Trail Correspondents – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents!

This is the final episode of season 4: an interview with your former self. 

Traditionally, this episode is formatted such that we pan back and forth between the present and the past as the Correspondents ask and answer questions they posed to themselves prior to leaving for their journeys; however, as I started to dig into putting this episode together, I was struck by the stark difference in tone between these two chronologically distant clips. 

So I made a unilateral, editorial decision to mostly change the formatting of this episode in order to preserve its potency. Rather than split each question up with its associated answer I’ve elected to present both in their entirety so that you as the listener can really hear the doubt, uncertainty and honestly fear of the unknown give way to courage, confidence, and acquired knowledge.

So, for the most part I’ve abandoned tradition. If you’ll grant me one final indulgence, I present to you now our concluding episode. 

Let’s get into it, one more time.

One final chance to send us your questions about anything and everything here:

https://www.speakpipe.com/TrailCorrespondents

In today's episode we hear from:

Abbey Turnbull
Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal.

Abbigale (Abby) Evans
Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They’ll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine.

Aly Pagano
Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

David Firari
David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen.

Derek Witteman
Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood.

Eddie Arriola
Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who’s been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He’s originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail.

Elke Pabst
Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli.

Jake Landgraf
Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She’s been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she’s excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER

Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.

Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co.

INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger.

YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek.

FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek.

Sign up for our newsletter

Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents!

We’ve finally come to it: the finish. 

Send us your questions about anything and everything here:

https://www.speakpipe.com/TrailCorrespondents

In today's episode we hear from:

Abbey Turnbull
Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal.

Abbigale (Abby) Evans
Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They’ll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine.

Aly Pagano
Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Iris Hartshorn
A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year’s highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere.

David Firari
David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen.

Derek Witteman
Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood.

Eddie Arriola
Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who’s been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He’s originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail.

Elke Pabst
Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli.

Jake Landgraf
Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She’s been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she’s excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER

Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.

Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co.

INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger.

YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek.

FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek.

Sign up for our newsletter

Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is episode 5: expectations vs. reality. 

Picture in your mind’s eye, an ideal version of time spent in nature. It’s likely not raining and warm but not hot. Perhaps the perfect cooling breeze supportively buffets your face while you climb a challenging but not impossible ascent. 

You may find yourself surrounded by lush, green foliage, peeking out from which you spot rare and beautiful wildlife, that is so unafraid of your presence as to be practically posing for you as you snap a magnificent photo…

If only everyday could be like this… 

Though trail life is a certain kind of escape it is definitely not a wholesale entrance into a fantasy reality free from the doldrums and discomforts of everyday life. And while it’s easy to romanticize thoughts of living in the woods for an extended period of time, as the days become weeks become months, one is quickly disabused of these flights of fancy. 

In this episode our correspondents place their preconceived notions about life on trail up against their lived experiences. The sharp contrast here provides a certain type of clarity painting a clear picture of what a very long walk in the woods actually involves... 

In today's episode we hear from:

Abbey Turnbull
Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal.

Abbigale (Abby) Evans
Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They’ll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine.

Aly Pagano
Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Iris Hartshorn
A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year’s highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere.

David Firari
David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen.

Derek Witteman
Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood.

Eddie Arriola
Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who’s been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He’s originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail.

Elke Pabst
Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli.

Emily Russo Miller
Dreaming of being on trail is Emily’s favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn’t looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022.

Jake Landgraf
Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.

Mary Garcia
Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.

Summer Midyett
Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She’s been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she’s excited to see whatever the trail has in store.

FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER

Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.

Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co.

INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger.

YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek.

FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek.

Sign up for our newsletter

Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! I am your host moron.

This is episode 4 of Trail Correspondents - the first wild card edition, wherein each of our contributors get to relay whatever is on their mind.

This episode is a fun exposé highlighting everyone’s unique taste and what they individually bring to the table: it’s a narrative potluck, y’all.  

Let’s get into it! 

In today's episode we hear from:

Abbey Turnbull
Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal.

Abbigale (Abby) Evans
Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They’ll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine.

Aly Pagano
Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Iris Hartshorn
A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year’s highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere.

