Today we’d like to introduce you to Madeline Perez.
Hi Madeline, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Expedition Courage was founded by Deanna Kleinhenz from a deep love of the outdoors and a belief that adventure can change the way women see themselves. What began as a way to help women step outside of their comfort zones through backpacking and outdoor experiences eventually grew into something much bigger, a space for connection, courage, and personal transformation.
At the same time, I was building my own business, Resilient Mindset Coaching, where my work centered around helping people navigate fear, change, identity, and the moments in life that ask us to become a little braver.
Our paths crossed professionally when I came on as a contractor for Expedition Courage, bringing the coaching and holistic side of my business into one of Deanna’s retreats. At the time, neither of us went into it thinking we were building a company together. I was there to facilitate coaching, yoga, and mindfulness, and Deanna was leading the outdoor experience she had created.
But during that very first retreat together, something clicked.
We realized that our work complemented each other in a way neither of us had anticipated. Deanna had created these incredible opportunities for women to challenge themselves in the outdoors, and I was helping women explore what was already organically happening internally as they moved through those challenges. The trail became more than a physical experience, it became a place to have conversations about fear, confidence, identity, relationships, boundaries, resilience, and what women wanted their lives to look like when they went home.
By the end of that retreat, it was pretty clear to both of us that this wasn’t going to remain a contractor relationship.
We ultimately merged what we were building, with Deanna and I becoming partners in Expedition Courage and intentionally weaving outdoor adventure, coaching, mindfulness, and community together.
Since then, Expedition Courage has continued to evolve. We’ve led women through backpacking trips, retreats, and transformational experiences in Colorado, Utah, and internationally. But at the core, what we do has stayed remarkably simple: we create spaces where women can disconnect from the noise of everyday life long enough to reconnect with themselves.
Neither of us could have predicted exactly what Expedition Courage would become when we first started working together. In many ways, we built it the same way we encourage women to move through the wilderness, one step at a time, willing to be uncomfortable, willing to learn, and willing to trust where the trail was leading us.
And somehow, that first retreat didn’t just change the direction of Expedition Courage. It changed the direction of both of our lives.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not! And I think we would both be suspicious of anyone who said building a business was a completely smooth road.
One of the biggest lessons for us has been learning that loving the same mission doesn’t automatically mean you’ll always approach things the same way. Deanna and I came into Expedition Courage with different backgrounds, different strengths, and different ways of leading. On top of being business partners, we’re also best friends, which makes this journey incredibly special, but it also means we’ve had to learn how to separate friendship from business when necessary and how to protect both.
There are days when we’re having conversations as co-owners about finances, logistics, or a difficult decision, and an hour later we’re talking as best friends about life. Learning how to move between those roles, communicate honestly, give each other grace, and still hold one another accountable has probably been one of the greatest growth experiences for both of us.
We’re also a small business, which means Deanna and I wear just about every hat there is. We’re the owners, guides, coaches, trip planners, marketers, content creators, customer service team, gear organizers, permit coordinators, website editors, problem-solvers and sometimes the people sitting on the floor surrounded by gear wondering how we’re going to fit everything into the car. There isn’t a huge team behind the curtain. A lot of the time, it’s simply the two of us figuring it out together.
And with an outdoor business, there are so many things outside of your control. Weather changes. Permits change. Itineraries change. Trips don’t always fill. Sometimes they have to be canceled. There are financial pressures, logistical challenges, and moments when you have to make really difficult decisions about something you’ve poured months of work and heart into. We’ve learned that being adaptable isn’t just something we teach on the trail; it’s something we’ve had to practice constantly behind the scenes.
We’ve also had to learn how to receive feedback, make mistakes, have uncomfortable conversations, define our individual roles, and sometimes admit that something we tried simply didn’t work. There have been moments when we’ve had to completely rethink what we were doing and why.
But I think those moments have shaped Expedition Courage just as much as the successes have.
We talk a lot about courage in our work, and we’ve learned that courage isn’t always climbing the mountain or doing the scary thing. Sometimes it’s changing direction. Sometimes it’s taking accountability. Sometimes it’s having the conversation you’d rather avoid. Sometimes it’s trusting your business partner (and your best friend) enough to say, “I don’t know what we’re doing here, but we’ll figure it out.”
There have absolutely been seasons when this business has tested both of us, individually and together. But it has also allowed us to grow alongside each other. We aren’t the same women, friends, or leaders we were when we started working together, and I think that’s one of the most meaningful parts of our story.
