Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Hiker Trash Radio
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trail Stories - "Kevin, What Are You Doing Here?" with Dr. Caroline "Earthcake" Himbert | 31 oct. 2026 | 00:34:23 | |
About the Guest Dr. Caroline Himbert, trail name Earthcake, is a German expat and cancer researcher on the faculty at the University of Utah's cancer center in Salt Lake City, following a postdoc at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research focuses on cancer survivorship, mainly colorectal and prostate cancer, and how exercise can improve survival and quality of life. She moved to the United States in October 2015 and thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2016, followed by the Colorado Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. She then moved into ultrarunning, finishing her first 100-miler, the Wasatch 100, in 29 hours and 45 minutes for a top-ten finish and a sub-30 buckle. On the John Muir Trail, she set the unsupported women's FKT in August 2025 in 4 days, 4 hours, and 58 minutes, edging a record that had stood since 2016 by eight minutes. In July 2026 she came back and lowered it to 3 days, 16 hours, and 36 minutes, running northbound from Whitney Portal to Yosemite Valley. She is coached by Joe "Stringbean" McConaughy, and she got her trail name from mispronouncing "earthquake" on the PCT. She is on Instagram at @im_earthcake. What Happens in This Episode Twelve Miles From the Finish A Planner Who Trusts Her Legs How "Earthcake" Happened From Thru-Hiker to Wasatch 100 Rachel and Kevin Taking It Back at Donahue Pass A Bear, a Burrito, and a Grudge Doing It Alone, and What Comes Next Links & Resources
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| The Cottage - Episode 5: Work Hard. Stay Curious. | 30 oct. 2026 | 00:08:41 | |
The Cottage — Episode 5: "Work Hard. Stay Curious." The series finale of The Cottage asks the question behind all the others: why do these people do what they do? Allgood on waiting for his life to require a walk of that magnitude. GVP on creating margin and slipping into soft focus. Bus on never giving up the walks that changed his life. And the realization that ties the whole series together: the cottage industry exists because people who carry less learned to do more, and they found the answers they needed on trail. Featured Voices Whitney LaRuffa (Allgood) — Gossamer Gear. AT '96, CDT '16. Glenn Van Peski (G Squared) — Founder, Gossamer Gear. Author, "Take Less, Do More." Dan Durston (Lorax) — Founder, Durston Gear. Luke Piersall (Bus) — Founder, Trail Goods Company. The Full Series Cast Glenn Van Peski (Gossamer Gear) | Whitney LaRuffa (Gossamer Gear/FarOut/Six Moon Designs) | Lloyd Vogel (Garage Grown Gear) | Dan Durston (Durston Gear) | Cameron Abila (Leave Outdoor Co) | Brice Sokolowski (Vaucluse) | Sarah Berkeley (Symbiosis Gear) | Luke Piersall (Trail Goods Company) | Tom Liggett (Alpenglow Gear) | Elliot Dick (Different Dimension Designs) Connect with Hiker Trash Radio Email: hikertashradio@gmail.com Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| The Trail Name That Got Away - Bee Corrado (Part II) | 28 oct. 2026 | 00:38:10 | |
About the Guest
Bianca "Bee" Corrado is a high school Spanish teacher, outdoor educator, and content creator from San Diego, California (currently relocating to New York). Under the handle @beeswildlife, she has built a community of over 100,000 followers by teaching beginners how to get into the backcountry safely and confidently: camp kitchen guides, gear reviews, Leave No Trace education, and trail safety for solo women. She documented her PCT thru-hike in real time across Instagram, YouTube, and Substack. Her first backpacking trip was with the Sierra Club at Stony Brook University in 2016; her first thru-hike was the John Muir Trail in 2019 with her younger brother. She was sleeping on her balcony on a sleeping pad when this interview was recorded because her bed felt too soft after 140-plus days on trail. Her almost-trail-name was Crack Sniffer. She accepted Bee instead.
What's Covered in Part 2
Family Reaction — They Knew She Was Stubborn
Imposter Syndrome — Across Every Area The JMT Conclusion and Its Contradiction Why Beginners — Because She Was One Teaching and Creating — Both Stem From Creativity What Bee Wants Solo Women to Know About Safety Dirty Pot Water — The LNT Case Follower Growth — PCT as the Catalyst What's Next — Camino, Spanish, and the Classroom Hiking Hacks — Three for the Price of One Off the Beaten Path — Further by Heather Anderson Pay It Forward — NPCA Crack Sniffer — Why She Declined Links & Resources
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| I Actually Thought You Weren't Going to Make It - Bee Corrado (Part I) | 28 oct. 2026 | 00:43:02 | |
About the Guest
Bianca "Bee" Corrado is a high school Spanish teacher, outdoor educator, and content creator from San Diego, California (currently relocating to New York). Under the handle @beeswildlife, she has built a community of over 100,000 followers by teaching beginners how to get into the backcountry safely and confidently — camp kitchen guides, gear reviews, Leave No Trace education, and trail safety for solo women. She documented her PCT thru-hike in real time across Instagram, YouTube, and Substack. Her first backpacking trip was with the Sierra Club at Stony Brook University in 2016; her first thru-hike was the John Muir Trail in 2019 with her younger brother. She was sleeping on her balcony on a sleeping pad when this interview was recorded because her bed felt too soft after 140-plus days on trail. Her almost-trail-name was Crack Sniffer. She accepted Bee instead.
What's Covered in Part 1
Trail Name — Bee
Trailblazer's Toolkit — Topo Athletic UltraVenture The Hiking Poll — Score: 41 Culture Surprise — The Skipping Creating From the Trail The Sierra — Connecting Familiar Places The One Crying Moment The Hardest Stretch — Oregon Border Expectations The Midway Marker Origin Story — Sierra Club, Stony Brook, and a 65-Degree Bag Links & Resources
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| Dark Miles - Never Again with Zach Lawyer | 26 oct. 2026 | 00:44:29 | |
Zach Lawyer grew up battling his inner demons. His brother was born with spina bifida, and Zach grew up carrying the guilt of a healthy body in a house where one wasn’t guaranteed. He started looking for an outlet early. Skateboarding found him before the drugs did. But it was hard to battle the self-sabotage. He stole an iPod at 13. A neighbor traded him a quarter pound of weed for it. That was the launch of a dealing career that lasted over a decade, eventually eating the dealer. By his mid-twenties, Zach was using an eighth of cocaine before two in the afternoon, tapering with Xanax, finishing with fentanyl knockoffs. He couldn’t hold a job, couldn’t hold a relationship, could barely look at himself in the mirror. He had become the customer he used to sell to. The arrest came four days after a confrontation he describes carefully, in his own language: he took something that wasn’t his, had a confrontation with some people, and woke up under a pool floaty in his parents’ backyard to six squad cars and dogs barking in the cul-de-sac. Jail was a race war playing out in real time. He was a long-haired fish in a bucket of water. Before he got to housing, he was face-down on a dirty cell floor - hands cuffed, wrists bleeding, choking on bile - and every rock bottom he’d ever hit flashed through him at once. He made one promise to himself: never again. Never again will I act out of impulse. He came out and found yoga. Not looking for it. A girlfriend dragged him to a class at Temecula Yoga Collective. He walked in with a lot of darkness around him, a dry wick of a candle, and saw nothing but lit candles. He came out of that first class feeling high as a kite. Turns out that’s your prana. Your life force. A teacher named Danny White showed him what it could look like to live inside a practice rather than outside it. When COVID killed his plans to teach, he took the practice to the Pacific Crest Trail. Then the Hayduke. Then the Oregon Desert Trail — 800 miles of no markers, no trail, drought year seven. Fifty-two miles without water. A mountain lion in a creek bed at night, headlamp dead, pink taser that barely lit up. Baby rattlesnakes no bigger than his index finger materializing from the camouflage of the desert floor. He stood through all of it. Nothing of the old him was there. The old him would have panicked. Zach is writing a book: two years of drafts, one computer crash, months of writer’s block. He wants one person to take something from it. That’s been the goal this entire ride. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Trail Stories - The Trail Name I Didn't Get (Fortunately!) with Bee Corrado | 24 oct. 2026 | 00:19:52 | |
About the Guest
Bianca "Bee" Corrado is a high school Spanish teacher, outdoor educator, and content creator from San Diego, California (currently relocating to New York). Under the handle @beeswildlife, she has built a community of over 100,000 followers by teaching beginners how to get into the backcountry safely and confidently: camp kitchen guides, gear reviews, Leave No Trace education, and trail safety for solo women. She documented her PCT thru-hike in real time across Instagram, YouTube, and Substack. Her first backpacking trip was with the Sierra Club at Stony Brook University in 2016; her first thru-hike was the John Muir Trail in 2019 with her younger brother. She took to sleeping on her balcony on a sleeping pad because her bed felt too soft after 140-plus days on trail. Her almost-trail-name was Crack Sniffer. She accepted Bee instead.
