 LaBastille started out as a contributing writer to several wildlife magazines, including "Sierra Club" and "National Geographic".She became a licensed New York State Guide in the 1970s and offered guide services for backpacking and canoe trips into the Adirondacks.She gave wilderness workshops and lectures for over forty years, joined several New York Adirondack Mountains conservation organizations, and was on the Adirondack Park Agency Board of Commissioners for 17 years.