Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
430 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 450 ratingsAn overweight, 61-year-old retiree, with zero hiking experience, decided to hike the entire 2,185.3 mile length of the Appalachian Trail in 2014. What could possibly go wrong? As his brother, Mike, commented, "It's a bit like taking up boxing and fighting Mike Tyson in your first bout." Join Steve and his guests as they discuss all aspects of the trail, from gear to Lyme Disease, then back to trail magic and injury.
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Episodes
Episode #129 - Lea Ann Hogan and Lotta Anvret
January 31, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 62.1 MBAnother two members of the Mighty Blue Class of 2019 this week. Lea Ann Hogan and Lotta Anvret have given to others all their lives. They are a nurse and a special needs teacher respectively and feel the time is right to do something for themselves. Lea Ann (on the right below) has a calm determination to succeed and Lotta (on the left below) is flying in from Sweden in the hope that she can finish within her six-month visa. She is hoping that she meets a friendly Homeland Security agent a...
Episode #128 - Tyler Lau (The Prodigy)
January 24, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 61.2 MBThe awesome Tyler Lau is a man on a mission. Not only has he completed a Calendar Year Triple Crown, but he is also working for more diversity on the trails of America. An Asian American, he volunteers to support his various social projects and truly walks the walk. He started a Go Fund Me page to sponsor the various causes. You can find that at www.gofundme.com/8000milesto8000smiles. He hasn't had the chance to fully absorb the scale of his walking achievement and is slowly adjusting to li...
Episode #127 - Randy Forest (PT)
January 17, 2019 08:06 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBWhen Randy Forrest reached out to me so that he could tell his own story of hiking the Appalachian Trail as a member of the Class of 2018, I knew straight away that I'd found a man changed by the experience. Like many people, Randy came to the trail via YouTube, comments made in passing, and the end of his career. The challenge appealed to him, so he planned accordingly. We all rely upon good fortune to get us to the end and most of us fear a hike-ending injury. A fractured ankle would nor...
Episode #126 - Dawanna Blue (Sally Forth)
January 10, 2019 08:00 - 59 minutes - 54.4 MBDawanna Blue is a self-confessed high-maintenance hiker. She is a member of the Class of 2018 and her hike was five years in the making. Having arrived at the trail, she soon discovered that she preferred a hotel or a hostel to her tent or a shelter. Despite this aversion to one of the main parts of a thru-hike, Dawanna shaped her walk to make it the best experience for her. She embraced slackpacking and found all the other elements of the hike to be a joy, with new friends to be found thro...
Episode #125 - Dan Harris (Scars)
January 03, 2019 08:00 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBDan Harris spent many years in the CIA, little suspecting that he'd one day use those problem-solving skills to take on a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. He has battled cancer and stood at Springer Mountain with just one lung. Undeterred, he pushed forward with a never-say-die attitude that was tested when he sustained a knee injury in the Smokeys. Dan adapted his hiking gait to accommodate both his knee and his lack of lung capacity, pushing on and accumulating friends and experiences ...
Episode #124 - Greg Behrens (GBolt)
December 27, 2018 08:00 - 1 hour - 69.4 MBOne of our sister shows on the Hiking Radio Network, Returning to Katahdin, featured Bruce Matson's successful attempt to fulfill his 44-year dream of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Greg Behrens accompanied Bruce for much of the last two states in this journey. Each man had a significant impact on the success of the other man's hike. Greg felt called to the trail and discovered much, not only about himself but also the trail. He formed new friendships, strengthened an already strong fai...
Episode #123 - Jessie Greger (Pipes)
December 20, 2018 08:00 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBChoosing what to eat on the trail normally ends in Snickers, ramen noodles, or pasta and rice sides. While these certainly give you instant energy, the long- and even some of the short-term effects aren't exactly optimal. What if you had a healthy alternative that gave you more and longer-lasting energy, weighed less, and gave you a sense of well-being, rather than a bunch of highs and lows? Jessie Greger believes that she has found that alternative. Jessie was living on a ketogenic diet a...
