Following the blazes and looking up at the clouds. Interview with Rahawa Haile, author of the essay "How Black Books Lit My Way Along the Appalachian Trail" on Buzzfeed.

We talk with Rahawa Haile, an Eritrean-American writer living in Oakland, CA, about her northbound thru hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2016. Rahawa believes that if you have the inclination and the time to do a thru hike, you should hit the trail. As one of the few black women to thru hike in 2016, Rahawa talks about how her experience is different than the "typical" hiker. She also discusses the small beauties she found along the trail: be it snow on a branch or the kindness of the hiking community.

Note (!) : There's a factual error at 20:45. Rahawa actually saw at least 10 black people hiking on the Appalachian Trail, not one. This error is on the part of the host's misinterpretation, not Rahawa.

Thanks to our sponsor, Oru Kayak.

Music is by Broke For Free, MindsEye, Lee Rosevere, Tours, Little Glass Men, & Chris Zabriskie via Free Music Archive. CC by A.