David Firari
David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen.

Derek Witteman
Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood.

Eddie Arriola
Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who’s been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He’s originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail.

Elke Pabst
Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli.

Emily Russo Miller
Dreaming of being on trail is Emily’s favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn’t looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022.   Jake Landgraf
Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Mary Garcia
Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She’s been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she’s excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER

Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.

Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co.

INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger.

YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek.

FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek.

Sign up for our newsletter

Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents!

This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for: hitting the trail.

While 11 members of this group have boots on the ground and are headed in their chosen direction toward their trail’s terminus, today we also hear from one correspondent who has yet to depart along with another who, after a harrowing first day, has made the difficult decision to get off trail. 

Each trail presents its own difficulties and challenges and simply showing up on the first day is certainly a herculean feat in and of itself. 

So, let’s learn about how our correspondents are acclimating to trail life as we hear first-hand about their first days and nights. 

In the words of Samuel Jackson, “hold onto your butts.” 

To save 15% on CTUG gear head to chickentrampergear.com and use code “TREK15” at checkout. This code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags.

In today's episode we hear from:

Abbey Turnbull
Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal.

Abbigale (Abby) Evans
Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They’ll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine.

Aly Pagano
Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Iris Hartshorn
A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year’s highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere.

Angelique "Perky"Krohn
Angelique (she/her) is a children’s librarian, artist, and semi-professional dungeon master, currently residing with her partner and their cat in New Jersey. She thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2018, and has been dreaming about hiking the Continental Divide Trail ever since. She is especially looking forward to exploring the different landscapes along the CDT and learning more about the plants and animals that call them home. It is rumored she might finally break the world record for “World’s Dirtiest Pair of Glasses” along this trek.

David Firari
David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen.

Derek Witteman
Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood.

Eddie Arriola
Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who’s been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He’s originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail.

Elke Pabst
Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli.

Emily Russo Miller
Dreaming of being on trail is Emily’s favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn’t looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022.   Jake Landgraf
Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Mary Garcia
Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She’s been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she’s excited to see whatever the trail has in store.

Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.

Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co.

INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger.

YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek.

FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek.

Sign up for our newsletter

Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

And remember that you can still save 15% on CTUG gear by heading to chickentrampergear.com and using the code “TREK15” at checkout. Once again, this code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags.

It’s said that proper preparation prevents poor performance. That being so, though there is a high level of inescapable serendipity and general chaos that has to be accepted and even embraced during a thru-hike, equally important is the forethought that goes into this kind of endurance endeavor. 

Preparation is individualized and personal. In the world of trail tropes, it's also often said that one packs their fears and in a similar vein, the way in which one plans for a multi-month backpacking trip illuminates their own value system and areas of focus.    

Now, let’s hear from our 13 correspondents about what they’ve done in order to structure their hikes. From physical training, to mental gymnastics, on-trail logistics and even simply jumping into the deep end with eyes closed, this episode highlights this cohorts pre-trail considerations.

Let’s get into it. 

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To save 15% on CTUG gear head to chickentrampergear.com and use code “TREK15” at checkout. This code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags.

----------------

In today's episode we hear from:

Abbey Turnbull
Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal.

Abbigale (Abby) Evans
Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They’ll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine.

Aly Pagano
Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Iris Hartshorn
A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year’s highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere.

Angelique "Perky"Krohn
Angelique (she/her) is a children’s librarian, artist, and semi-professional dungeon master, currently residing with her partner and their cat in New Jersey. She thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2018, and has been dreaming about hiking the Continental Divide Trail ever since. She is especially looking forward to exploring the different landscapes along the CDT and learning more about the plants and animals that call them home. It is rumored she might finally break the world record for “World’s Dirtiest Pair of Glasses” along this trek.

David Firari
David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen.

Derek Witteman
Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood.

Eddie Arriola
Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who’s been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He’s originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail.

Elke Pabst
Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli.

Emily Russo Miller
Dreaming of being on trail is Emily’s favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn’t looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022. 

Jake Landgraf
Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com. 

Mary Garcia
Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.

Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She’s been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she’s excited to see whatever the trail has in store. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER

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Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.