Episode #122 - Michael Duncan (Crispy)
December 13, 2018 08:00 - 1 hour - 65.7 MBMichael Duncan completed his thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2017. Since the time he touched the brown sign on the top of Katahdin, the sadness of that moment has never left him. By that, he means that he knew his journey was over and he has yearned for that feeling again. He has always been comfortable in the outdoors, with the AT a target for several years. He prepared assiduously, watching YouTube videos of Dixie and Darwin to work out the logistics of thru-hiking, then finding a b...
Episode #121 - Dave Paumen (CBiscuit)
December 06, 2018 08:00 - 1 hour - 60.4 MBI interviewed Dave Paumen at 5:30 in the morning as he was about to enter the 100 Mile Wilderness. I was struck by his calm intelligence and his story. A Vietnam Veteran, he had demonstrated a cold-eyed determination in his life and brought that personality trait to the trail. He had been injured in his first attempt in 2017 but returned to complete his hike this year. Dave's solid common sense shines through in both the interview and his journals of the two, linked hikes. Read the journal...
Episode #120 - Nate Stockton (Turd Ferguson)
November 29, 2018 08:00 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBAs I'll be hiking the AT myself in 2019, I won't be able to follow one hiker as closely as I did with Jessa in 2017 and Bruce this year in the Returning to Katahdin podcast. So, in an effort to still follow some of these adventurers, I'm starting a new series of five interviews with members of this incoming class. The segment will normally support the main interview, but this we have a full interview with Nate Ferguson as the first member of the Class of 2019. Nate and I are fellow, members...
Episode #119 - Darwin
November 22, 2018 08:00 - 1 hour - 70.3 MBDarwin is a relatively new thru-hiker, having hit and completed the Appalachian Trail in 2015. Yet his YouTube channel is hugely popular, with over 135,000 subscribers at the time of writing. His articulate, information-laden content is of great help to hikers old and new. Darwin and his wife, Snuggles, sold most of their belongings in 2014 and radically altered their lifestyle, preferring to travel constantly as they had adventures. While the two of them shared the Appalachian Trail thru-h...
Episode #118 - Stephanie Lorenze (Sunshine)
November 15, 2018 10:02 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBFor many people, hiking the Appalachian Trail is the culmination of a lifelong dream. There may be issues that they don't want to face, they may be grieving the loss of somebody. For many, the trail is spiritual in nature. For Stephanie Lorenze, eating unlimited pizza was her initial motivation. Despite this unlikely catalyst, Stephanie grew to love the trail and everything on it. She faced doubters at the outset, yet she pushed on, confidence growing in her own abilities to complete the jo...
Episode #117 - Camino De Santiago (Days Thirty-one to Thirty-three)
November 12, 2018 08:00 - 24 minutes - 19.8 MBWith just two days and about 32 miles left, Steve and Emma just had to contend with the torrential rain to get to Santiago. While the journey proved to be a spiritual experience for many, the Pilgrim mass at the end was spectacular in its gravity and grave in its spectacle. The incense burner heightened those thoughts as it seemed to crash through the long aisles. After 32 days and nearly 500 miles, our two adventurers made it to their ultimate destination, cold, wet, but ...
Episode #116 - Camino De Santiago (Days Twenty-eight to Thirty)
November 08, 2018 08:00 - 29 minutes - 23.8 MBIt’s been a tough few days since Steve found out that he’d miscalculated the miles per day required to finish by this Friday. Emma and Steve have stepped up their mileage to make up for the mistake. The two travelers have been responding to the kilometer markers by shouting down the reducing distance to Santiago. One of the lasting memories of this trip will be the convivial meetings between pilgrims, with beers and coffees shared over conversation. Steve and Emma enthusi...
Episode #115 - Camino De Santiago (Days Twenty-four to Twenty-seven)
November 05, 2018 08:00 - 28 minutes - 23.2 MBWith almost 400 miles to their credit, Emma and Steve can hardly believe the luck they’ve had with the weather. Even where it has snowed there still seems to be a pristine path for them both. Steve’s favorite day was last Friday, when the two of them went through Ponferrada. The castle that greeted them in the early morning sun was a surprise and a treat. As the day went on, the two of them knew that they were on the verge of a 20-mile day. That prospect is made much easi...
