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Blissful Hiker spends time off-trail looking back at one of her favorite thru-hikes, the Pacific Crest Trail and learning about the meaning of grace.

In this episode:

1. We're introduced to trail angels Kurt and Holly in Bellingham, Washington and learns about the value of paying it forward. 
2. She rides up to Hart's Pass with thirty other hikers and finds their reasons for being there are varied, but always full of hope and joy. 
3. The start is actually 31 miles short of the Canadian Border, and because the United States won't allow entry via the trail, hikers have to hike north before hiking south. 
4. The start is on a clear, sunny Chamber-of-Commerce day on easy, beautiful trail and is told she will be spending the entire upcoming five months smiling. 
5. She realizes the birds she loved in Washington are the same in Montana.
6. Two Bear Air Rescue, the people who pulled her off trail, sends her a gold medal to remind her that "every day is a gift and to never take it for granted."

MUSIC: Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.

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Blissful Hiker is moved by Simone Biles' decision to exit the Olympics and feels like it gives her permission to forgive herself for her own exit.

In this episode:

1. Blissful is learning patience while she waits for a diagnosis on her heart and hopefully a path forward.
2. Acceptance that she's fragile and that "the mental is not there" is part of healing.
3. She also learns that pushing hard is not healthy, even when pressured to do so mostly by herself 
4. She visits one of her favorite local parks, Afton State Park, and is startled by nature's beauty, reminded of why she loves to hike and get close to nature – and it's in remembering that feeling she knows she'll be motivated to get well and return to the trail. 

MUSIC: Pastoral Calchaqui by Hector Gallac and Milonga sin Palabras by Astor Piazzolla as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano. 

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Blissful Hiker wonders if the the trail itself ejected her this time.

In this episode:

1. Blissful is "trail angeled" in Montana and rests up in a kind of half-way house for sick people with nowhere to go. 
2. She wants to keep walking, but only gets sicker. 
3. Her supporters in a Zoom meeting convince her to take the Empire Builder train across the prairie to her home in Saint Paul and she discovers that it's delightfully interesting. 
4. She sees a cardiologist who fits her with a heart monitor and she begins to heal.
5. Surprises await her at home, and she realizes that maybe the time wasn't quite right this year, but that the mountains await. 

MUSIC: Poema del pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano. 

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Blissful Hiker is plucked off the Continental Divide Hike when her body goes into critical distress.

In this episode:

1. Blissful begins The Bob section of the CDT in Montana (Bob Marshall Wilderness) and is inundated with countless blowdowns to cross.
2. She discovers things aren't really working out with her companions, so tries to makes the best of hiking alone in bear country even though she has to leave at dawn to make miles.
3. She meets horseback riders who take her across a ford.
4. The flowers, the views and the wild landscape enchant her. 
5. Her tachycardia – or racing heart – gets the best of her and she has to call for help. 

MUSIC: Poema del pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano. 

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Blissful Hiker begins the  Continental Divide Trail at Chief Mountain in Glacier National Park and gets a taste of everything – good and bad. 

In this episode:

1. Day one begins in a thunderstorm..
2. Mosquitos attack in squadrons.
3. The trail is tough with four passes and a mountain to climb.
4. Montana is experiencing a heat wave.
5. Numerous river and snow crossings make for pruny and painful feet.
6. She makes it through, still smiling and ready for the next, more remote, section. .

MUSIC: Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano

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Blissful Hiker receives a blessing before driving across three states to start the Continental Divide Trail. 

In this episode:

1. The drive takes her in an Enchanted Highway and into the desolate but lovely Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
2. She meets her two companions and stuffs gear in every available space.
3. She accepts the trail is still a nascent idea, and to use the gospel lessons to put her trust in a higher power and enjoy each moment.
4. Their fourth companion snags hard-to-get permits, and they will start the 3100-mile trail tomorrow.

MUSIC: Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano. 

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Blissful Hiker makes maps and food for the Continental Divide Hike.

In this episode:

1. Blissful takes a GPS class with The Mountaineers and learns about  the value of taking printed maps, navigational work flow, situational awareness and the ethic of self- reliance. 
2. She also learns how to create a route using CalTopo, export it to Gaia GPS on her phone and then follow it with a compass, which empowers her and gives her more confidence. 
3. Using recipes from Backcountry Foodie, Blissful makes week’s worth of meals including pastas, garbanzo beans, cereals, shakes, dips and spreads, all prepared in the field without cooking. 
4. She'll also take some of her famous vegetarian pemmican "magic bars." 

MUSIC: Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano. 

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Blissful Hiker organizes her gear for the  Continental Divide Hike.

In this episode:

1. Blissful is taking a new Gossamer Gear ultralight "Gorilla" pack and "The One" tent on this thru-hike.
2. Also an Ursack XL Major to keep grizzlies from nosing into her food which was a compromise to get the bigger bag at 15 liters but not critter impermeable.
3. New aluminum LEKI Cross Trail trekking poles will hold her upright as well as her tent.
4. Really special on trail are merino tops from Ibex - two hoodies of different weights as well as a T-shirt. Merino manages temperatures, wicks moisture and never stinks!
5. Favorites of all long trails are Balega "Enduro" socks and La Sportiva Akyra trail runners as well as gel toe separators. 
6. New additions to her personal items include the superb antimicrobial Kula Cloth pee rag as well as Leukotape, “a backpackers secret weapon." 
7. Thanks to Sawyer, Blissful was able to make a gravity-feed water filtration system and save her arthritic hands from squeezing. 
8. FULL GEAR LIST HERE! 

MUSIC: Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano. 

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Blissful Hiker discovers that planning only goes so far for her Continental Divide Hike but maybe that's a good thing. 


In this episode:

1. Blissful tackles the many pieces of logistics of the CDT by starting with day one – when is the best date and how does she get a permit.
2. With this flurry of detail, she recalls learning from another thru-hiker and "Trail magician" named Broken Toe that not planning too much is sometimes a better way to "make the step you’re taking right now, the priority.” 
3. Still, she plans to send resupply boxes in advance, even if it costs a lot. 
4. When discussing with her husband Richard how to protect food in Glacier National Park on tall metal poles, he challenges her that squirrels and rats can climb. 
5. But she does need to purchase a bear resistant food container, and chooses an Ursack, though the styles and sizes are a bit confusing. 

MUSIC: Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano. 

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Blissful Hiker shares her array of workouts to get fit for the Continental Divide Trail and much of it is not just walking. 

In this episode:

1. Blissful starts her day with a two-minute plank – probably the best overall daily exercise for a hiker because it strengthens the core, increases balance and powers the body for all other athletic activity. 
2. Practicing Hot Yoga  got Blissful through her hip recovery and she finds it powerful for learning to focus and getting "juice" flowing to the joints.  
3. Bike riding is a non-weight-bearing exercise, so the stress is on the muscles, not so much the joints. There’s also a built-in interval training and Blissful enjoys riding in an urban setting on the Grand Rounds. 
4. The best training for walking in the end might be walking, and Blissful visits some of her favorite state and regional parks, "training" while enjoying the flora and fauna. 

MUSIC: Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano. 

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