Episode Highlights
Trail Name — Bee (Not Crack Sniffer)
The Imposter Who Finished Creating on Trail — The Double Zero System The One Crying Moment The NorCal Blues — and What Oregon Actually Looks Like What the Trail Taught Her Crack Sniffer — The Jeffrey Pine Story Links & Resources
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| The Cottage - Episode 4: From Basement to Warehouse | 23 oct. 2026 | 00:11:40 | |
The Cottage — Episode 4: "From Basement to Warehouse" The makers from Episodes 1 through 3 don't exist in isolation: they're part of an ecosystem held together by a retailer in St. Paul, a connector who knows everyone, and the community events where cottage brands meet the hikers they serve. In this fourth episode of The Cottage, we zoom out to see how the pieces fit together. Lloyd Vogel and his warehouse full of 160 brands. Allgood's decades of relationships across the industry. Double D as the consumer who's becoming the next maker. And a philosophy — "there is no ideal base weight" — that ties the whole movement together. Featured Voices Lloyd Vogel — CEO and Co-Founder, Garage Grown Gear. St. Paul, MN. Whitney LaRuffa (Allgood) — Currently with Gossamer Gear. Former Chief Revenue Officer, FarOut. Former VP, Six Moon Designs. Former President, ALDHA-West. Elliot Dick (Double D) — AT 2023 thru-hiker. Founder, Different Dimension Designs. Somerset, KY. Links & Resources Garage Grown Gear — garagegrowngear.com FarOut — faroutguides.com Different Dimension Designs — @differentdimensiondesigns on Instagram Hilltop Packs — hilltoppacks.com Light Phone — thelightphone.com Connect with Hiker Trash Radio Email: hikertashradio@gmail.com Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| It Is Never Too Late to Rewrite Your Story - Joe Hardin (Part II) | 21 oct. 2026 | 00:35:27 | |
About the Guest
Joe Hardin is a self-taught mechanical design engineer, ultra-endurance runner, race director, woodworker, and podcaster from Lebanon, Indiana. Seven years sober, he discovered running after getting a gym membership for his first sobriety birthday and found a flyer for a local turkey trot on the door. A Billy Yang video introduced him to trail running, and a friend's suggestion — "maybe you're just not cut out for 100 milers, maybe you should sign up for something longer" — led him to the Vol State 500K. He recently completed that race: 314 miles across Tennessee in July, self-supported, with no crew and no aid stations. He is the founder of Odd Duck Running, which hosts inclusive community races in Boone County, Indiana, and RTB Awards, which makes handcrafted wooden finisher and podium awards for trail races across the country. His podcast is Beyond the Finish Line on the Everyday Athlete Podcast Network. His Instagram handle is @TrailTortoise.
What's Covered in Part 2
Growing Up and Getting Sober
The Recovery and the Turkey Trot From Turkey Trot to Vol State — Very Quickly What the Vol State Taught Him About His Limit Run Commuting — 27 Miles a Week Just Getting To and From Work What Tennessee Taught Him About People Odd Duck Running — A Starting Line for Everyone RTB Awards — Handcrafted Race Awards Hiking Hack — Bring a Toothbrush Off the Beaten Path — Ultramarathon Man and Dirty Jar Pay It Forward — Race to the Finish To Anyone Listening Joe's direct message from the transcript: 'I know there's somebody out there that might be going through something like this, and they feel like they're lost and they're alone. You are not, I promise you. I felt the same way, and it is never too late to rewrite your story.' If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, SAMHSA's National Helpline is free, confidential, and available 24/7: 1-800-662-4357. Links & Resources
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| Maybe You're Just Not Cut Out for 100 Milers - Joe Hardin (Part I) | 21 oct. 2026 | 00:33:30 | |
About the Guest
Joe Hardin is a self-taught mechanical design engineer, ultra-endurance runner, race director, woodworker, and podcaster from Lebanon, Indiana. Seven years sober, he discovered running after getting a gym membership for his first sobriety birthday and found a flyer for a local turkey trot on the door. A Billy Yang video introduced him to trail running, and a friend's suggestion — "maybe you're just not cut out for 100 milers, maybe you should sign up for something longer" — led him to the Vol State 500K. He recently completed that race: 314 miles across Tennessee in July, self-supported, with no crew and no aid stations. He is the founder of Odd Duck Running, which hosts inclusive community races in Boone County, Indiana, and RTB Awards, which makes handcrafted wooden finisher and podium awards for trail races across the country. His podcast is Beyond the Finish Line on the Everyday Athlete Podcast Network. His Instagram handle is @TrailTortoise.
What's Covered in Part 1
Trail Name — Trail Tortoise (Self-Appointed)
Trailblazer's Toolkit — Zip Run Commute Pack The Hiking Poll — Score: 47 (Later Adjusted to 53) The Vol State — Race Mechanics Going Nocturnal The Bench of Despair The Rock — Cheese Grater Road and Three One More Mile Signs How Joe Got Here — Maybe Not Cut Out for 100 Milers Links & Resources
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| Donovan "Iceman" Rice: First Great Colorado Route Thru-Hike | 19 oct. 2026 | 00:49:20 | |
About the Guest Donovan "Iceman" Rice is a Colorado hiker and route maker who designed the Great Colorado Route, a roughly 2,000-mile loop that links all 11 of Colorado's national forests, 29 wilderness areas, 13 fourteeners, 47 thirteeners, and three national parks. He began at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison on May 13 and finished 140 days later as the first person to thru-hike the route, posting a video about it every single day. He previously appeared on Hiker Trash Radio in April, days before his start, and Doc booked this follow-up on the spot at the end of that conversation. He is on Instagram at The Iceman Hiketh. Episode Highlights How Wildly Off Was He? The Audit: Promise Kept or Promise Broken? Marmots, Mount Garfield, and the Daily Vlog Five Stories From the Loop The Red Pen A Letter to the Next Hiker Two Close Calls and the Weight of the Route Links & Resources
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| Trail Stories - It Is Never Too Late to Rewrite Your Story with Joe Hardin | 17 oct. 2026 | 00:20:40 | |
About the Guest
Joe Hardin is a self-taught mechanical design engineer, ultra-endurance runner, race director, woodworker, and podcaster from Lebanon, Indiana. Seven years sober, he discovered running after getting a gym membership for his first sobriety birthday and found a flyer for a local turkey trot on the door. A Billy Yang video introduced him to trail running, and a friend's suggestion — "maybe you're just not cut out for 100 milers, maybe you should sign up for something longer" — led him to the Vol State 500K. He recently completed that race: 314 miles across Tennessee in July, self-supported, with no crew and no aid stations. He is the founder of Odd Duck Running, which hosts inclusive community races in Boone County, Indiana, and RTB Awards, which makes handcrafted wooden finisher and podium awards for trail races across the country. His podcast is Beyond the Finish Line on the Everyday Athlete Podcast Network. His Instagram handle is @TrailTortoise.