Episode #114 - Camino De Santiago (Days Twenty-one to Twenty-three)
November 01, 2018 07:00 - 23 minutes - 19.3 MBWith Steve and Emma now firmly choosing to hike and stay at hotels as opposed to auberges, the hunt for bargains is on. Luckily, Steve is ready for the task! The weather has been threatening for several days but our hikers seem to be leading blessed lives and avoiding the worst of the weather. After several cold and potentially wet days, the weather looks set for the next five days. People continue to brighten every day with a shared camaraderie that often finds friends in...
Episode #113 - Camino De Santiago (Days Seventeen to Twenty)
October 29, 2018 07:00 - 28 minutes - 23.2 MBThe injuries continue but the Meseta is nearly done. Now, with less than 200 miles to go, there is snow on the horizon. We’ve had beautiful sunrises, spooky moon settings, and even a Cider Guy. Steve received a picture tonight of the settling snow several miles ahead, so he and Emma, even though they’ve reached León, still need to tread carefully in the coming days. The Meseta has been a dour place to traverse, so it was an excellent diversion to meet and b...
Episode #112 - Camino De Santiago (Days Fourteen to Sixteen)
October 25, 2018 07:00 - 20 minutes - 16.7 MBWith about 50 miles for the past three days, Steve and Emma have been making their way through the Meseta, finding gems like the town of Hontanas and its gloriously lit church. Their middle was all about the beauty of Castrojeriz and the way it dominates its surroundings. The weather is also starting to turn, with frigid temps in the mornings and fears of snow in the near future. If you’d like to communicate with Steve, please email him at Steve@mightyblueontheat...
Episode #111 - Camino De Santiago (Days Ten to Thirteen)
October 22, 2018 07:00 - 30 minutes - 42 MBWith a need to up their mileage, Steve has set a target of 15.45 miles a day to get to Santiago. They take regular breaks for coffee and beer on the way and recently saw this charming mobile bar. The weather hasn’t been great for the past few days, though they have by and large avoided any substantial rainfall. This reduces their opportunities for longer views, though a clearing cloud revealed this on Saturday. While often hiking alongside one another, Emma’s pace often t...
Episode #110 - Camino De Santiago (Days Seven to Nine)
October 18, 2018 07:00 - 22 minutes - 18.5 MBThis week, Emma gets stuck in an elevator, a red squirrel gets way too close for comfort and Steve continues his transformation into Old Father Time. All the while, Steve and Emma continue to get into the rhythm of their hike. They ache a little bit more and they whinge and moan a little bit more but, underneath it all, they are improving with every day and planning an even faster hike. Emma now wants to be at Santiago by November 10, so Steve has set a tougher schedule to ...
Episode #109 - Camino De Santiago (Days Two to Six)
October 15, 2018 07:00 - 36 minutes - 29.3 MBOur two intrepid adventurers have been on the trail for six days and have fallen a day behind schedule. They have sustained injuries, aches, and pains but continue westward towards Santiago. They have met fellow travelers, shared meals with others, and spent time together over a few beers, red wine, and brandy. They even met up with their very own ghost. This trail isn’t the walk in the park that some people seem to believe. The miles still need to be hiked, and the climbs...
Episode #108 - Camino De Santiago (Days One and Two)
October 11, 2018 07:00 - 13 minutes - 11.4 MBThis is something of an experimental podcast. We're trying out several ways of doing this so the sound won't be perfect but it should be listenable. Steve is on his way and finding it far tougher than he had ever imagined. Things can only get better!
Episode #107 - Deanna McGregor (Mary Poppins)
October 04, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 68.5 MBThis is a kind of crossover episode that keeps many of the "usual" parts of the Mighty Blue show but incorporates and transitions us over to the Camino show. Deanna McGregor hiked the Camino in 2017 as a truly spiritual experience and returned this year with her sons, 12-year-old Daniel and 16-year-old Jonathan. We speak twice with Deanna; once prior to her setting out, when she tells us about her evolution as a hiker and her experiences on the Camino last year. Once she had returned from ...
Episode #106 - Tenny Ostrem and Claire Wernstedt-Lynch (Aspen and Eleven)
September 27, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBFor Claire and Tenny, hiking the CDT had been an ambition but they soon decided that they needed to do something else. Between the two of them, they hatched a plan to walk the entire length of the Southern Border of the US, stretching from San Diego in the west to Brownsville and the Gulf of Mexico in Texas to the east. Here's Claire. With no defined trail, the two of them set out to make their way and learn about the issues on both sides. It was an eye-opening experience for both women...
