Weekly Hiking Tip

By Dan Feldman

Sports & Recreation Outdoor Fitness & Nutrition

What's Weekly Hiking Tip about?

Whether you're planning a weekend overnight or a months-long hike of the Appalachian Trail, Weekly Hiking Tip will save you time, money, agony, and facilitate a fun, successful journey into the outdoors. Join Dan Feldman, author of Long Distance Hiking and 2-time thru-hiker, each week as he shares backpacking tips from aches and pains to z-rests.

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Weekly Hiking Tip episodes:

10.06.2018
Episode 38: Appalachian Trail Mailbag
Dan and Guthook open up the mailbag and tackle a list of questions about hiking the AT by a listener from Down Under. Also, an important announcement about the show... Links: Appalachian Trail Safety Tips Atlas Guides ...
08.31.2018
Episode 37: Hiking with Small Children
Hiking with a toddler or preschooler can be a really fun experience and can foster a positive attitude...if done right! In this week's show, Dan reveals five tips for helping your next hiking trip with the youngster be an enjoyable...
08.08.2018
Episode 36: Matt and Julie Urbanski
Matt and Julie Urbanski join the show his week to talk about completing the triple crown, founding a successful running coaching business, and parenting a toddler in a travel lifestyle. Links from the show: Team RunRun The Barkley 100 ...
08.03.2018
Episode 35 Leave No Trace (we really mean it!)
Dan and Guthook explore the wide world of Leave No Trace wilderness ethics and talk about some of the LNT challenges hikers often face: unattended trail magic, water caches, camp chores, and cat holes. Warning: Provocative content! Download Episode
07.18.2018
Episode 34: Carey Kish
Carey Kish, a Maine-based outdoor writer, joins Dan this week and talks about what it takes to put together a solid guidebook and compile the impressive, newly-released 11th edition of the Maine Mountain Guide, available now at the AMC...
07.13.2018
Episode 33: Hot Weather Hiking, Skyline Lodge, Ultralighting
The hot weather is back and so is Weekly Hiking Tip! Dan and Guthook talk about staving off heat exhaustion during the height of summer, the Skyline Lodge controversy on Mt. Washington, and tips for ultralighting. Check out Atlas Guide's...
04.23.2018
Episode 32: Thru Hike Budgeting Redux
Dan takes another look at what it costs to hike a long distance trail. This time around, both explicit and implicit (opportunity) costs are considered and used to answer the question: Should I do this hike? Is it worth it?
04.16.2018
Episode 31: Camping on AT in NY, PCT Section Hike Start Points
In this week's episode, Dan pulls a few backpacking questions from the AT and PCT Facebook pages. He talks about where to camp and how to plan a thru-hike of the NY AT and where a good starting point might...
03.19.2018
Episode 30: Stoves
Smell something burning? That's because Dan and Guthook are all about camp stoves in Episode 30! The guys discuss all major backpacking stove technologies, reviewing the pros and cons of canister, alcohol, ESBIT/solid fuel, bottle-liquid, and wood. Link to postal...
03.13.2018
Episode 29: Budgeting for Time
How much time should you budget for a long distance hike? In this week's show, using data from 2013-14 AT and PCT thru hikers, Dan talks about all the factors that influence how much time you might want to set...
02.17.2018
Episode 28: Hiking with a Partner
A long distance hike with a dedicated partner can put a strain on any relationship. This week on the show, Dan and guest April Robinson discuss tips for keeping partnerships fulfilling, drawing from their experience as partners on the CDT....
02.07.2018
Episode 27: Is Water Treatment (really) Necessary?
Treating water obtained in the backcountry has long been considered a common sense, level-headed thing to do. Biology Ph.D. candidate Ethan Linck joins Dan to talk about a February 2018 Slate article he wrote that questions this doctrine. Read Ethan's...
01.29.2018
Episode 26: Vermont, the Solo Shelter Experience, Mailbag
Guthook talks about his winter hike in southern Vermont and we break open the mailbag!
01.20.2018
Episode 25: Your Knee
In this week's show, Dan dusts off his physical therapy degree and dives into knee injuries! If you're wondering why knee injuries happen to hikers and what can be done about knee injuries on the trail, then listen in!
01.01.2018
Episode 24: Choosing a Shelter
If you're gearing up for a long distance hike this year, you may be in the market for a shelter. In this episode, Dan breaks downs the pros and cons of four different popular shelter types: tents, hammocks, tarps, and...
12.23.2017
Episode 23: Yankee Swap, 2018 Thru-Hike Prep
If you're long distance hiking in 2018, you're getting really excited as 2017 draws to a close! Dan and Guthook talk about pitfalls of over-preparation and big picture things to think about 3 months out. Dan's holiday office party Yankee...
12.01.2017
Episode 22: Guthook, Coast to Coast Walk, Holiday Gifts
Weekly Hiking Tip is back with return guest, Guthook! Guthook shares stories from his recent hike across Northern England via the Coast to Coast Walk. Buckle in for surprise quail hunts and thru-hiking British style. Dan and Guthook share holiday...
07.03.2017
Episode 21: SteriPEN
Since 1999, SteriPEN has helped travelers and backpackers worldwide make wilderness water safe for drinking. Dan talks to Miles Maiden, the inventor of SteriPEN, about SteriPEN's past, present, and future. Download Episode
06.26.2017
Episode 20: New Hampshire
If you're thinking about heading to the Granite State to hike, but you wanna get off the beaten path, the Cohos Trail might be just the ticket! In this week's episode, Dan talks to Kim Nilsen, founder and board chairman...
06.13.2017
Episode 19: Blister Treatment
Woe is thee who suffers the blister! Listen to Dan this week and learn what you can do to take care of your next blister problem on the trail. Download Episode Music by Kyle Gervais...
06.05.2017
Episode 18: The PCTA
This week, Dan talks to Mark Larabee of the Pacific Crest Trail Association about raising funds through the PCTA's annual appropriations request to Congress. Dan and Mark discuss the PCTA's fundraising efforts and all the work done to protect the...
05.30.2017
Episode 17: Blister Prevention
Blisters are unavoidable on a long hike....or are they?? This week, Dan talks about how frequently hikers get blisters, what causes them, and shares 10 time-tested tips for prevention.
05.22.2017
Episode 16: Cravings
On this week's show, Dan talks about at the top three foods long distance hikers crave the most, and the differences in cravings between men and women.
05.15.2017
Episode 15: Missouri
Dan is back to kick off a series of episodes featuring short interviews with a trail agency or clubs in all 50 states. Missouri is the inaugural state in the series, so this week Dan sits down with Abi Jackson...
05.01.2017
Episode 14: Stuff You Can Do Without
This week, Dan reviews the top 5 things that thru-hikers said they carried in their packs most of the way, but in looking back on their hikes, thought they could have done without. What's necessary and what's not?
04.24.2017
Episode 13: Boredom
Boredom isn't a fun thing to experience on a long trail. Nor is it an exciting title for a podcast! Nearly 30% of long distance hikers cope with boredom at some point. This week, Dan talks about what you can...
04.17.2017
Episode 12: Coffee
Not enough sleep and a long day's drive has Dan getting through this episode thanks to coffee! He shares a few tips for packing coffee on the trail in a way that's lightweight, tasty, and cost-effective. Download Episode...
04.10.2017
Episode 11: Footwear Part 2
Dan picks up the topic of footwear once again. This time he talks about what hikers who were unhappy with their footwear had the most to be unhappy about. Listen this week for a few solid tips on buying footwear...
04.03.2017
Episode 10: Footwear
Footwear choice is one of many important decisions to be made when preparing for a long distance hike. This week, Dan talks about boots vs. trail runners and whether one style is actually better suited for long distance hiking.
03.20.2017
Episode 9: Physical Preparation
This week, Dan goes over some important tips for how to physically prepare for a long distance hike, and how this is different than physical preparation for other sports.
03.13.2017
Episode 8: Lyme Disease
Lyme disease impacts scores of hikers each year. In this week's episode, Dan talks about prevention and treatment of Lyme and shares tips for how to avoid getting Lyme on the trail. Download Episode
03.06.2017
Episode 7: Lost Things
Dan's computer dies and he reflects on losing things on the trail. What would you do if you lost your phone or wallet while hiking? What would you do if you found something valuable? Download Episode ...
02.25.2017
Episode 6: How Much Does a Hike Cost?
It's a total buzzkill to talk about money when planning the hike of a lifetime, but failing to consider cost can take you off the trail before you're ready. This week, Dan breaks down the cost of a long distance...
02.19.2017
Episode 5: Shin Splints
Shin splints can ruin a hike. In this week's episode, Dan talks about to prevent shin splints and, if experiencing symptoms of shin splints on a hike, how to take care of them. This is a must-listen for all thru-hikers!...
02.05.2017
Episode 4: Guthook
This week, Guthook, co-founder of Guthook's Guides and Atlas Guides, joins Dan in a discussion about maps, apps, and trail navigation.
01.30.2017
Episode 3: The CTF Ratio
Hiking food is composed of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. This week, Dan talks about which nutrients are most important for multi-day hiking trips and how to keep track of them. Download Episode
01.23.2017
Episode 2: Calorie Density
Calorie density tells you how much energy you're getting for what your food weighs. In this week's episode, Dan explains how this all fits into a good strategy for planning trail diet. Download Episode
01.15.2017
Episode 1: Calorie Load
Making sure you're getting enough food to eat every day on the trail is really important. In this first episode of Weekly Hiking Tip, Dan explains calorie load, a key concept for trail food planning. Download Episode