Episode Highlights
The Vol State 500K — What It Is
Going Nocturnal — Church Porches and VFW Walls The Bench of Despair The One More Mile Signs The Rock — You Just Ran Across All That The Origin Story — From Oxygen Tank to Vol State It Is Never Too Late to Rewrite Your Story Links & Resources
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| The Cottage - Episode 3: The Whiteboard and the Sewing Machine | 16 oct. 2026 | 00:13:17 | |
The Cottage — Episode 3: "The Whiteboard and the Sewing Machine" Behind every piece of cottage gear is a design process that looks nothing like what happens at a major outdoor brand. In this third episode of The Cottage, we go inside the process: Dan Durston thinking about tent geometry for hours on the PCT, Chef and his grandmother launching a fleece company from his living room, Gadget naming products after alpenglow puns while hiking solo, Mellow mailing pack prototypes back and forth to Vietnam, and Brice filling a whiteboard with ventilation frame sketches inspired by bridge engineering. None of them had formal design training. All of them had thousands of miles of discomfort to work from. Featured Voices Dan Durston (Lorax) — Founder, Durston Gear. Designer of the X-Mid tent. Cameron Abila (Chef) — Founder, Leave Outdoor Co. Placerville, CA. Tom Liggett (Gadget) — Founder, Alpenglow Gear. Sarah Berkeley (Mellow) — Owner and Founder, Symbiosis Gear. Leadville, CO. Brice Sokolowski — President, Vaucluse Backpack Ventilation Gear. Links & Resources Durston Gear — durstongear.com Leave Outdoor Co — leveoutdoorco.com Alpin Glow Gear — alpenglowgear.com Symbiosis Gear — symbiosisgear.com Voclu's Backpack Ventilation Gear — vauclusegear.com Connect with Hiker Trash Radio Email: hikertashradio@gmail.com Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Long Walks and Rabid Dogs - Cam "Swami" Honan (Part II) | 14 oct. 2026 | 00:46:54 | |
About the Guest
Cam "Swami" Honan is an Australian long-distance hiker, writer, and founder of The Hiking Life (thehikinglife.com). Backpacker Magazine has called him the most traveled hiker on earth — 75,000+ miles across 68 countries. He completed the legendary 12 Long Walks: 12 consecutive thru-hikes, 14,000+ miles, 29 states, 4 Canadian provinces, 18 months, 2011–2012. Along the way he completed one of the fastest Triple Crowns on record (~236 days — PCT northbound, CDT southbound from Montana, AT southbound from Katahdin) — as a byproduct, not a goal. He is the author of the Wanderlust book series (6 volumes and counting) and Hiking and Backpacking for Dummies. His trail name, Swami, was given to him on his first PCT hike in 2007 by a woman from Glasgow who found his trail yoga amusing. Hiking Poll score: 7 out of 100.
What's Covered in Part 2
Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
The Hiking Life — What's On It The Wanderlust Series Hiking and Backpacking for Dummies Ultralight Philosophy — Your Own Best Teacher How Long-Distance Hiking Has Changed The Poodle Dog Bush — Ridgecrest Mark — Seeing the Extraordinary in the Ordinary Off the Beaten Path — The Living Mountain Pay It Forward — The Three Trail Organizations Links & Resources
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| Long Walks and Rabid Dogs - Cam "Swami" Honan (Part I) | 14 oct. 2026 | 00:52:16 | |
About the Guest
Cam "Swami" Honan is an Australian long-distance hiker, writer, and founder of The Hiking Life (thehikinglife.com). Backpacker Magazine has called him the most traveled hiker on earth: 75,000+ miles across 68 countries. He completed the legendary 12 Long Walks: 12 consecutive thru-hikes, 14,000+ miles, 29 states, 4 Canadian provinces, 18 months, 2011–2012. Along the way he completed one of the fastest Triple Crowns on record (~236 days: PCT northbound, CDT southbound from Montana, AT southbound from Katahdin) as a byproduct, not a goal. He is the author of the Wanderlust book series (six volumes and counting) and Hiking and Backpacking for Dummies. His trail name, Swami, was given to him on his first PCT hike in 2007 by a woman from Glasgow who found his trail yoga amusing. Hiking Poll score: 7 out of 100.
What's Covered in Part 1
Trail Name — Swami
Trailblazer's Toolkit — Head Net (and Katabatic Quilts) The Hiking Poll — Score: 7 The 12 Long Walks — Planning and Execution The Calendar Triple Crown The Eggnog The Rabid Dog — Siwa, Egypt, 1995–96 Trail Characters — Insane Dwayne and Tea Bag Links & Resources
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| The Barkley: A Love Story - Episode 3, "They Figured It Out" | 12 oct. 2026 | 00:31:37 | |
The Barkley: A Love Story concludes. This is the episode the series has been building toward. We hear from the finishers: the 26 people in 40 years who have completed five loops in 60 hours. Jared Campbell, four-time finisher, on what the race selects for in a person. John Kelly, who grew up across the road from Frozen Head State Park and calls the Barkley his home course. Ihor Verys, who didn't like running six years before he finished first. John Fegyveresi, who applied from Antarctica and held the slowest known time for over a decade. And then . . . Jasmine Paris. In her own words. The veterinarian and mother of two who wore patched shoes and a borrowed bag, who touched the yellow gate with 99 seconds to spare, and became the first woman in Barkley history to finish. Part three of three. The payoff. Guests Featured
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| The Barkley: A Love Story - Episode 2, "The Edge of Possible" | 12 oct. 2026 | 00:28:55 | |
The Barkley: A Love Story continues. In Episode Two, we go to Frozen Head State Park. This episode is anchored by audio captured live at the 2025 Barkley Marathons: the conch blow, Laz's pre-race speech, the reading of the names of those no longer with us, taps, and the lighting of the cigarette. You hear the race begin. Then you hear what happens to the people who go out into those woods. We hear from runners who trained for years and came up short. From crew members who waited at the gate for 16 hours with no information. From a Swedish war photographer who recovered from PTSD by running trails at night and found himself crying at the Barkley finish line in 2024. And at the end, a name. 99 seconds to spare. More on her in Episode Three. Part two of three. Guests Featured
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| The Barkley: A Love Story - Episode 1, "I Discovered It" | 12 oct. 2026 | 00:21:33 | |
The Barkley Marathons has only been finished 26 times in 40 years. This is the first episode of a three-part audio documentary series from Hiker Trash Radio — The Barkley: A Love Story. In Episode One, we go to the beginning. Who is Gary "Laz" Cantrell, the man who built the most obsessively followed race in endurance sport? We hear from Laz himself on how the Barkley was born, why it was designed the way it is, and what he sees when he looks at the people who come to run it. We also hear from Jared Beasley, the only authorized biographer of Laz, interviewed live at the 2025 Barkley Marathons after three years of reporting. This is not a recap. This is a love story. Part one of three. Guests Featured
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| Trail Stories - There's a Fine Line Between Sad and Impressive with Cam "Swami" Honan | 10 oct. 2026 | 00:27:14 | |
About the Guest
Cam "Swami" Honan is an Australian long-distance hiker, writer, and founder of The Hiking Life (thehikinglife.com). Backpacker Magazine has called him the most traveled hiker on earth: 75,000+ miles across 68 countries. He completed the legendary 12 Long Walks: 12 consecutive thru-hikes, 14,000+ miles, 29 states, 4 Canadian provinces, 18 months, 2011–2012. Along the way he completed one of the fastest Triple Crowns on record (~236 days — PCT northbound, CDT southbound from Montana, AT southbound from Katahdin) as a byproduct, not a goal. He is the author of the Wanderlust book series (6 volumes and counting) and Hiking and Backpacking for Dummies. His trail name, Swami, was given to him on his first PCT hike in 2007 by a woman from Glasgow who found his trail yoga amusing. Hiking Poll score: 7 out of 100.