Episode #105 - Cindy Ross
September 20, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 61.4 MBAs a writer, Cindy Ross must be feeling fulfilled. She has published seven books about hiking and educating in the outdoors. However, it is as a hiker that she established her bona fides to write these books. She has completed the Triple Crown and realized the value of educating her children while on these trails. Memorably, Cindy and her husband, Todd Gladfelter, spent five summers completing the Continental Divide Trail with their two children–on llamas. Cindy's bio says "Cindy and her ...
Episode #104 - Ben, Kami, Dove, Seven, Eden, Memory, Filia, and Ranier Crawford
September 13, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 72.5 MBThe story of the Crawfords has been one of the most prominent Appalachian Trail stories of the year. Their seemingly quixotic adventure didn't seem in the least bit strange to them. After all, they had been hiking as a family for some years so the AT appeared to be a natural extension to that as they tried to capture one last hike together before the children started to leave home. As YouTube viewers, this adventure divided us, with some critics castigating Ben and Kami, while others embrac...
Episode #103 - Jennifer Pharr Davis (Odyssa)
September 06, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBJennifer Pharr Davis is a woman on a mission. She wants to get people into the outdoors and, not only does she want to do it, she actually gets it done. Her Blue Ridge Hiking Company provides guided trips into the woods and over mountains, bringing many people who would never have considered going onto a trail before they came to her. She has hiked over 14,000 miles of long-distance trails all over the world, including what was then the Fastest Known Time on the Appalachian Trail of 46 days...
Episode #102 - Will Ransom (Bear Spray or Ever Changing)
August 30, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 79.5 MBI met Will Ransom at Trail Day in 2017 and was impressed by the bond that he shared with his dog, Rhetta. I'd hoped to interview him for the show but lost his details, only to find them recently when I moved home. Will was a fascinating guy to talk with as he had strong views on how to care for your dog when on a trail. He had told me at Trail Days that he intended to summit Katahdin with Rhetta, but experience, other people, and his good nature prevailed. So, Will had to flip up to Katahdi...
Episode #101 - Pat Coate (Tee Bird)
August 23, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 86.3 MBFor the second week, I'm reminiscing with the two people I was closest to on the trail. Last week, Ken Hall closed out the first 100, so the NEXT 100 shows start off with Pat Coate, or Tee Bird. I met Pat earlier than Ken. I was nursing an injury after about 1200 miles and ran into her and her fellow hikers. We started chatting and all felt the need for a beer, so we hitched a lift in a fruitless search for one. We just found ice cream but I found a friend. Pat was then often hiking near me...
Episode #100 - Ken Hall (Lighterknot)
August 16, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 81 MBFor our 100th episode and, indeed, for our 101st, I have two friends with whom I finished the trail. Next week, it will be Pat Coate, or Tee Bird. This week, Ken Hall, or Lighterknot, joins us to tell us how the Class of 2014 affected him. We have a wide-ranging and definitely nostalgic chat about the time we spent together. In the interview, our laughter was incessant and proved how easily we picked up with one another again. Ken was supported on his 2014 journey by his wife, Deb, who was ...
Episode #99 - Stephanie White (Ultra Runner)
August 09, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 63.7 MBStephanie White is new to hiking, yet she is already an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker. Her main discipline is the seemingly crazy sport of ultra running and, with three 200-mile races to compete in this year, she looked around for something to prepare her for the races. Choosing the Appalachian Trail as a five-month warm up may seem excessive to some, but Stephanie discovered far more than her endurance once she'd immersed herself in the trail culture. If you'd like to read Stephanie's blog...
Episode #98 - Tom Kennedy (Doinit)
August 02, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 55.9 MBTom Kennedy hasn't been a hiker all his life; indeed, he came to it relatively recently. He has found a way to foster his love of hiking and hikers by raising money for those suffering from mental health issues. When he discovered the various trails of America he took on the Florida Trail, completing the whole thing other than 20 miles south of Miami. As he says, he spent WAAAY too much time slogging through water. Eventually discovering that he could live happier but financially poor...
