Hi!

I’m Monica (Shoberg) and I go by she/her/hers pronouns.

I’m the founder of Unruly Women, the curator of all that goes on here, and I’ll be your guide!

It’s very nice to meet you!

It’s been a wild ride, this life of mine, and I’ve decided to shift gears and take back control of my life- where I’m going and how I’m going about it. What exactly do I mean by that? Life is short- but it can be long too, so why wait for the perfect time to take a leap of faith (spoiler, there is no perfect time).

After 8 years of working my dream profession as a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant - a certified personal trainer too, but that feels like ages ago- I finally recognized my own cyclical burnout, how I (like many medical professionals) seriously neglected my own mental and physical health and overall well-being for the patients and job that I loved. I tried balancing my work-life by traveling as a PTA, working and living all across the U.S. exploring and traveling in between contract positions and doing my best to get out into nature on the weekends (click here to read about living the van-life without a van, with my dog Griz). I even landed a position on the Oregon coast, the most beautiful place I’ve ever lived, right on the ocean and in the mountains (it’s a real place, I swear) and I still found myself realizing that if I stayed any longer in that working environment that the person I am, would cease to exist- it was either the job or me … and I chose me.

While living in Oregon, I backpacked in some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Although I’d done plenty of solo roadtripping, camping, hiking and living in my car over the years, Oregon was the first place that I’d gone backpacking into the wilderness alone. It was life changing.

I realized how much I wished I’d felt the confidence to do this sooner, without having to wait for a significant other or friend who had the gear and the expertise to go with.

Traveling, exploring, and immersing myself in nature is the way I find pieces of myself that I’ve lost along the way. In the silence and the solitude -some serious sweat and a little fear- I become more in tune with my intuition. In a world that tells us where to go, what to do, and how we should be doing it, getting out is the only way to get back in.

The pandemic triggered a series of events leading to the pursuit of my wildest dreams. I dreamt of spending more time outdoors with like-minded individuals who care about each other and the planet. This snowballed into a deep desire to empower women, femme, and non-binary folks to stand up for themselves and each other, to help them learn to listen to their intuition and follow their gut, ultimately building confidence in learning to trust themselves. I’ve learned that in nature, away from distractions, we can more easily connect with ourselves, quieting the outside noise allowing the inner voice to be heard.

Certifications + Professional Experience

  • Wilderness First Responder

    I have been a Certified Wilderness First Responder since October 2021 through NOLS wilderness school.

  • BICP Mountain Bike Instructor + Ride Leader

    I have been a Certified BICP Level 1 Fundamental Skills Instructor and Certified Group Ride Leader for mountain biking since October 2022 and have coached over 180 hours since 2023.

  • Backpacking

    I have solo-guided 11 Unruly Women backpacking retreats from October 2021 - October 2023 along the Superior Hiking Trail.

    In 2022 I volunteered with the non-profit Project Success and co-led a group of seven 6th-8th graders for one week in the BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness) canoeing, camping and portaging.

  • Published Writer

    I began writing for MN Trails Magazine in 2023, find the interview about Unruly Women here, and articles that I wrote can be found in issues : Fall 2023, Spring and Fall 2024

A bit of my personal outdoor adventure portfolio…

  • Backpacking

    -Through parts of New Zealand with my best girlfriend- you bet this included hitchhiking and covering 20+ miles during a hurricane!

    -Superior Hiking Trail in northern Minnesota

    -Throughout central Oregon

    -Coyote Gulch near Escalante, UT

    -Portaging throughout the BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness)

  • Mountain Biking

    -Minneapolis/Twin Cities, Duluth and Cuyuna, MN

    -Brevard, NC

    -Oakridge and Whiskey Run near Coos Bay, OR

    -Galbraith Mountain Bellingham, WA

    -Angel Fire, NM

    -Hayward/Seely, WI

  • Rock Climbing

    -sport climbing & bouldering in Yosemite and Bishop California

    -sport climbing in Lander, Wyoming

    -sport climbing in Smith Rock Oregon

    -sport climbing in St. George, Utah

    -sport and top roping in Colorado

    -sport climbing in western South Dakota

    -sport climbing, ice climbing, bouldering, and top rope climbing throughout Minnesota

  • Snowboarding & Backcountry Splitboarding

    -Splitboarding in the Wasatch Salt Lake City, UT

    -Splitboarding near Estes Park, CO

    -Snowboarding at various ski resorts in Montana, Oregon, Utah, South Dakota, Minnesota and Lake Louise in Alberta Canada

  • Hiking

    -Various locations throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California; Norway, New Zealand, Guatemala, and Mexico.