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Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co.

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INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger.

YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek.

FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek.

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Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

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And remember that you can still save 15% on CTUG gear by heading to chickentrampergear.com and using the code “TREK15” at checkout. Once again, this code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags.

Hello and welcome back to the much anticipated, 4th season of Trail Correspondents! This season features a great group of hopeful hiker who will be sharing their journeys with us all.

Beyond just getting to know this new batch of folks, there is also the passing of the host-torch from Zach "Badger" Davis to Kenneth "Moron" Pararo. We get a quick update on this change of guard, hear a bit from Moron about how and why he's taken the reigns and then dive into introductions from our correspondents.

This season promises to be a true return to form as we follow our 13 contributors through all aspects of what it takes to tackle a multi-month thru hike.

So, strap in as we get to know our 2023 hikers - it's going to be a wild ride!

To save 15% on CTUG gear head to chickentrampergear.com and use code “TREK15” at checkout. This code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags.

In today's episode we hear from:

Abbey Turnbull
Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT last year confirmed what she thought to be true – hiking from Mexico to Canada was her destiny for 2023. Loves good food and wine, Taylor Swift, American hospitality, and mountain vistas. Hates steep downhill slopes, her own unfortunate susceptibility to altitude sickness, and oatmeal.

Abbigale (Abby) Evans
Abby Evans (she/they) has a hankering to shave their head and hike the AT and now they will get to do both! They will be fulfilling their vagabond-dirtbag-poet dreams and aspire to one day become a creative writing professor. They’ll be listening to seventies folk music and reflecting on their life as they wander through all the states they grew up in: they were born in Maryland, grew up in New Jersey and went to college at Virginia Tech. Abby is excited for this Bildungsroman and hopes to celebrate their 23rd birthday (August 24) near Maine.

Aly Pagano
Aly is local to the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina. She has spent her life hiking, trail running, fishing, foraging, and farming; she aspires to increase her own knowledge and awareness of traditional Appalachian folk medicine, music, and skills as in an effort to live harmoniously with the mountains around her. With a degree in Ecology, Aly focuses on seasonal changes, flora, and fauna while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Iris Hartshorn
A queer Alaskan, Iris, aka Panther, strives to build adventure into their life. The last years have been filled with world travel, skiing, packrafting, hiking, backpacking, vanlife, and epic trips across Alaska. This year’s highlight is to walk from Mexico to Canada. Or, at least, just to keep walking somewhere.

Angelique "Perky"Krohn
Angelique (she/her) is a children’s librarian, artist, and semi-professional dungeon master, currently residing with her partner and their cat in New Jersey. She thru hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2018, and has been dreaming about hiking the Continental Divide Trail ever since. She is especially looking forward to exploring the different landscapes along the CDT and learning more about the plants and animals that call them home. It is rumored she might finally break the world record for “World’s Dirtiest Pair of Glasses” along this trek.

David Firari
David “Good Soup” is excited to be sharing their northbound Appalachian Trail with you! This is their first ever backpacking trip and they hope all the reading and shakedown hikes they did pay off. In addition to being a novice backpacker, Good Soup is also managing a schedule of recurring medical treatments back home in Wisconsin in order to make this trip happen.

Derek Witteman
Derek is a 37 years young Northern California native, presently thriving in San Antonio, Texas. In no particular order he is a physician, veteran, hiker, nerd, and jokester. In his free time he enjoys taking selfies with wildlife, and thinking of spirit animals the represent his current mood.

Eddie Arriola
Eddie is a travel PTA, physical therapist assistant, who’s been dreaming of the PCT for four years. In his spare time he enjoys photography, karaoke, and has other eclectic hobbies. He’s originally from southern Arizona, Tucson, and is excited to get back to his primary partner and dogs after the trail.

Elke Pabst
Elke comes from Germany and wants to thruhike the AT with her dog Tilli. It is her first stay in the USA und doesn t hiking before. She has 3 nearly grown up sons and a husband who take care of everything while she is hiking with her 9 year old dog Tilli.