Episode #97 - Cathryn Pugh (Sunshine)
July 26, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBHiking the Appalachian Trail is a daunting undertaking for people with no medical issues. For those who rely upon their medication, the AT can be logistically challenging. Cathryn Pugh didn't let that get in the way once she decided to do a thru-hike in 2017. Her sunny disposition and can-do attitude are inspiring–even to the extent of convincing somebody else to tackle the trail next year. We'll be speaking with that person as well. Cathryn learned a life-affirming lesson on the trail–she...
Episode #96 - Kim Shaffer (Echo)
July 19, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 60.7 MBThere are many reasons to want to hike the Appalachian Trail. Few have the history of the trail literally in their blood in the way that Kim Shaffer does. The family have all been hikers and Kim harboured the desire for a thru-hike years ago. The fact that her Great Uncle was the first EVER thru-hiker of the AT, added to that desire. She started her Flip-Flop (or OBO) at Penn Mar Park to avoid the dreadful flooding around Harpers Ferry and is now in Massachusetts. Along the way, she has lea...
Episode #95 - Anna and Branden Jones (Sweet Tea and Moose)
July 12, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBAnna Jones wrote to me a few months back to thank me for the various shows and our guests. Anna and Branden were planning a flip-flop, starting in May, so I asked her if they would like to be interviewed for the show once they had 500 miles under their feet. They are now in Vermont, getting ready for the AT's biggest and, in my opinion, best challenges–New Hampshire and Maine. Our interview was a delight, with stories and perceptions–including encounters with a few of our previous guests–mi...
Episode #94 - Mike Piatt (Grinder)
July 05, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 58 MBMike Piatt is a LASH, which is an acronym that Mike will explain in the show. He is shortly to complete his third full thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, done in 500-1000 mile sections over the years. He is a very sociable guy, relishing his encounters with a wide variety of hikers and tells many stories of his adventures over the years. He doesn't look like he intends to slow down anytime soon. You can email Mike at [email protected] if you'd like to ask him any questions about hi...
Episode #93 - George Andrews (Tin Man)
June 28, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 78.6 MBGeorge Andrews has a deep love of hikers and hiking so, when he retired, he wanted to involve himself in the community. He had always been keen to keep the weight of his pack and everything in it as low as possible, so this led him to start a company in that field, AntiGravityGear. He refers to himself as a "tinkerer," teaching himself to sew and make gear for hikers since 2003. He has spent time on the John Muir Trail, The Camino in Spain and, of course, the Appalachian Trail. An AT thru-h...
Episode #92 - Joel "Buddy" Wier III (Nami)
June 21, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 61.2 MBBuddy Wier is something of a late bloomer. He became interested in hiking after his retirement, accumulating gear though not immediately getting out to hike. He had always been a traveler and soon combined his love of travel with the various opportunities that arose to hike. Having traveled extensively and hiking when and where he could, Buddy was inspired to hike the AT when he heard the inspirational Jennifer Pharr Davis speak about her FKT record. So, over the next couple of years, Budd...
Episode #91 - Linnea Van Manen (Shiver)
June 14, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 58.7 MBLinnea Van Manen struggled with Lyme Disease as a young girl and felt the effects through her teens. Lyme manifested itself by intense bouts of bursitis in her knees, so much so that a year before heading out to the Appalachian Trail for a solo thru-hike, Linnea was confined to a wheelchair for some of the time. She was a flip-flopper (or OBOer) and spread her hike over an eleven month period with seven months of hiking, much of it utterly alone. Despite all manner of incidents and occasion...
Episode #90 - Kayla McCarthy (Popeye)
June 07, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBKayla McCarthy, her father, and her mother set out to hike the Appalachian Trail in 2014. Only Kayla and her mother reached Katahdin as her father injured himself and had to leave the trail. As Kayla told her story I was struck by how much the dynamic of their hike had to change, with Kayla stepping up into a partnership with her mother, as opposed to being the daughter of a couple. The trail throws interesting conundrums at you as you hike and any observer of Kayla and Molly could see the p...
