This week I'm excited to bring you all a conversation I had with John Sprankel of The Oahu Coastline Trail. Big thank you to John for being so patient on getting this episode out! 

John Sprankel is an Eagle Scout and US Army veteran that graduated from Georgia Southern Universitywith a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, where he met and married his wife, Tori. Since then, their careers lead them to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and later to Honolulu, Hawaii, in order to pursue the opportunity to ive in paradise, while also demonstrating to their daughter, Rowan, the value of travel, meeting new people, and seizing opportunities. With a civilian career path that has always focused around logistics and leadership consultation, the availability of time that came from the COVID shutdowns provided an opportunity to develop the idea of hiking around the island of Oahu from a passing thought to a viable endeavor. 

While training for the Honolulu Marathon in 2019, the idea of circumnavigating the island transitioned from anidea for a fun challenge to a backpacking thru-hike, and, finally, to a scouting trip to develop a recognizedNational Scenic Trail. Working with the Hawaii DLNR and the National Park Service, John has been working to identify the many facets of a National Scenic Trail that this pathway will need to meet in order to fulfill the requirements said status, while also working to generate interest via Instagram (@the_oct_project) by bloggingthe 100 days leading up to the start of the scouting trip. 

Follow John on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_oct_project/

Go to https://www.facebook.com/TheOCTProject/ for more information on the OCT

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Music licenced through musicbed.com. 

Intro Song: NEVER STOP by Tyler Brown William-  https://open.spotify.com/track/4fGgmcD5Ke4I4ZfJ1hZeiW?si=cc831237612840c6 

Closing Song: STILL WANDERING by Bronze Radio Return- https://open.spotify.com/track/7wJyGhYZ6OjFmxaD62tlbZ?si=565bd9892e944732 

Each week new hiker Andy Neal, takes you along on the trail talking with voices in the outdoor and hiking community finding stories of how hiking has inspired them to grow, create, and better the world and environment around them. A show for those first starting out on the trail and for experienced thru-hikers!