Expedition Courage has never been about having everything figured out. It’s about being willing to keep showing up, keep learning, and keep taking the next step, even when you can’t see the entire trail ahead.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Expedition Courage is an outdoor adventure and personal development company built around creating experiences that give women the opportunity to step away from everyday life, challenge themselves, connect deeply with others, and reconnect with who they are.
We create immersive experiences that combine outdoor adventure, transformational coaching, mindfulness, intentional conversation, and genuine human connection. We’ve taken women backpacking through Colorado and Utah, traveled internationally for retreats, and continue to evolve our offerings to include new ways for women to experience adventure, wellness, personal growth, and community.
What sets us apart is that we aren’t simply taking women somewhere beautiful and calling it a retreat. There is intention behind the entire experience.
The adventure is almost the vehicle for something deeper.
The outdoors naturally creates space away from the roles, responsibilities, expectations, phones, schedules, and noise that so many of us carry every day. When you step outside of that for a few days, really powerful things can happen. Conversations get deeper. People become more present. Women challenge beliefs they’ve held about themselves. They do things they weren’t sure they were capable of doing. And somewhere along the way, strangers often become a community.
We also put a lot of thought into what happens before, during, and after an experience. We don’t want someone to simply book a trip, show up at a trailhead, and say goodbye a few days later. We want her to feel supported and connected before she ever arrives. Throughout our experiences, we incorporate coaching, reflection, mindfulness, education, and opportunities for meaningful conversation. And afterward, we encourage women to think about how what they learned about themselves can come home with them.
Something else that’s really important to us is making adventure feel approachable. You don’t have to be the most experienced hiker in the group. You don’t have to already consider yourself “outdoorsy.” You don’t have to show up fearless, perfectly prepared, or knowing anyone else. So many women come to us saying, “I’ve always wanted to do something like this, but…” and everything after that “but” is exactly where our work begins.
Yes, we’re going to teach you outdoor skills, help you become more confident in the wilderness, and probably ask you to do something that pushes you outside of your comfort zone. But we’re equally interested in the woman having that experience.
What happens when she realizes she’s stronger than she thought? What happens when she gives herself permission to take up space, slow down, try something that scares her, or trust herself a little more? What happens when she gets quiet enough to actually hear what she needs?
That’s the part of this work we love.
One of the things we’re most proud of isn’t necessarily a particular trip or destination, it’s the community that has formed around Expedition Courage. Watching women arrive as strangers and leave cheering one another on, staying connected, coming back for another experience, or telling us that something they experienced with us changed the way they approached their life is incredibly meaningful.
We’re also really proud that we’ve allowed the brand to evolve. Expedition Courage started with outdoor adventure, and that will always be part of who we are, but we’re not interested in putting ourselves into a box. We’re continuing to explore what courage, connection, wellness, coaching, and adventure can look like in different spaces. The destination or activity may change, but the intention behind it doesn’t.
At the end of the day, we’re not really in the business of getting women to the top of mountains.
We’re in the business of creating opportunities for women to discover what they’re capable of and sometimes a mountain is a pretty incredible place to find out.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
If there’s one thing we’d want someone reading this to know, it’s that you don’t have to feel ready before you do something brave.
So many of the women who come into our world tell us some version of the same thing: “I want to do something like that, but I’m not sure I can.” They’re worried they’re not fit enough, experienced enough, adventurous enough, confident enough or they tell themselves they’ll do it someday when life slows down.
We understand that feeling because we’ve lived it too.
Expedition Courage wasn’t built by two women who had everything figured out. We’ve built it while growing, changing, making mistakes, navigating hard seasons, laughing a lot, learning from each other, and continuing to choose this work and this friendship along the way.
That’s probably why we care so deeply about creating spaces where women don’t feel like they have to show up as the most polished, fearless version of themselves. You can come exactly as you are. Courage isn’t the absence of fear or uncertainty. Sometimes it’s simply deciding that those things don’t get to make every decision for you.
And maybe that’s what we hope Expedition Courage represents more than anything.
You don’t need to become a different woman before you take the trip, climb the mountain, make the change, start over, slow down, or finally do the thing you’ve been telling yourself you’ll do “one day.”
Sometimes you just need an opportunity to see what the woman you already are is capable of.
Pricing:
- Pricing varies based on the experience, destination, length, and what is included.
- We offer a range of outdoor adventures, retreats, coaching, and wellness experiences throughout the year.
- Current experiences, availability, and pricing can be found at expeditioncourage.com.
- We also offer private and custom experiences for groups and organizations; pricing is provided based on the experience being created.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.expeditioncourage.com
- Instagram: expeditioncouarge
- Facebook: expeditioncourage
