For the second week, I'm reminiscing with the two people I was closest to on the trail. Last week, Ken Hall closed out the first 100, so the NEXT 100 shows start off with Pat Coate, or Tee Bird.

I met Pat earlier than Ken. I was nursing an injury after about 1200 miles and ran into her and her fellow hikers. We started chatting and all felt the need for a beer, so we hitched a lift in a fruitless search for one. We just found ice cream but I found a friend. Pat was then often hiking near me and we got back together in New Hampshire once I'd met Ken.

She was always "up" on the trail and proved to be a great hiking companion. She certainly took over the responsibility of slackpacking once Ken and I had put it to her. She maintained those responsibilities by planning our ill-fated John Muir Trail hike in 2016. Once again, all Ken and I had to do was show up. We knew how to do that.

Our three guests this week from the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Denver are:

Patrick Goguillon of Parakito showed me the innovative wristband repellent. You can see the products at https://us.parakito.com/ and can reach out to Patrick at [email protected]

Monty Griffith from Bridgford Foods Corporation showed me the MRE Survival Food that the company is introducing to the hiking community. The link will take you to one of their products on Amazon. You can reach Monty at mgriffith@@bridgford.com.

Finally, I spoke with Justine Barone, a feisty woman with an intriguing platform to help hikers rent their gear. Justine is the Co-Founder and CEO at Gearo and she'd be happy to hear from you at [email protected]. You should also check out her website at https://outdoorgearo.com/

In a new segment for the show, I invited Dan Wowak of Coal Cracker Bushcraft to tell us how to safely build a fire. This will be a new area for the show in coming weeks. His site is at https://coalcrackerbushcraft.com/, while you can also find him on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXSVZTsqJn5JjN0h5q5_B_Q.

We hope that you take the opportunity to support our sponsor, Trailtopia, when you consider your next backpacking trip. Go to https://www.trailtopia.com/ to check out their wide variety of meals.