Trail Correspondents

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

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 th

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! I am your host moron and this is episode 13 all about the last week on trail. There are a lot of complex, possibly mutually exclusive and contradicting feelings that can arise on the last week of trail. You’ve found a groove, have your gear and resupply system fine tuned and have all of the intellectual, emotional and physical momentum you could need to reach your destination. But then, there you are at the sign or monument signifying your journey’s conclusion.  While the contents of each day on trail are usually unknown at the outset and are filled in by the the whims of fate as you make your daily mileage, as you approach nearer and nearer to what you’ve been chasing for so many weeks and months, it’s hard to grasp what the end of the experience will mean for the near future.  There’s no doubt that the end of a journey like a long-trail is a hard pill to swallow and it’s uniquely individualized for each person.  Send us your questions about anything and everything here:

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! You’ll certainly find a noticeable theme throughout these clips - especially with those who are completing their first long trail, that it’s difficult to sum up in words what’s been learned.  The duration of time a thru hike requires is definitely enough to cause a thorough change within a person - it’s so all-encompassing and transforming that it’s hard to nail down exactly who and what you were before embarking on your journey. It requires re-acclimation to the life you left in order to reorient who you’ve become.  On that note, let’s get into what our correspondents have to say on the matter. Their closeness to the essence of this kind of experiential change is sure to be captivating… 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 C

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is Episode 11 which is all about the mental game required to attempt a thru-hike.  Denial is not just a river in Africa and it’s the stories we tell ourselves that frame our experience as heavenly or hellish. Now some relevant quotes:  Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.” Sapiens author, Yuval Noah Harari, "Homo sapiens is a storytelling animal that thinks in stories rather than in numbers or graphs, and believes that the universe itself works like a story, replete with heroes and villains, conflicts and resolutions, climaxes and happy endings. When we look for the meaning of life, we want a story that will explain what reality is all about and what my particular role is in the cosmic drama. This role makes me a part of something bigger than myself, and gives meaning to all my experiences and choices.” And one more from our very own Zach Badger Davis on the topic, "What we call “reality” is really just an interpretation of events based on p

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! I am your host moron and this is the last installment of the wildcard episodes for this season of the show. No real need for introductions here as we all know the drill by now. So, settle in and prepare to hear a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lot in between.  Let’s get into it.   In today's episode we hear from: 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 h

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! Though many of us eat more so out of pleasure, schedule, routine or the like, a hiker’s relationship to food evolves during the course of a thru-hike and it’s an interesting change to take note of. Wherever you fall in the dietary spectrum it’s somewhat unlikely that you will have the same relationship with food pre and post trail.  Food is important and it becomes a vital part of your hiking strategy out of necessity, which is obvious on its face: you need to eat, but when your white hot furnace of a metabolism is glowing for 8, 10, or 12 hours a day, the importance of eating takes on a new form.  So, let’s hear what our correspondents have to report about what role food has played for them on their hikes. Sure to be mouth watering. And, if you’re listening at home, make sure to have a drink handy as it will be a requirement to take a sip everytime someone mentions a ramen bomb. Let’s get into it. Listen here: In today's episode we hear from: Abbey Turnbull Harking from

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! Today we're talking about the physical adjustment our correspondents have endured on trail.  When it comes to staying on trail, you have to listen to your body. You ignore its cries and protests at your peril. If there’s one piece of advice I can give with respect to acclimating to the physical demands of thru hiking, it’s to tend to things THE MOMENT they arise. If you feel a small itch on the back of your heel, pull over and investigate. If your cookset is digging into your back, take your pack off and reorient it, and so on.  With the attrition rate of any thru hike being what it is, anything you can do to stop problems before they arise will incrementally increase your odds of arriving at your intended terminus. 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 t

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! Today we’re looking at another wildcard edition of the show.  In case you don’t know, wildcard episodes give our correspondents free reign to talk about whatever they’d like.  So strap in for some wholesome rambling regarding this, that, and the other! 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

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is episode 6: the social experience. This episode isn't just about the "tramily" most hikers will invariably and organically find themselves a part of - it’s about the trail angels, the people who give you rides to town, the clerks at the grocery stores, the attendants at gas stations and so on.  When you’re on trail, you’re on a mission and its gravity is palpable. People see you with your pack and assign you a special special status. It feels like being an important member of a close knit community. Life on trail is edifying, nourishing, validating, and to be honest, a little addicting.  Today we hear about how our correspondents are getting along with those they’ve met on trail in addition to the wider world enveloping them and though this episode does sadly see us saying goodbye to another contributor, all the stories contained within have a similar undertone of conscious appreciation of how the presence of those sharing in this rarefied experience we call thru h

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

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 fulf

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 rollin

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

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

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

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. YOU

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 Correspondent

The trail is my teacher. Perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of a long distance backpacking trip is the time it allows someone to be with their thoughts. It's not uncommon for the time and space to allow for a breakthrough, or even just seeing old problems in a new light. Today we learn what lessons our hikers have learned over their course on trail. 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 Monica "Moss" Aguilar Henri "Rooster" de la Vega [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

It is said that the mental component is the most challenging aspect of a thru-hike.  I am one of those making this claim, in fact, I wrote two books on this very subject.  Although the physical element of a cross country trek can't be understated in terms of difficulty, after a few weeks, a hiker's body largely adjusts to the rigors of walking all day, every day.  As the physical element gets easier, for many, the psychological struggle only grows in magnitude.  And that's the subject for today's show. Our hikers share what mental struggles they've encountered (if any), how it's differed relative to their expectations, what tools they use to stay sane, and much more. 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 Monica "Moss" Aguilar Henri "Rooster" de la Vega [divider] Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise, or praise for Trail