Arielle, known off trail as Arielle Shipe, was supposed to start the Pacific Crest Trail on April 30th. I spoke with her a few days before she was to have started. The reality of not being on the PCT was sinking in so this episode took a philosophical turn. We discuss the difficulty and challenges of the dream deferred, what the plans are now and sprinkled in a little gear talk for good measure.

Sling, known off trail as Aaron Owens Mayhew, decided to solve her mid-life crisis via the Pacific Crest Trail in 2017. Injury had other ideas and 300 miles in she stepped off the trail. Successful recovery invited her to jump to the Appalachian Trail… however jumping into the middle turned out to be a very bad idea. In this episode, we talk about her challenges on trail, how she applied her nutritionist background to the subject of trail food, van life and the creation of Backcountry Foodie.

Taco Salad, known off trail as Mari Johnson, came halfway around the world to take on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2019.  She’s built her brand and youtube channel around travel and travel videos, so documenting her thru hike is a natural extension.  In this episode, she talks trail names, overnight oats, a Sierra birthday party and the joys of Washington- the mice, the rain and the snow. 

Tip Tap, known off trail as Elina Osborne, arrived at the Mexican Border a year ago almost to the day, faced north and started walking. 137 days later she tagged the Canadian border. She then made this little video… you might have seen it… ”It Is The People” that so perfectly captured the experience, it went a little viral. In this episode, we jump into the making of the video, finding your people, embracing the discomfort and the power of peanut butter.

Socks, known off trail as Sara Kruglinski, started 2018 with a plan to just hike a section of the Pacific Crest Trail during her vacation. Fast forward to feet on trail and everything changed. With both a NOBO and SOBO thru hike now under her belt, in this episode we talk about being clear on the goal of completing vs continuous footsteps, the joys of being a height challenged hiker, trail games to make the miles go by and safety islands.

Chris Smead co-directed a documentary called HIGHLINE, which follows the 10 day hike of five friends on the Highline Trail in the northern Utah mountains.  Along with the hike, the film also reflects on each man’s personal journey as well as the history of the trail itself.  In this episode, we discuss how the film came to be and the challenges of filming in such a remote location with crazy weather patterns and continuous high altitude.  If you need a little solace from the off trail blues, the streaming release was yesterday, April 7th. 

Rue, known off trail as Rue McKenrick, set out in July 2019 on the first scout for a new long trail. The American Perimeter Trail. He plans to finish back in Oregon in November 2020. In mid-February, I caught him in east Texas. In this episode we talk about the isolation and loneliness of being the first, the logistics of creating a trail, public land vs private land navigation and what he hopes this trail will become.

Archive, known off trail as Tiffany Chou, did a thru hikers version of social distancing when she SOBO hiked the PCT last year.   And the speed and noise and people after trail took some getting used to.  In this episode, we talk night hiking in the Sierras, fun with porcupines and rattlesnakes, carrying fears and regrets, and picking up lost miles.

Russell, known off trail as Russell Corfman, hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2018 at the age of 58. So I was very, very interested to hear how it went. In this episode, we talk about surviving on bars… all different types of bars, recovery on trail, feeling paralyzed after the trail between wanting the next trail and looking for a job and those beautiful random acts of kindness that go hand in hand with the trail community.

Catwoman, known off trail as Kim Morse, hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2018 with her significant
other, Turtle. In this episode we visit the pain of the mountains, dig into how they exited their city life
for the trail, staying healthy on trail, and the 46ers.