something in or even the temperature that day.

You have to be ready to react and adapt.

We sell bags of “ugly bath bombs” from mistake batches.

Or maybe that's the wrong fragrance.

We do the same thing with the soap discards from our cuttings.

We sell them as soap stack samplers.

Just trying to reuse the waste.

We're extremely aware of our footprint and making it as minimal as we can.

We're very aware of our packaging and don't sell any kind of single use plastics.

And we just really are aware that we are producers.

And because we are producers of things, we want to do it as earth friendly as possible.

And with growth comes the power to be even more sustainable.

We recently switched our lip balm tube containers.

We used to have them in plastic tubes, and we did that for years.

And this is an example that now that our business has grown, we have more buying power.

So now I can get custom made lip balm tubes and that's what we're selling now.

So we were able to reduce that plastic tube, and now have this, cardboard paper tube.

The more you grow, the more power you have.

And I think that you can be ethical and source things even when you're really small, but you definitely have the ability to really impact other people and their livelihoods when you do have the buying power.

That sense of responsibility extends beyond sustainability.

For Mountain Madness, each product is also an opportunity to support the community in a tangible way.

One of my favorite things working here at Mountain Madness that I get to do, that I get to see directly impact to make a difference is our buy a bar, give a bar program.

So if you buy a bar of soap, we donate, a one ounce bar of, our oatmeal milk and honey soap to a person in need.

I'm making our iconic Oatmeal Milk and Honey soap.

That's one of the coolest things of my day to day is to be a part of that program.

And know that we can help fill some of the void.

Really makes me go home feeling good.

I think what keeps people coming back to Mountain Madness is our commitment to consistency.

Not just being eco friendly or giving back to the community, but the quality of the products, the love that goes into it.

Even through Covid and now tariffs, we've had to face product changes, ingredient changes.

And we roll with the punches and keep the quality there.

And it's that combination of quality, consistency and compassion that keeps customers returning year after year.

[Thank you very much.

Youre welcome.

See you all next time.]

We have customers that have been with us for 20 years that have used it on their children and their children are now in college.

And just to think of the, the repeat customers, the community that we've built, because we're not just selling soap.

Were selling a culture of kindness that's so important to us is that you're not just getting out your soap and you're using it in the morning.

You're, you know, you're actually supporting real people that live in your community that are doing amazing things.

If you're looking for inspiration on how to live more sustainably, stop by Mountain Madness Soap Company in downtown Coeur d'Alene or explore their offerings online.

We'll end this edition of Northwest Profiles with an excerpt from Thanksgiving by Ella Wheeler Wilcox.

Be thankful for the little things, for they make the days worthwhile, for joy and love and simple gifts that bring the heart a smile at this Thanksgiving.

All of us at KSPS PBS want to take a moment to express our gratitude for you.

Your support makes sharing these stories truly meaningful.

I'm Tom MacArthur, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and looking forward to connecting again in January.

Bye for now.