Episode Highlights
Trail Name — Swami
The Calendar Triple Crown — A Byproduct The Eggnog The Rabid Dog — Siwa, Egypt, 1995–96 Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing Mark — The Swiss Tom Bombadil Links & Resources
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| The Cottage - Episode 2: Quit Your Day Job | 09 oct. 2026 | 00:14:55 | |
The Cottage — Episode 2: "Quit Your Day Job" Four people walked away from careers that paid their bills to chase something that kept them awake at three in the morning. A commodity broker who was dying at his desk. A photographer who got fired on the day he expected a promotion. An IT consultant who could see thirty years of misery ahead. An art professor whose first thru-hike was a disaster — and who couldn't stop thinking about it afterward. In this second episode of The Cottage, we hear the stories behind the leap, and what it costs to bet everything on a sewing machine, a whiteboard, and a freeze dryer. Featured Voices Whitney LaRuffa (Allgood) — Former commodity broker. Former VP, Six Moon Designs. Now Chief Revenue Officer, FarOut. Luke Piersall (Bus) — Photographer, filmmaker, South America guide. Founder, Trail Goods Company. Brice Sokolowski — Former IT consultant. President, Voclu's Backpack Ventilation Gear. Sarah Berkeley (Mellow) — Former art professor. Owner and Founder, Symbiosis Gear. Links & Resources Trail Goods Company — trailgoods.co Vaucluse Backpack Ventilation Gear — voclusegear.com Symbiosis Gear — symbiosisgear.com Six Moon Designs — sixmoondesigns.com FarOut — faroutguides.com Connect with Hiker Trash Radio Email: hikertashradio@gmail.com Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| "I Had A Big Old Blank Canvas." - Watergirl (Part II) | 07 oct. 2026 | 00:38:22 | |
About the Guest
Andrea "Watergirl" Zelinski is a writer, former political reporter, and two-trail thru-hiker based in North Carolina. She covered the Texas State Legislature for the Houston Chronicle and Austin-based outlets before hiking the Appalachian Trail during the COVID pandemic in 2020. The AT led her to abandon political journalism, pivot to travel writing as senior cruise editor for Travel Weekly — a job that took her on 36 trips across five continents in three years, including Antarctica — and then to leave that job too, in 2025, to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. She is currently working on a memoir about the experience. Trail name: Watergirl. Named by a man called Medicine Man in Georgia after she embarrassed herself at a water source. They have been friends ever since.
What's Covered in Part 2
Why She Was Primed — The Professional Side
Why She Was Primed — The Personal Side The Cruise Editor — 36 Trips, Five Continents Why She Left the Dream Job Journaling on Trail The Book — Don't Rush Me Coming Home to January 6th Tramily Versus Solo Hiking Hacks — Turmeric and Psyllium Husk Off the Beaten Path — The Name of the Stars Pay It Forward — Local Trail Maintenance CDT Plans Links & Resources
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| "I Had A Big Old Blank Canvas." - Watergirl (Part I) | 07 oct. 2026 | 00:40:20 | |
About the Guest
Andrea "Watergirl" Zelinski is a writer, former political reporter, and two-trail thru-hiker based in North Carolina. She covered the Texas State Legislature for the Houston Chronicle and Austin-based outlets before hiking the Appalachian Trail during the COVID pandemic in 2020. The AT led her to abandon political journalism, pivot to travel writing as senior cruise editor for Travel Weekly — a job that took her on 36 trips across five continents in three years, including Antarctica — and then to leave that job too, in 2025, to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. She is currently working on a memoir about the experience. Trail name: Watergirl. Named by a man called Medicine Man in Georgia after she embarrassed herself at a water source. They have been friends ever since. She follows @adventuresofwatergirl.
What's Covered in Part 1
Trail Name — Watergirl
Trailblazer's Toolkit — Trekking Poles The Hiking Poll — Score: 24 The Vermont Lightning Strike COVID 2020 — Hiking in the 1980s The McDonald's Cheeseburger Closest to Quitting — The Cold and the Dogs Links & Resources
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| Dark Miles - Larry and the Long Way Back (with Shawn Mahoney) | 05 oct. 2026 | 00:27:19 | |
About Shawn
Instagram: @larry.the.log Hiker Trash Radio: hikertrashradio.com Dark Miles: hikertrashradio.com/dark-miles Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Trail Stories - Don't Rush Me with Andrea "Watergirl" Zelinski | 03 oct. 2026 | 00:20:52 | |
About the Guest
Andrea "Watergirl" Zelinski is a writer, former political reporter, and two-trail thru-hiker based in North Carolina. She covered the Texas State Legislature for the Houston Chronicle and Austin-based outlets before hiking the Appalachian Trail during the COVID pandemic in 2020. The AT led her to abandon political journalism, pivot to travel writing as senior cruise editor for Travel Weekly — a job that took her on 36 trips across five continents in three years, including Antarctica — and then to leave that job too, in 2025, to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. She is currently working on a memoir about the experience. Trail name: Watergirl. Named by a man called Medicine Man in Georgia after she embarrassed herself at a water source. They have been friends ever since.
Episode Highlights
Trail Name — Low-Key Superhero
Five Steps The Blank Canvas COVID AT — Hiking in the 1980s But With Internet The McDonald's Family The Career Arc The Book — Don't Rush Me Links & Resources
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| The Cottage - Episode 1: The G4 and the Yellow Pad | 02 oct. 2026 | 00:17:09 | |
The Cottage — Episode 1: "The G4 and the Yellow Pad" Glenn Van Peski made himself a lighter pack because he was tired of carrying 70 pounds into the backcountry. When other hikers started asking him to make one for them, he figured 50 would cover it. 86 orders arrived before the packs shipped, and what was supposed to be a small favor became Gossamer Gear — one of the most respected names in ultralight backpacking. In this first episode of The Cottage, we trace the full arc from Glenn's garage to the moment the company almost died, and the phone call from John Mackey that saved it. We also hear from Whitney "Allgood" LaRuffa about the annual brain trust hikes where cottage gear founders would backpack together and share trade secrets, and from Lloyd Vogel on building Garage Grown Gear from his Minnesota basement into the ultralight world's one-stop shop. Featured Voices Glenn Van Peski (G Squared) — Founder, Gossamer Gear. Author of "Take Less, Do More." Whitney LaRuffa (Allgood) — Former VP, Six Moon Designs. Former President, ALDHA-West. Lloyd Vogel — CEO and Co-Founder, Garage Grown Gear. Links & Resources Gossamer Gear — gossamergear.com Garage Grown Gear — garagegrowngear.com "Take Less, Do More" by Glenn Van Peski — available at gossamergear.com and major booksellers Glenn Van Peski — glenvanpesky.com Six Moon Designs — sixmoondesigns.com Connect with Hiker Trash Radio Email: hikertashradio@gmail.com Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Suck It Up, Buttercup - Carl Roberson (Part II) | 30 sept. 2026 | 00:38:22 | |
About the Guest
Carl Roberson is a Delaware-based heavy equipment operator, Marine Corps veteran, author, and — in 1974 — the youngest person to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail at age 14. He was adopted at six months old, summited the Grand Teton at 12, attended NOLS and trained under Scott Fischer at 13, and completed Georgia to Maine at 14 with a 37-pound Kelty pack, per-state guidebooks, no GPS, and a father who threatened to come pick him up if he stepped out of line. He later completed the Colorado Trail at 23, section-hiked Yellowstone and the Rockies throughout his teens, served in the Marine Corps (29 Palms and Camp Pendleton, heavy artillery), operated excavators for 47 years, and has been volunteering at Litway Hostel in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania for the past four years. His memoir, The Adventure of a Lifetime, is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart. A movie trailer has been submitted to 500 production companies. A film may follow.
What's Covered in Part 2
The Life After the AT
The Hostel — Litway Hostel, Mount Pocono, PA The Book — The Adventure of a Lifetime The Film — "Fact-Check Me, Motherf*cker" The Marine Corps Hiking Hack — First Aid Kit Plus Knowledge Media Recommendation — Get Outside The Legend Deflection Links & Resources
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| Suck It Up, Buttercup - Carl Roberson (Part I) | 30 sept. 2026 | 00:38:15 | |
About the Guest
Carl Roberson is a Delaware-based heavy equipment operator, Marine Corps veteran, author, and, in 1974, the youngest person to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail at age 14. He was adopted at six months old, summited the Grand Teton at 12, attended NOLS and trained under Scott Fischer at 13, and completed Georgia to Maine at 14 with a 37-pound Kelty pack, per-state guidebooks, no GPS, and a father who threatened to come pick him up if he stepped out of line. He later completed the Colorado Trail at 23, section-hiked Yellowstone and the Rockies throughout his teens, served in the Marine Corps (29 Palms and Camp Pendleton, heavy artillery), operated excavators for 47 years, and has been volunteering at Litway Hostel in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania for the past four years. His memoir, The Adventure of a Lifetime, is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart. A movie trailer has been submitted to 500 production companies. A film may follow.