Emily Russo Miller
Dreaming of being on trail is Emily’s favorite pastime. A 37-year-old journalist from Juneau, Alaska, she risked it all a few years ago (left her job, sold all her belongings and moved to the Lower 48) in pursuit of something new and beautiful. She found it in thru-hiking and hasn’t looked back since. You may know her as “Bear Spray Girl” from her LASH on the AT in 2021, or “Legs” from her PCT thru in 2022.   Jake Landgraf
Jake is currently on the AT attempting his first thru-hike. A proud Wisconsin resident, he enjoys beer, the outdoors, and the Green Bay Packers. On trail, Jake is known as “Radioface” and is obsessed with cosmic brownies. Follow Jake on his own, daily podcast at whereisjakeat.com.   Mary Garcia
Mary is a boring woman who likes to make various things, especially her hiking gear. She also has problems completing a thru hike. She did half the PCT in 2017 and a month on the CDT in 2022.   Summer Midyett Summer has had an adventurous spirit since she was young, having spent her most of her childhood traveling around the world with her family. She’s been dreaming of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail since 2020, when she moved to Oregon and fell in love with the mountains of the PNW. While it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for the PCT, she’s excited to see whatever the trail has in store.[divider] FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER

Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.

Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)! Download this episode here. Find us on Stitcher and Google Play.

INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger.

YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek.

FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek.

sign up for our newsletter 

Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

And, one final mention, that you can save 15% on CTUG gear by heading to chickentrampergear.com and using the code “TREK15” at checkout. Once again, this code applies to all their gear excluding backpacks and camera bags.

Today marks the final episode of our third season. At the beginning of this year, before embarking on their SOBO thru-hikes, I asked our Correspondents to interview themselves. Specifically, their future selves. We wanted a way to demonstrate the metamorphosis a hiker goes through during their journey- or perhaps lack thereof. This was our listeners' favorite episode last year, and I have no doubt that the response will be the same this time around. Here it is.

FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER

Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.

In today's episode we hear from:

• Jeff "Link" Podmayer
• Lara Waltrous
• Henri "Rooster" de la Vega
• Brittany Wolter

[divider]

Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)! Download this episode here. Find us on Stitcher and Google Play.

INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger.

YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek.

FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek.

< sign up for our newsletter >

Editing and music courtesy of David Zitney. Follow him on Instagram @dzitneyaudio.

Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

The finish.  We are here.  Not days, not weeks, but months of blood, sweat, and tears, all with the remote hope that the journey will conclude at the intended destination- the southern terminus.  A goal that at one point feels too big to conceptualize, and today, this goal is realized.

Our hikers give us a glimpse of how they're feeling- their current emotional state and how the expectation of reaching the destination compares to the reality. Enjoy.

FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER

Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.

In today's episode we hear from:

• Jeff "Link" Podmayer
• Lara Waltrous
• Henri "Rooster" de la Vega
• Brittany Wolter

[divider]

Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)! Download this episode here. Find us on Stitcher and Google Play.

INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger.

YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek.

FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek.

< sign up for our newsletter >

Editing and music courtesy of David Zitney. Follow him on Instagram @dzitneyaudio.

Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.

Today brings us to our hikers last week on trail.  Here, we asked our hikers to reflect on their journey overall.  Although this isn't technically a wildcard episode, we gave our Correspondents free rein to focus in on whatever they felt most passionate about in the process of looking back on their journeys.   You'll hear some disbelief, you'll hear some excitement, you'll hear some somber thoughts.  This one runs the full spectrum, and appropriately so.

FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER

Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.

In today's episode we hear from:

• Cal "Starburst" Dobbs
• Jeff "Link" Podmayer
• Lara Waltrous
• Henri "Rooster" de la Vega
• Natalie L Parker

[divider]

Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail Correspondents? Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co.

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)! Download this episode here. Find us on Stitcher and Google Play.

INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Correspondents, The Trek, and Badger.

YOUTUBE: Subscribe to The Trek.

FACEBOOK: Follow Trail Correspondents and The Trek.

< sign up for our newsletter >

Editing and music courtesy of David Zitney. Follow him on Instagram @dzitneyaudio.

Give us feedback on Trail Correspondents here.