On February 14, 2025, the National Park Service around 1,000 probationary employees in conjunction with a White House effort to reduce the federal workforce. Although a spate of eventually reversed many of the layoffs and reinstated probationary employees to their jobs, roughly five weeks elapsed between the initial firing and eventual rehiring mandate. Those intervening weeks were chaotic for many NPS employees, who wondered what they would do for their livelihoods.

At the same time, Ali Murphy, a former marketing executive and the founder of , a new travel platform focused on creating expert-guided custom itineraries for active travelers, was in the middle of preparing to launch her company. When she heard the news of the layoffs, she quickly recognized a chance to pair individuals with deep, location-specific expertise with travelers looking for guidance on their next adventure. On Facebook, Murphy offered former rangers the chance to put their skill set to use at her fledgling company.

On February 20, 2025, a week after the initial layoffs, Murphy put out a call to all those affected: 鈥淭his is devastating,鈥� she wrote in her post. 鈥淏ut your knowledge is still incredibly valuable鈥� If you want to keep sharing what you know, we鈥檇 love to have you.鈥�

Right now, you can book a call with an Outdoorable expert for $60, and Murphy told me the experts themselves take home $45 of that. That鈥檚 a pretty sizable cut. While there are other adventure and gear concierge services out there鈥攍ike 鈥檚 trip-planning service, or Backcountry鈥檚 popular 鈥擮utdoorable seems to fill a pretty distinct niche when it comes to trip planning and prep.

Here at 国产吃瓜黑料, we saw Murphy鈥檚 post and wondered: what happened next? Did NPS folks actually get in touch? We reached out to understand a little more about Outdoorable and its mission鈥攁nd what the response to her post has been like.

How Outdoorable Is Tapping Into Ranger Talent to Improve Outdoor Acesss

OUTSIDE: What happened when you put out that call to former NPS employees? What was the response like?

Murphy: I think I had 70 people apply to Outdoorable from that one post. I pretty much cried after every call. I was so jazzed because people were enthused, and it gave me the chance to tell them that what they know is valuable.

So, what exactly is Outdoorable? What makes it different from other travel sites or chatbots?

I think the travel industry largely ignores the people who are in need of the most guidance. We make false assumptions that people have networks or they know what to look for or they even know where to go. What if you could talk to a former national park ranger? Some people are going to AI for travel advice these days, but there are certain things AI cannot do. AI can’t look you in the eye and say, 鈥淗oney, you’re not crazy. You can do that hike.鈥� Or, 鈥淭alk to me about your knee. Are you better on uphill or downhill?鈥�

How does Outdoorable plan to address representation and access deficits that can make it harder for some folks to envision themselves in the outdoors?

At the start of this, I had an interesting conversation with James Edward Mills, who kind of wrote the book on inclusion spaces. I called him and told him that it’s really important to me that Outdoorable becomes a place where people of all backgrounds can go, and that they feel comfortable getting outside. That conversation was really illuminating because Mills said, 鈥淚t’s all about representation.鈥� For example, if you’re a queer traveler trying to do van life, you want to talk to a queer traveler if you can. And just seeing someone who looks like you or who has had a similar life path to you can help you envision yourself chasing that dream. We鈥檙e working on getting a diverse panel of experts on the platform so people can have that experience.

Okay, let鈥檚 say I鈥檓 a traveler. After I fill out the intake form and get paired with a guide on your website, what can I expect?

Your guide will read your form and know all about you before the call. They’re excited to talk to you. You can expect someone who has a wide range of knowledge to the extent that they can ask you questions you hadn’t thought of, almost like trip therapy. So you might be saying, 鈥淗ey, I’m doing a road trip around Utah’s national parks. I’m going to go to five parks in seven days.鈥� Your guide isn鈥檛 going to be afraid to push back if they need to. They鈥檒l say, 鈥淣o you鈥檙e not,鈥� or, 鈥淗ave you thought about this? Or looked at it this way? What are you actually trying to accomplish on this trip?鈥� Or, on the other hand, if you鈥檝e shared about a trip you鈥檙e uncertain about, they might reassure you that that trip is well within your ability. You can expect a real thought partner.

Sounds like Outdoorable is for everyone鈥攂ut who do you see using the platform most often?