What's Covered in Part 1
Trailblazer's Toolkit — A Compass (and the Knowledge to Use It)
The Hiking Poll — Score: 22 The Stipulations Scott Fischer — The Instructor The 1974 Trail — What Was Different Three Stories Links & Resources
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| Trail Stories - Suck It Up, Buttercup (with Carl Roberson) | 26 sept. 2026 | 00:20:51 | |
About the Guest
Carl Roberson is a Delaware-based heavy equipment operator, Marine Corps veteran, author, and, in 1974, the youngest person to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail at age 14. He was adopted at six months old, summited the Grand Teton at 12, attended NOLS and trained under Scott Fischer at 13, and completed Georgia to Maine at 14 with a 37-pound Kelty pack, per-state guidebooks, no GPS, and a father who threatened to come pick him up if he stepped out of line. He later completed the Colorado Trail at 23, section-hiked Yellowstone and the Rockies throughout his teens, served in the Marine Corps (29 Palms and Camp Pendleton, heavy artillery), operated excavators for 47 years, and has been volunteering at Litway Hostel in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania for the past four years. His memoir, The Adventure of a Lifetime, is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart. A movie trailer has been submitted to 500 production companies. A film may follow.
Episode Highlights
The Stipulations
Scott Fischer Connection Two Months Alone The Erwin River Crossing The SERE Ambush The Pennsylvania Rappel Suck It Up, Buttercup The Book and the Film Links & Resources
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| The Route Makers - Bonus Episode: Real Texas Romance | 25 sept. 2026 | 00:15:12 | |
The series is complete: five makers, five routes, a line drawn around the country and through a city and straight through the hardest thing a person can face. But there was one more maker we couldn't leave out, because his trail is so new, and so unlike any of the others, that it needed its own dispatch. Charlie "Freestyle" Gandy — fifth-generation Texan, former state legislator, and self-described artist — just finished walking the xTx: 1,500 miles across Texas, from the alligator-infested Sabine River on the Louisiana border to El Paso. He invented it two years ago on the Tahoe Rim Trail, postholing through snow, when it hit him that Texas needed a great winter trail. Then he borrowed a white van named Vanna White and drove it back and forth across the state three and a half times, finding the dead ends and the gates. Building a trail across Texas means a problem no other maker in this series faced: almost none of the land is public. So Charlie negotiates — hundreds of private ranchers, one easement at a time — using what he calls the "Trojan horse strategy": lead with horses, because a rancher who'd never open a gate for a backpacker will open it for a horse. Along the way the trail is gathering a tribe — Triple Crowners in their sixties, military veterans building shelters for focus and healing, whole trail towns reinventing themselves. And at the heart of it is the thing Charlie calls "real Texas romance" — the idea that a trail can pull strangers together across every kind of difference. He hikes with people whose politics are nothing like his, and the trail is the one thing they share. It's the whole series' theme, Texas-sized: a route as a reason for people to build something bigger than themselves. The line isn't finished. That's the best part — and if you want to help draw it, Charlie will tell you exactly where to go. Featured route: the xTx (X Texas Trail Project) — 1,500 miles, Louisiana border to El Paso Featured maker: Charlie "Freestyle" Gandy Learn more / get involved: extexas.org Thanks for walking The Route Makers with us. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Living in the Pain Cave - Kaylee Frederick (Part II) | 23 sept. 2026 | 00:36:03 | |
About the Guest
Kaylee Frederick is a 21-year-old elite ultra-endurance athlete from Pennsylvania, currently studying biology and secondary education at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (with a minor in chemistry, an ESL certification, and a STEM endorsement) while working four part-time jobs including forklift operator, assistant manager at a frozen custard shop, CrossFit coach, and tutor. At 18 she became the youngest person ever to finish the Badwater 135. She recently won the Eastern States 100 outright — first woman ever, first to break 24 hours, finishing 90+ minutes ahead of second place. She finished 12th female in the world at the 24-Hour World Championship in France. She trains with coach Eric Kosik. She ran a five-mile warmup before this interview at 4 AM New Zealand time.
What's Covered in Part 2
The Origin Story — 7 to Badwater in Ten Years
The Training Evolution — Learning What Training Actually Is Coming Up as a Teen in an Adult Sport 24-Hour World Championship — I Walk Now So I Don't Have to Walk Later The Achilles Pop Running for Her Dad — And Then For Herself Her Mom — AT 2024, 99 Days What's Next — Black Forest and Javelina Hiking Hack — Toe Socks Off the Beaten Path — The Line by Billy Yang Pay It Forward — Eastern States Trail Endurance Alliance/Association Links & Resources
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| Living in the Pain Cave - Kaylee Frederick (Part I) | 23 sept. 2026 | 00:32:12 | |
About the Guest
Kaylee Frederick is a 21-year-old elite ultra-endurance athlete from Pennsylvania, currently studying biology and secondary education at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (with a minor in chemistry, an ESL certification, and a STEM endorsement) while working four part-time jobs including forklift operator, assistant manager at a frozen custard shop, CrossFit coach, and tutor. At 18 she became the youngest person ever to finish the Badwater 135. She recently won the Eastern States 100 outright — first woman ever, first to break 24 hours, finishing 90+ minutes ahead of second place. She finished 12th female in the world at the 24-Hour World Championship in France. She trains with coach Eric Kosik. She ran a five-mile warmup before this interview at 4 AM New Zealand time. Her mom hiked the Appalachian Trail in 99 days.
What's Covered in Part 1
Trail Name — (Expired)
Trailblazer's Toolkit — Mount Coast T1 Trail Shoes The Hiking Poll — Score: 27 Badwater 135 — First Time, Age 18 Heat Training in Pennsylvania Eastern States 100 — Finding Out She Was Leading at Mile 63 The Pain Cave — Mile 93, Age 16 Links & Resources
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| CDT Trail Correspondent Jared "Fisherman" Lampal - The Post-Hike Debrief | 21 sept. 2026 | 00:35:07 | |
Hiker Trash Radio | Trail Correspondent Series · 2026 Jared "Fisherman" Lampal | CDT Post-Hike Interview Mexico to Canada — The Full Debrief Jared "Fisherman" Lampal set out from the southern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail on April 20th with a desk job on hold, a solar-powered Garmin watch, and a tattoo with two empty triangles on his arm. 141 days later, he touched the northern terminus monument at Waterton Lake in the pouring rain, surrounded by his finish-line crew, and holding a room-temperature IPA destined for a shoey. In this final episode of the 2026 CDT Trail Correspondent Series, Doc and Fisherman do the full debrief: every open loop, every answered question, and the final scorecard on one of the most documented CDT thru-hikes in HTR history. In this episode:
Mentioned in this episode:
Final CDT Scorecard:
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| Trail Stories - The Youngest at the Finish Line with Kaylee Frederick | 19 sept. 2026 | 00:19:16 | |
About the Guest
Kaylee Frederick is a 21-year-old elite ultra-endurance athlete from Pennsylvania, currently studying biology and secondary education at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (with a minor in chemistry, an ESL certification, and a STEM endorsement) while working four part-time jobs including forklift operator, assistant manager at a frozen custard shop, CrossFit coach, and tutor. At 18 she became the youngest person ever to finish the Badwater 135. She recently won the Eastern States 100 outright — first woman ever, first to break 24 hours, finishing 90+ minutes ahead of second place. She finished 12th female in the world at the 24-Hour World Championship in France. She trains with coach Eric Kosik. She ran a five-mile warmup before this interview at 4 AM New Zealand time. Her mom hiked the Appalachian Trail in 99 days. Her trail name is Thunder Butt.
