Today on the First 40 Miles, we’re wrapping up production of The First 40 Miles with today’s final episode.  We’ll share some of our ideas for podcasts we’d love to see started, talk a little about what it’s been like to share our backpacking adventures with ya’ll, then wrap up with a little trail wisdom that brings it all full circle.

Today on the First 40 Miles, if you haven’t figured it out by experience, then we’ll give you one more huge reason to begin backpacking…the health benefits!  The list of health benefits ishuge!  Then our SUMMIT Gear Review today is a 22 pound piece of gear…but hear us out…it’s 100% backpackable and incredibly fun!

Today on the First 40 Miles,  who says you can’t have type one fun and type two fun on a backpacking trip?  Today’s episode explores games on the trail and how to make memories without bringing Monopoly.  You’ll learn 5 super fast, super fun games that you can play on  your next wilderness backpacking adventure or use to break the ice at your next board meeting.  Then, we’ll review a love it or hate it nano game that, for mere grams, will earn its spot in your pack.

Today on the First 40 Miles, we love our listeners!  And we love hearing their stories!  Then, even if you never plan to do a thru hike, you can still scam some of their best gear hacks and incorporate them into your next overnighter.  Next, a gear review that will outfit you in the toughest clothes on the planet.  And a hack that as easy as sticking a piece of tape to a tent pole. 

Today on the First 40 Miles, maybe you want to eat like royalty on the trail—but you don’t need a 15 piece place setting to make that happen.  What does it take to shovel food from your cook pot to your mouth?  Then we’ll talk about our top 5 favorite post trip meals.  Then, what are our recommendations for backpacking gear that can go seamlessly from trail to off-trail lunchbox?  And we’ll wrap things up with a quote from our favorite Dutch Post-Impressionist painter.

Today on the First 40 Miles, have you ever given much thought to the names that companies give gear?  The name of your pack or your tent isn’t just some random name they pulled out of a hat.   Next, today’s top 5 list is a whole pile of hacks I picked up on my recent backpacking trip.  Then, a little SteriPEN that is a backpackers dream!  And a quick hack that has been on every single one of our backpacking trips.

Today on the First 40 Miles, we've heard people say “I’d love to go backpacking like I did when I was younger, but I just can’t carry the load.”  Are their backpacking days truly over?  Then, what do you do when a trail mate is injured, sick or fatigued and can’t carry the load.  For the SUMMIT Gear Review, something that will change the way you think of transporting your gear.  And we’ll teach you how native peoples transported goods using a few sticks.

Today on The First 40 Miles, we’ve dredged up as many scary things as we can for this Halloween episode.  Cougar attacks, mysterious items in hiker boxes, dead cats and the scariest thing of all—hiker stink.  Then we’ll wrap up today’s episode with a quote from a zombie.  Actually it’s just a quote from someone’s posthumously published journal.  They’re dead, but they’re alive!  (But they’re dead.)

Today on the First 40 Miles, we’ve dumped out our box of random backpacking food, affectionately labeled, our “Bucket o’ Calories”, and will go head to head today as Josh and I battle it out, civilly, for the Backpacking Dinner Challenge.  Can we each create a unique meal with just the pile of ingredients in front of us?  We’ll find out.  Then we’ll eat dinner.  

Today on the First 40 Miles, we’re checking in with our friend Steve, who completed a thru hike of the Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail this summer.  And we’ll throw in a backpack hack and some trail wisdom, just for funsies.