I鈥檇 say the biggest use case we’ve seen so far has been for casual recreationists. They want to get out, they’re outdoorsy, they’d love to do a hike, but they’re not in the Reddit forums. They don’t own all the Osprey packs. The outdoor travel industry forgets about this segment of people, which is most people.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

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On Sunday, that the iconic Fiery Furnace hiking zone would be closed until further notice due to staffing shortages.

In February, the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) fired National Park employees and rescinded job offers for another 5,000 seasonal workers. Although the government reversed course on the temporary workers a few weeks later and a federal judge ordered the reinstatement of national park employees last week, most of those have been placed on paid leave, while national parks like Arches are still working to fill the temporary positions that manage day-to-day operations within park boundaries.

Best known for its towering sandstone slot canyons and semi-technical terrain, the Fiery Furnace garnered so much attention in the 1990s that park officials put a permitting system into place to ensure that no more than 75 people could enter the area per day.

In a normal year, Arches National Park receives nearly 2 million visitors. The park relies on seasonal employees to accommodate hikers and monitor the Fiery Furnace hike. However, both ranger-led programs and self-guided trips in the area are staff-intensive according to the park, which has left officials with no choice but to close the hike.

Karen Hanker, a spokesperson for Arches National Park told Backpacker that the park鈥檚 鈥渓imited team is doing visitor services, staffing the front desk, giving guided tours, etc.鈥�

Given the volume of visitation right now we鈥檙e at a level where if we don鈥檛 have our seasonal workers to help us manage the front desk and issue permits, we have to put our full time workers toward the basics,鈥� Hanker said. As a popular destination for spring break travelers, traffic starts to grow in March and April. Fiery Furnace generally opens on Presidents Day. Usually the park would offer permits at this time of the year, but without their usual team, there simply aren鈥檛 enough resources.

In addition to requiring more staff members to support permitting and ranger-led programs through Fiery Furnace, Hanker ,鈥淭here鈥檚 also the search and rescue component.鈥�

鈥淪hould something happen to someone in the Fiery Furnace, we would need to provide support,鈥� she aid. 鈥淩escues are incredibly staff intensive anywhere in the park, let alone a place as geologically complex as the Fiery Furnace.鈥�

The trail through Fiery Furnace takes hikers across slickrock and through canyons where it can be difficult to see a path. Without many conventional trail markers on the Fiery Furnace hike, it isn鈥檛 uncommon for visitors to become lost in the area. Staffing shortages not only make standard park operations challenging, but they also render officials unable to help in rescue situations, since a single rescue for a sprained ankle could require 10 employees.

The Fiery Furnace is also a beloved canyoneering area due to its technical terrain. It鈥檚 that same terrain that makes rescues in the area so complicated.

Even with federal orders are in place to reinstate employees across the NPS, many national parks face housing shortages, which can make the hiring process challenging even in normal times. With their future at the agency uncertain, some of those impacted by the layoffs have also acquired other jobs. (This week the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to to reinstate federal employees.)

鈥淥nce our seasonal staff are here and trained we look forward to resuming normal spring operations, including opening Fiery Furnace,鈥� Henker said. Officials aren鈥檛 yet sure when they鈥檒l be able to revert to normal operations.

With temperatures rising in the meantime, the park hopes that visitors will choose safe replacement activities.

鈥淲e appreciate [it] if folks can do their research about their plans and choose an activity that鈥檚 safe and appropriate for them. It can still get hot in spring, and with fewer folks to respond to calls it is important for visitors to look out for themselves and to avoid needing a rescue,鈥� Henker said.鈥�

Additional reporting by Frederick Dreier at 国产吃瓜黑料

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It has been more than two weeks since the Trump administration let go of hundreds of National Park Service (NPS) employees, and the exact impact of the cuts have yet to play out鈥攖hough experts anticipate everything from longer lines to overflowing trashcans to major safety concerns. Last weekend, the , a group made up of current and former NPS workers, and other public lands enthusiasts held protests across U.S. parks. On Saturday, March 1, 2025, more than 433 different protests occurred in support of national parks.

 

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Here is a roundup of the most creative signs we saw this weekend:

 

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This is just one batch of the many protests that have come to fruition since the layoffs. Last month, climbers and National Park rangers in Yosemite hung an upside down flag on El Capitan, signaling a sign of distress and sounding the alarm for other cities and parks to do the same.

 

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