Episode Highlights
Thunder Butt
Badwater at 18 — On Cloud Nine Eastern States 100 — First Overall, First Under 24 Hours The Pain Cave — Mile 93, Age 16 24-Hour World Championship — Walking on Purpose Running for Her Dad — and Then Not The Youngest at the Finish Line Links & Resources
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| The Route Makers - Episode 5: Adjustments on the Fly | 18 sept. 2026 | 00:19:29 | |
For four episodes, this series followed people who look at a map and see a line that isn't there: across deserts, mountains, and cities. We saved this maker for last, because her story holds the final lesson. We first met Renee Patrick, trail name She-Ra, in Episode One, at the height of her craft: the longtime coordinator of the Oregon Desert Trail, a professional route maker who thought about the difference between a trail and a route more deeply than almost anyone. She was planning the hardest routes of her life. The next time we spoke, everything had changed. This finale tells her full arc: the architect at her peak, a life-altering diagnosis that brought her forward motion to a screeching stop, and the reinvention that followed. Because Renee is a thru-hiker, and a thru-hiker knows how to cover an impossible distance: incremental progress, one step at a time. The route maker who built some of the most remote, difficult trails in the country now wants to build the opposite: accessible routes, Camino-style trails, lines that the most people can walk. It's the perfect ending to a series about lines that never stop changing. Two episodes ago, in the city, we met the makers who bring the wilderness home. Renee, from the far end of the maker's world, arrives at the same truth: the best thing a route can do is include people. She's living proof that a maker's greatest line might be the one that lets the most people walk it. This episode is shared with Renee's blessing, and includes candid discussion of serious illness. It is, at its heart, a tribute to a route maker, and to the oldest thru-hiker wisdom there is: one step at a time, one day at a time. You can follow Renee's own writing at shera-hikes.com. If the themes in this episode resonate personally, please know that support is available. Featured route: Oregon Desert Trail (with the American Perimeter Trail and Great Western Loop referenced) Featured maker: Renee "She-Ra" Patrick (with Rue McKenrick and Andrew Skurka) This is the final episode of The Route Makers. A bonus episode — on the newest big trail in America — follows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| There's No Suck to be Embraced - Bradford "Rafiki" Bartels (Part II) | 16 sept. 2026 | 00:31:47 | |
About the Guest
Bradford "Rafiki" Bartels is a Marine Corps veteran, backcountry guide, and the first person to thru-hike the Alaska Long Trail — a roughly 500-mile route from Seward to Fairbanks, currently under development by Alaska Trails. Born in Soldotna, Alaska, he grew up bouncing around the East Coast and served at 29 Palms before finding his way to the outdoors through volunteer work and a friend's advice to try trail runners instead of boots. He has done an AT section hike, explored the Pacific Northwest Scenic Trail, and worked as a backpacking guide on the West Coast. He is 32, based in Massachusetts, and planning to retire from thru-hiking in favor of getting 12 to 16 dogs.
What's Covered in Part 2
The Trail's Political Situation
The Most Beautiful Sections Why This Was His Last Thru-Hike Andrew Skurka and Doing the Research There's No Suck to Be Embraced Why the Alaska Long Trail Hiking Hack — Have Fun Off the Beaten Path — Tooth and Claw Pay It Forward — Alaska Trails Links & Resources
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| There's No Suck to be Embraced - Bradford "Rafiki" Bartels (Part I) | 16 sept. 2026 | 00:34:11 | |
About the Guest
Bradford "Rafiki" Bartels is a Marine Corps veteran, backcountry guide, and the first person to thru-hike the Alaska Long Trail — a roughly 500-mile route from Seward to Fairbanks, currently under development by Alaska Trails. Born in Soldotna, Alaska, he grew up bouncing around the East Coast and served at 29 Palms before finding his way to the outdoors through volunteer work and a friend's advice to try trail runners instead of boots. He has done an AT section hike, explored the Pacific Northwest Scenic Trail, and worked as a backpacking guide on the West Coast. He is 32, based in Massachusetts, and planning to retire from thru-hiking in favor of getting 12 to 16 dogs.
What's Covered in Part 1
Trail Name — Rafiki
Trailblazer's Toolkit — A Good Puffy The Hiking Poll — Score: 33 How He Found Thru-Hiking The Trail — Overview Bears vs. Rivers Gear — I Like to Tinker Links & Resources
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| Trail Stories - There's No Suck to Be Embraced with Bradford "Rafiki" Bartels | 12 sept. 2026 | 00:20:09 | |
About the Guest
Bradford "Rafiki" Bartels is a Marine Corps veteran, backcountry guide, and the first person to thru-hike the Alaska Long Trail — a roughly 500-mile route from Seward to Fairbanks, currently under development by Alaska Trails. Born in Soldotna, Alaska, he grew up bouncing around the East Coast and served at 29 Palms before finding his way to the outdoors through volunteer work and a friend's advice to try trail runners instead of boots. He has done an AT section hike, explored the Pacific Northwest Scenic Trail, and worked as a backpacking guide on the West Coast. He is 32, based in Massachusetts, and planning to retire from thru-hiking in favor of getting 12 to 16 dogs.
Episode Highlights
Trail Name — Mandrill, Actually
It's Not the Bears. It's the Rivers. 30 Percent Road Walks and Why That's Fine Seth Holden and Homemade Bear Armor The Political Opposition — And Why He Called Them First There's No Suck to Be Embraced Why the Alaska Long Trail Links & Resources
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| The Route Makers - Episode 4: The Eraser and the Gift | 11 sept. 2026 | 00:16:40 | |
In Dinosaur National Monument, Kevin Koski once scaled a thirty-foot sandstone cliff because his own map told him there was a way up. There wasn't — not a safe one. He survived it, and then he did the thing that separates a person who walks routes from a person who makes them: he took it off his map, so nobody else would follow him into it. Because a route doesn't end when the maker finishes walking it. That's when the real work starts — the years of correcting, erasing, second-guessing, and handing off. A trail is not a monument you carve once and leave standing. It's a living thing that keeps changing after its maker is gone. Rue McKenrick redraws the American Perimeter Trail every quarter and structured its nonprofit so the board can fire him — "we all own this," he says, "I just get to be the one that talks about it until I croak." Kevin "The Animal" Koski watched two strangers find a better line on his Four Corners Loop and changed his own map to match theirs. Donovan "Iceman" Rice released the Great Colorado Route to the public before he'd even proven it, calling route-making "just stitching together things that other people have done." And as this episode airs, Rice is more than 50 days into that route, deep in the high country, finding out whether the gift he gave holds up. This is the episode about letting go: the community that holds the pen, the fear of sending someone into real country on your word, and the truth every maker in this series has had to accept — that the line was never really theirs to keep. Featured routes: Featured makers: Next time — the series finale of The Route Makers: a maker we met in the very first episode returns to teach the last thing a route can teach, when everything changes at once. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Hexatrek with a Dog - Fab, Fitch, and Billie (Part II) | 09 sept. 2026 | 00:37:51 | |
About the Guests
Fab (from Berlin, Germany) and Fitch (from the UK) met in Australia a year ago on a group hike at Pages Pinnacle, Gold Coast — a Facebook meetup they both almost didn't attend. They are currently thru-hiking the HexaTrek, France's Grand Traverse: roughly 3,000 kilometers across the entire country, from Wissembourg to Hendaye at the Atlantic Coast. They are doing it with Billie — Fab's eight-year-old Australian kelpie cross cattle dog — on their first thru-hike as a couple. They are in Stage 4, about 1,500 kilometers in, and in the process of buying a 200-year-old farmhouse in Brittany. They post on Instagram as @FabandFitch.
What's Covered in Part 2
How the Relationship Grew
Fitch's Origin — Leap Before You Look Fab's Origin — A Park in Hamburg How Their Two Relationships With the Road Fit Together The Brittany Training Hike — GR 380 Would You Do It Again — Honest Answer What's Next — The Farmhouse Hiking Hacks — Two for One Off the Beaten Path — Dust on My Shoes Pay It Forward — The Sugi Project Links & Resources
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| Hexatrek with a Dog - Fab, Fitch, and Billie (Part I) | 09 sept. 2026 | 00:39:36 | |
About the Guests
Fab (from Berlin, Germany) and Fitch (from the UK) met in Australia a year ago on a group hike at Pages Pinnacle, Gold Coast — a Facebook meetup they both almost didn't attend. They are currently thru-hiking the HexaTrek, France's Grand Traverse: roughly 3,000 kilometers across the entire country, from Wissembourg to Hendaye at the Atlantic Coast. They are doing it with Billie — Fab's eight-year-old Australian kelpie cross cattle dog — on their first thru-hike as a couple. They are in Stage 4, about 1,500 kilometers in, and in the process of buying a 200-year-old farmhouse in Brittany. They post on Instagram as @FabandFitch.