What's Weekly Hiking Tip about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Weekly Hiking Tip episodes:

Episode 38: Appalachian Trail Mailbag

Episode 37: Hiking with Small Children

Episode 36: Matt and Julie Urbanski

Episode 35 Leave No Trace (we really mean it!)

Episode 34: Carey Kish

Episode 33: Hot Weather Hiking, Skyline Lodge, Ultralighting

Episode 32: Thru Hike Budgeting Redux

Episode 31: Camping on AT in NY, PCT Section Hike Start Points

Episode 30: Stoves

Episode 29: Budgeting for Time

Episode 28: Hiking with a Partner

Episode 27: Is Water Treatment (really) Necessary?

Episode 26: Vermont, the Solo Shelter Experience, Mailbag

Episode 25: Your Knee

Episode 24: Choosing a Shelter

Episode 23: Yankee Swap, 2018 Thru-Hike Prep

Episode 22: Guthook, Coast to Coast Walk, Holiday Gifts

Episode 21: SteriPEN

Episode 20: New Hampshire

Episode 19: Blister Treatment

Episode 18: The PCTA

Episode 17: Blister Prevention

Episode 16: Cravings

Episode 15: Missouri

Episode 14: Stuff You Can Do Without

Episode 13: Boredom

Episode 12: Coffee

Episode 11: Footwear Part 2

Episode 10: Footwear

Episode 9: Physical Preparation

Episode 8: Lyme Disease

Episode 7: Lost Things

Episode 6: How Much Does a Hike Cost?

Episode 5: Shin Splints

Episode 4: Guthook

Episode 3: The CTF Ratio

Episode 2: Calorie Density

Episode 1: Calorie Load