Meadow Campsite
Found this meadow campsite along the #AppalachianTrail last weekend near Franklin, NC. Great spring weather to be outside and #backpacking!
Episode 41 Recorded AT TrailDays 1995
Episode 41 recorded at #TrailDays 1995 – 20+ years before Pox Holiday made it an annual tradition to interview #thruhikers in Damascus
Episode 30: Camino de Santiago
Starting in 1985, modern day hikers have increasingly followed the path – with over 200,000 “pilgrims” hiking the route each of the last few years. In the podcast, Squatch talks about his adventures on the ~518 mile trail and offers up some suggestions for prospective thru-hikers.
For more information on Squatch and his films, click here! And watch out for his latest release, 72 Days In Iceland, which will be available for streaming (and on DVD) this February. In the last ten minutes of the show, Squatch provides a preview and also hints at his next great adventure. Click below for the audio interview.
Subject: Wayfaring
Interviewees: Scott “Squatch” Herriott
Interview Date: January 15. 2016
Runtime: 54:07
Download Now: Wayfaring (WMA format 38.6 Meg);
Wayfaring (MP3 format 103.9 Meg)
You can follow or subscribe to this podcast if you click here (via Blubrry, Facebook, Google+, iGoogle, iTunes, RSS, Twitter, Stitcher, Yahoo, Zune). Or click this link for a complete list of N2Backpacking podcasts.
Help The CDT! Time Is Running Out…
Continental Divide Trail is trailing the Ice Age Trail for $25K donation from Michelob. #VOTECDT http://ow.ly/T82uO
Return Of The Dana!
In the mid-90', Dana Design was the backpack for thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail. I liked mine so much that I bought a second one two years after my thru-hike despite the steep price of $400+
And Dana Gleason, founder of his namesake Dana Designs, has returned to the market! After selling his company and watching a series of outdoor companies fumble with a once dominant brand – Dana is back (and so is the Terraplane).
The U.S. Military and U.S. Forest Service “hot shot” fire-fighting crews have been the beneficiary of Dana's skills over the last few years – but the packs are once again available to the public. There is a great article about this at GearJunkie.com, and hopefully I can land a N2Backpacking podcast with Dana in the future. That's how passionate I am about both my Dana backpacks – which after 20+ years I still use to this day!
Episode 28: The Benton MacKaye Trail
Forewarning, we spend the majority of the podcast discussing their 20 day, ~290 mile hike on the Benton MacKaye Trail – a great alternative to the Appalachian Trail in the South – but there’s lots of great tips on backpacking and thru-hiking in general.
So listen in – and when the mobs of thru-hikers hit the Trail next year after the movies Wild and Walk In The Woods motivate the masses… you now have some great alternatives to the A.T. and P.C.T.!
Subject: The Benton MacKaye Trail
Interviewees: Jen (Sprinkles) and Patrick (NoKey)
Interview Date: July 21, 2015
Runtime: 1:08:15
Download Now: The Benton MacKaye Trail (WMA format 53.5 Meg);
The Benton MacKaye Trail (MP3 format 66.0 Meg)
Follow Sprinkles and NoKey here. Or click this link to learn more about the Benton MacKaye Trail.
And you can follow or subscribe to this podcast if you click here (via Blubrry, Facebook, Google+, iGoogle, iTunes, RSS, Twitter, Stitcher, Yahoo, Zune). Or click this link for a complete list of N2Backpacking podcasts.
My back end made the Walk In The Woods movie trailer….
My back end made the Walk In The Woods movie trailer – minute 131 – wonder if that's what 20 hours of filming as an extra gets you? A great experience nonetheless – movie is out this Labor Day weekend….
Appalachian Trail, Walking On A Dream – May 2, 2015
Took a hike with my son and our dog last weekend. Had an interesting start to the backpacking trip and nearly perfect weather for our camp out. Here is the dream version of the video.
Episode 27: Superwoman
In the podcast, Niki talks about her first ventures in to the outdoors, her hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, and the event that changed her life – a 60' fall that nearly ended her life (and made her an amputee). Niki is now a week in to her A.T. thru-hike and took time from a rest area in North Georgia to speak with us. Click below for her inspirational story, or click this link to follow her on Facebook.
Subject: Superwoman
Interviewees: Niki Rellon
Interview Date: March 27, 2015
Runtime: 46:45
Download Now: Superwoman (WMA format 32.2 Meg);
Superwoman (MP3 format 44.8 Meg)
You can follow or subscribe to this podcast if you click here (via Blubrry, Facebook, Google+, iGoogle, iTunes, RSS, Twitter, Stitcher, Yahoo, Zune). Or click this link for a complete list of N2Backpacking podcasts.
A Thru-Hiker Looks At 20
It’s been 20 years since I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. There’s no doubt, it was a different Trail back then – fewer thru-hikers, no cell phones, and no websites to research the A.T. prior to heading out. Thru-hikers today are better informed, better connected, and significantly better prepared than when I hiked in 1994. That said, here are some tips for the Class of 2015 as you start the A.T. this Spring:
- Create, then ditch your itinerary. It’s fun to plan an itinerary and anticipate where you will be during your thru-hike. You should do it – but don’t live by it. Schedules are for the workingman. I had the most fun on the Trail when I ditched my itinerary and rolled with the Trail (and not against it).
- It’s the journey not the destination: Take your time and enjoy it. There aren’t many thru-hikers that finish and wish they went faster. If you generally enjoy being on the Trail, you are far more likely to finish it. Besides, many of you will be back in the 40+ hour/week grind soon enough. Cherish your thru-hike while you have it. You may not get this chance again or for quiet some time (although I hope you do).
- Don’t let the extreme thru-hikers ruin your experience. Don’t let anyone ruin your experience, this is your trip. Hike your own hike.
- Keep a journal: Your mind will fade, trust me, and you will want to remember where you were on [insert date] on your thru-hike. In the 20 years since my thru-hike, there isn’t a single month that goes by where I don’t look at my journal.
- Take lots of photos (or videos): No one was shooting video in 1994 when I hiked, but we did take 35mm pictures and I’m glad we did. Photos (and video) capture many things your journal does not – what you are wearing, eating, doing, etc. Many of these things are lost in a journal and over time.
- Swap photos (or videos) with other thru-hikers: Your Trail buddies may bring a different perspective to the thru-hike in the pictures they take, angles they shoot, moments they capture, etc. They may also take a lot of pictures of you during the hike. That’s something you can’t easily do on your own.
- Be grateful to those who provide services on the trail. You are setting a legacy for the future.
- Don’t forget those who made this possible. Thank every volunteer you meet. Pitch in when and where you can (now or later). The A.T. exists because of the Trail maintainers and they can’t be thanked enough for it.
- Mix a few hours of music into your hike each day. It will become the soundtrack of your thru-hike, and 20 years from now those songs will bring back memories just like your journal, photos, or videos.
- Know that this experience may haunt you for the rest of your life (in a good way): So embrace it. The reality is that the trappings of life (jobs, mortgage, car payments, kid expenses, etc.) will find you soon enough. Those things aren’t necessarily bad, but they make doing a second thru-hike a challenge. This is truly your time – when you have the freedom to take every day at your pace and to answer only to the Trail. So make the most of it.