We first met Chloë de Camara a few weeks ago on the show, informing us about the critical Leave No Trace principles and, in a follow-up conversation, it was clear that Chloë had her own Appalachian Trail story about her trek in 2015.

She was very intentional about how she came to the trail, writing a thesis about Appalachian Trail thru-hiking as a spiritual experience and volunteering for the ATC. As you'll hear, meeting the inspirational Jennifer Pharr Davis was a great motivator for her own journey.

If you'd like to see more of what Chloë does, click on this link to the ATC's Start Smart program https://youtu.be/J_-evEG3fFg

Also today, we have the start of a new series; A Woman of a Certain Age, where Kate Stillwell prepares for and then attempts a thru-hike of the AT from April 1. In this episode, Steve and Kate talk, along with Kate's daughter Alexa, or Tinkerbell.

Our new book, Grandma Gatewood's Walk, by Ben Montgomery, teaches us more about the harshness of Emma's life and the early days of her epic journey.

If you like what we're doing on the Hiking Radio Network, please consider supporting us with either a one-off or monthly donation. The donate button is on the Mighty Blue podcast page at https://mightyblueontheat.com/the-podcast/

Any support is gratefully received.

Music for the "A Woman of a Certain Age" segment is by permission of Kate's friend, John Jensen. You can see and hear it in full on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlP7g7qivo4

Thanks, John.