What's Covered in Part 1
Trail Name — No Trail Names (Yet)
Trailblazer's Toolkit — Two for One The Hiking Poll — Fab: 53, Fitch: 47 How the HexaTrek Happened Day 62 — The Near-Quit The Hexadog — What They Didn't Expect Hiking With Billie — Joy and Cost Links & Resources
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| A Hiker's History of the Appalachian Trail with Mills Kelly, Author and A.T. Historian (Virginia Outdoors Adventures Podcast) | 07 sept. 2026 | 00:35:47 | |
The Appalachian Trail is more than a footpath - it’s a living piece of American history. Stretching over 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine, the A.T. winds through some of Virginia’s most beautiful and rugged landscapes. But have you ever wondered how this legendary trail came to be, and who the dreamers, builders, and hikers were that shaped it? We’re hiking through history with someone who knows the Appalachian Trail like few others do. My friend, Mills Kelly, is a historian, archivist, podcast host, lifelong hiker, and author of the new book, A Hiker’s History of the Appalachian Trail. His book captures the A.T.’s history, not just as a collection of facts and dates, but as a human story about purpose, adventure, and our search for meaning in the mountains. Mills shares fascinating stories from the trail’s early days and how it has changed over the past century. And when you think about how far we’ve come - from hikers in wool suits carrying canvas packs filled with fresh produce, to today’s ultralight gear and freeze-dried meals - it’s amazing to see how the trail has evolved right alongside us. Mills reminds us that the A.T. wasn’t built for heroic end-to-end treks, but for ordinary people to breathe easier and feel a little wilder for a few hours or a few days. That simple idea still shapes lives, towns, and trail culture across Virginia and beyond. The story of the Appalachian Trail is as much about the people and their experiences as it is about the path beneath their feet. So join us as we hike back through time on the world’s most iconic long-distance trail. Let’s Go! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Trail Stories - Is This the Summer We Quit? | 05 sept. 2026 | 00:21:25 | |
About the Guests
Fab (from Berlin, Germany) and Fitch (from the UK) met in Australia a year ago on a group hike at Pages Pinnacle, Gold Coast — a Facebook meetup they both almost didn't attend. They are currently thru-hiking the HexaTrek, France's Grand Traverse: roughly 3,000 kilometers across the entire country, from Wissembourg to Hendaye at the Atlantic Coast. They are doing it with Billie — Fab's eight-year-old Australian kelpie cross cattle dog — on their first thru-hike as a couple. They are in Stage 4, about 1,500 kilometers in, and in the process of buying a 200-year-old farmhouse in Brittany. They post on Instagram as @FabandFitch.
Episode Highlights
How They Met — Pages Pinnacle
Day 62 — The Factory Pontoon The Hexadog — Designing a Thru-Hike Around a Dog Billie — Joy and Cost Fab's Origin Story — Walking After Loss The Couple on the HexaTrek What's Next — A 200-Year-Old Farmhouse in Brittany Links & Resources
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| The Route Makers - Episode 3: The Concrete Wilderness | 04 sept. 2026 | 00:21:20 | |
The first two episodes of this series took us into deserts you cross with a map and a compass, and Alaska tundra a week from the nearest road. This episode is about a different kind of empty space on the map — the one most of us walk past every day without seeing the line at all. Because the impulse to look at a place and imagine a route through it doesn't need a trailhead. It doesn't even need a wilderness. Sometimes all it needs is a city. Liz "Snorkel" Thomas — a Triple Crowner and, per Outside magazine, a living legend —took the entire framework of a thru-hike downtown, inventing "urban thru-hikes" like a250-mile route across Seattle and a 100-mile "brew-through" connecting Denver's breweries. Alexandra "Sunshine" Kenin, founder of Urban Hiker SF and author of three Urban Trails guidebooks, has hiked more than a thousand public staircases in a single city— and inherited the project from Adah Bakalinsky, the woman who mapped San Francisco's stairs by hand before Google Maps existed. Along the way: why walking on pavement can be harder on your body than a mountain trail, why a route through a city might deliver more genuine adventure than a wilderness, why San Francisco is full of staircases in the first place, and how the urban route-maker's deepest cause turns out to be the same one a desert route-maker arrived at from the opposite end of the country — that a person on foot deserves to be safe. This is the series' warmest chapter: proof that the wilderness maker and the city maker are doing the same thing, and that the best routes are the ones the most people can reach. Featured routes: Featured makers: Next time on The Route Makers — Episode 4: "The Eraser and the Gift," on what happensto a route after the map is drawn: the years of correcting, erasing, and handing it off towhoever comes next. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Denali, Poopsicles, and the Diving Board - Chris "Rad" Carter (Part II) | 02 sept. 2026 | 00:38:30 | |
About the Guest
Chris "Rad" Carter is a Triple Crown thru-hiker (PCT, CDT + AT in a single calendar year), mountaineer, adventure filmmaker, and senior editor at Switchback Travel, where he runs the climbing, mountaineering, travel, and backpacking categories. Born in the United States and raised in Nairobi, Kenya by NGO parents, he came to America for college in 2014 and fell deeply in love with the country through his thru-hikes. In June 2025 he summited Denali — the highest peak in North America — as cameraman for Brandon's "Seek Your Summit" 50-highpoints record attempt. He is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, recently married, and currently training for The Shield on El Capitan. His PCT documentary is called To Measure a Mile.
What's Covered in Part 2
The Seek Your Summit Project — Brandon's Record Attempt
Post-Trail Depression and the Why What He Got Wrong The Kenya Trail Project Best Switchback Trip — The Haute Route in Switzerland The Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan Disaster — A Gear Review in Absentia The Roped Expedition Mindset vs. Solo Thru-Hiking Hiking Hack — Hypoxico Altitude Generator What's Next Off the Beaten Path — Two Reads Pay It Forward — PCTA Links & Resources
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| Denali, Poopsicles, and the Diving Board - Chris "Rad" Carter (Part I) | 02 sept. 2026 | 00:36:58 | |
About the Guest
Chris "Rad" Carter is a Triple Crown thru-hiker (PCT, CDT + AT in a single calendar year), mountaineer, adventure filmmaker, and senior editor at Switchback Travel, where he runs the climbing, mountaineering, travel, and backpacking categories. Born in the United States and raised in Nairobi, Kenya by NGO parents, he came to America for college in 2014 and fell deeply in love with the country through his thru-hikes. In June 2025 he summited Denali — the highest peak in North America — as cameraman for Brandon's "Seek Your Summit" 50-highpoints record attempt. He is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, recently married, and currently training for The Shield on El Capitan. His PCT documentary is called To Measure a Mile.
What's Covered in Part 1
Trail Name — The Ass Tat
Trailblazer's Toolkit — Household Bleach The Hiking Poll — Score: 22 The Origin — Kenya, NGOs, and America Denali vs. the Trail — What's Different The Denali Poop System The Diving Board The Talkeetna Cemetery Links & Resources
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| Trail Stories - Top of the World with Chris "Rad" Carter | 29 août 2026 | 00:18:57 | |
About the Guest
Chris "Rad" Carter is a Triple Crown thru-hiker (PCT, CDT + AT in a single calendar year), mountaineer, adventure filmmaker, and senior editor at Switchback Travel, where he runs the climbing, mountaineering, travel, and backpacking categories. Born in the United States and raised in Nairobi, Kenya by NGO parents, he came to America for college in 2014 and fell deeply in love with the country through his thru-hikes. In June 2025 he summited Denali — the highest peak in North America — as cameraman for Brandon's "Seek Your Summit" 50-highpoints record attempt. He is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, recently married, and currently training for The Shield on El Capitan. His PCT documentary is called To Measure a Mile.
Episode Highlights
The Bleach Gang
From Kenya to the Triple Crown Denali — The Mountain in Context The Poop System The Diving Board The Autobahn Post-Trail Depression and What the Trails Are For Links & Resources
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| The Route Makers - Episode 2: The Proving Ground | 28 août 2026 | 00:24:09 | |
The Route Makers, Episode 2: "The Proving Ground" — Rue McKenrick, Kevin Koski, Wesley Tils, and Andrew Skurka on what it costs to prove a route no one has walked. Last episode, we watched five people look at a map and see a line that wasn't there. This episode is about what happens when the paper runs out — when a route stops being a plan and becomes a body on unmapped ground. Because a route isn't real when you draw it. It's real when someone walks the whole thing, corner to corner, and comes back to say it goes. The people who invent long-distance routes call that process "proving," and it's where they find out what their line actually costs. Wesley "Megaman" Tils invented a Mexico-to-Canada route as a thirtieth-birthday present to himself and met a −40 blizzard on day one. Andrew Skurka — who circumnavigated Alaska largely off-trail — describes the psychology of true wilderness, where "there's always a cloud." Kevin "The Animal" Koski's proving hike of his own Four Corners Loop went almost exactly to plan, until it didn't. And Rue McKenrick, who scouted the American Perimeter Trail alone over three years, is unflinchingly honest about the physical price of that undertaking — and about why he'd do it all again for the people who come behind him. This is the hardest, most honest episode of the series so far: the improvising when the map fails, the decisions no spreadsheet prepares you for, and the truth that the line on the map is never free. What these makers pay for it — and why they consider it worth paying — is the whole story. Featured routes: American Perimeter Trail · Four Corners Loop · the "Fourth Crown Route" (Mexico–Canada) · Great Western Loop · Alaska-Yukon Expedition Featured makers: Rue McKenrick · Kevin "The Animal" Koski · Wesley "Megaman" Tils · Andrew Skurka · Renee "She-Ra" Patrick This episode includes candid discussion of serious injury, physical hardship, and loss. Next time on The Route Makers — Episode 3: "The Concrete Wilderness," where the route-making impulse leaves the backcountry and heads downtown. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||
| Your Time is Limited - Jada "Flo" Lippincott (Part II) | 26 août 2026 | 00:43:57 | |
About the Guest
Jada "Flo" Lippincott is a 27-year-old thru-hiker, splitboarder, canyoneer, packrafter, and full-time truck dweller based in Big Sky, Montana. Originally from Fairfield, Iowa, she discovered the outdoors through a college exchange semester in Fairbanks, Alaska and found long-distance hiking after a catastrophic snowboarding accident that shattered her leg. Three days out of her walking boot, she boarded a plane to Arizona and started the Arizona Trail. She has since logged over 9,000 miles across the CDT, Arizona Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail, Great Divide Trail (Canada), Hayduke Trail, Colorado Trail, and Sierra High Route (partial), all while living out of a 2009 Toyota Tundra with her 50-pound shelter dog, Indy (trail name: Roadblock). She has a tattoo on her leg that reads: Your time is limited.
What's Covered in Part 2
Origin Story — Iowa, Motor Homes, and Negative 40
Finding Her People on the Arizona Trail CDT — The Breakup, Deep End, and Deep End Becoming a Triple Crowner The 'Yes Person' Philosophy Balancing Every Sport Roadblock's Grizzly Encounter The Great Divide Trail and the 1,000-Mile Hitchhike The Your Time Is Limited Tattoo The 2026 Season — and What Happened on the Sierra High Route Five Hiking Hacks Off the Beaten Path — Five Recommendations Pay It Forward — Three Causes The Crew Shoutout Links & Resources
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| Your Time is Limited - Jada "Flo" Lippincott (Part I) | 26 août 2026 | 00:39:43 | |
About the Guest
Jada "Flo" Lippincott is a 27-year-old thru-hiker, splitboarder, canyoneer, packrafter, and full-time truck dweller based in Big Sky, Montana. Originally from Fairfield, Iowa, she discovered the outdoors through a college exchange semester in Fairbanks, Alaska and found long-distance hiking after a catastrophic snowboarding accident that shattered her leg. Three days out of her walking boot, she boarded a plane to Arizona and started the Arizona Trail. She has since logged over 9,000 miles across the CDT, Arizona Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail, Great Divide Trail (Canada), Hayduke Trail, Colorado Trail, and Sierra High Route (partial), all while living out of a 2009 Toyota Tundra with her 50-pound shelter dog, Indy (trail name: Roadblock). She has a tattoo on her leg that reads: Your time is limited.
What's Covered in Part 1
Trail Name — There Goes Flo
Trailblazer's Toolkit — Trekking Poles + Foam Pad Roadblock — The Gear Dog The Hiking Poll — Score: 14 The Near-Death Moment — Colorado Hut Trip Running Out of Time at 27 The Hayduke Trail. Truck Life Links & Resources
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| Trail Stories - Your Time is Limited with Jada "Flo" Lippincott | 22 août 2026 | 00:22:17 | |
About the Guest
Jada "Flo" Lippincott is a 27-year-old thru-hiker, splitboarder, canyoneer, packrafter, and full-time truck dweller based in Big Sky, Montana. Originally from Fairfield, Iowa, she discovered the outdoors through a college exchange semester in Fairbanks, Alaska and found long-distance hiking after a catastrophic snowboarding accident that shattered her leg. Three days out of her walking boot, she boarded a plane to Arizona and started the Arizona Trail. She has since logged over 9,000 miles across the CDT, Arizona Trail, Grand Enchantment Trail, Great Divide Trail (Canada), Hayduke Trail, Colorado Trail, and Sierra High Route (partial), all while living out of a 2009 Toyota Tundra with her 50-pound shelter dog, Indy (trail name: Roadblock). She has a tattoo on her leg that reads: Your time is limited.
Episode Highlights
The Trail Name — There Goes Flo
The Origin — Iowa to Alaska to Trail The Broken Leg Origin Story The Frostbite Hut Trip Roadblock's Grizzly Encounter Your Time Is Limited Trail Wisdom — You Either Keep Moving or You Die Links & Resources
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| The Route Makers - Episode 1: The Map Moment | 21 août 2026 | 00:28:06 | |
The Route Makers, Episode 1: "The Map Moment" — Andrew Skurka, Rue McKenrick, Kevin Koski, and Donovan Rice on the birth of a long-distance route. Every trail feels permanent. The Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest, the Continental Divide — they seem as fixed as the mountains they cross. But every one of them began as a line in a single person's imagination. Somebody drew it. Somebody walked it first. And somebody gave up years of their life to make it real for everyone who came after. In the premiere of our new five-part documentary series, we meet the people still doing that today — and we start where every route starts: the map moment. The instant a maker looks at empty space and sees a line that isn't there. For Kevin "The Animal" Koski, a Navy nuclear engineer, it happened in his cubicle, staring at a green circle of high country in the western United States. For Rue McKenrick, it struck at the bottom of a ski hill in a snowstorm — a vision of a trail wrapping the entire perimeter of the country. For Andrew Skurka — Nat Geo Adventurer of the Year and a founding figure of modern route-making — it began at an Alaska roadside, and with a single question that closed a seven-thousand-mile loop: "why don't you just close the bottom?" Along the way we hear from Liz "Snorkel" Thomas on why trails are made over decades, not overnight; from Renee "She-Ra" Patrick, longtime Oregon Desert Trail coordinator, on the difference between a trail and a route — and why land managers struggle to manage "something that doesn't exist"; and from Donovan "Iceman" Rice, days before setting out to prove his own Great Colorado Route, on nerves, love letters, and why almost everything left to create is really just "stitching together things that other people have done." This episode is about the vision. What these makers see, why they see it, and the moment they decide it's their job to fill the empty space. What it costs them comes next. As this episode releases, Donovan Rice is more than fifty days into the Great Colorado Route and, by all reports, having the time of his life. We'll catch up with him before the series ends. Featured routes: Great Western Loop · American Perimeter Trail · Four Corners Loop · Great Colorado Route · Oregon Desert Trail · Sierra High Route Featured makers: Andrew Skurka · Rue McKenrick · Kevin "The Animal" Koski · Donovan "Iceman" Rice · Liz "Snorkel" Thomas · Renee "She-Ra" Patrick Next time on The Route Makers — Episode 2: "The Proving Ground." A route isn't real until someone walks the whole thing and comes back. What the line costs, in bodies, in years, and in the people waiting at home. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising. | |||