Episode #89 - Tom Healy (Toasted Toad)
May 31, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBThis week's guest, Tom Healy, is somebody who I hiked around for a while in 2014. He seemed so comfortable out in the woods that I assumed that he had been a lifetime hiker. It turns out that, like me, this was his first long-distance hike. Since he completed the Appalachian Trail, Tom has spent more and more of his life hiking longer trails and regards it as his lifestyle. As we spoke in this interview I found a few more similarities in our journey, but it was in the post-hike worlds that ...
Episode #88 - Eli Best
May 24, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 60.1 MBThis week, Eli Best tells me about the journey she took on the Camino De Santiago back in 2004. She had suffered a heart attack and organ failure several years before and the Camino was her way of testing herself in a life that had almost been written off. She shared the journey with an old friend of Steve's. Colin Bowles had moved to Australia as a teenager and found fame as an author while there, writing under the name of Colin Falconer. Their journey together was transformative in many w...
Episode #87 - Spencer Leebolt and Blaike Bateman (Pit Boss and Play By Play)
May 17, 2018 07:00 - 56 minutes - 52.2 MBSpencer Leebolt and Blaike Bateman have almost reached the halfway mark on the Appalachian Trail. Spencer is Blaike's stepfather and, although he had originally intended to hike the trail on his own, he took the opportunity to introduce Blaike to the trail for the adventure of his (early) lifetime. Blaike is just 14 years old. Steve found them to be very much a team, with each having the other's back. They have been videoing their journey, so you can keep up with them on YouTube at Batebol...
Episode #86 - Devan Horn (Shawty)
May 10, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBFor a hiking show, Devan Horn wouldn't normally belong. Yet this extraordinary woman, a long-distance runner and rider, chose to hike the Colorado Trail while her party of five other women did it on horseback. She was able to draw distinctions and comparisons between the two modes of transport and provides great insights. She also took part in two Mongol Derbys, with a third coming this year. Click on the link to see more details and wild video of this amazing race. When our conversation t...
Episode #85 - Art Donovan (CraftE)
May 03, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBA member of the Class of 2018, Art Donovan is fulfilling a dream that his mother had 50 years ago. With retirement came the desire to cross the AT off his bucket list, honoring both his mother and assisting her plight by raising funds for Alzheimer's Disease. He's even found the time to leave the trail to become an American Citizen. Art has had quite the adventure so far, sharing time with one of his daughters on the trail and saving the last 30 miles of the Smokey Mountains for his other d...
Episode #84 - James Smyle (Mayhem)
April 26, 2018 07:00 - 59 minutes - 54.8 MBThis weekend, April 28 and 29, the Flip Flop Festival will be held in the adjoining towns of Harpers Ferry and Bolivar, partly to celebrate the beginning of the outdoor season in Harpers Ferry but, more significantly, it is actively promoting flip-flop hikes as a viable, responsible approach to hiking the Appalachian Trail. James Smyle earned the name of Mayhem when he did his first thru-hike, back in the 90s, but the more laid back Mayhem went again in 2016, this time as a flip-flopper. He...
Episode #83 - Mike Carbonneau (Strummystick)
April 19, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBMike Carbonneau loves to play music on the trail. He is a section hiker who fell in love with hiking in his 50s. Since then, he has been taking on large sections as he makes his way towards a completion of the Appalachian Trail. He has combined this love of hiking with a love of music, organizing several trips to the trail with a group of like-minded young musicians. Mike usually uses a strumstick to entertain folks and three of his recordings are scattered throughout today's show. If you'...
Episode #82 - Daniel White (The Blackalachian)
April 12, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 62.1 MBDaniel White is something of a rarity on the Appalachian Trail. Black people are unrepresented on hiking trails and Daniel provides us with, perhaps, some of the unhappy reasons for that underrepresentation. He hiked in 2017 and found the trail to be an unexpected source of love and light. Daniel and Steve discuss what it feels like for a young black man to "go into the woods" and Daniel has a few stories to share that would be unlikely to be part of a white man's experience. As with most h...
Episode #81 - Ben Montgomery
April 05, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 63 MBWith so many future histories being made right now on the Appalachian Trail, Ben Montgomery brings us the story behind the story of Grandma Gatewood. Ben is a former Pulitzer Prize finalist and transitioned from journalist to writer when he discovered the tale of Grandma Gatewood. That she happened to be a distant relative didn't hurt his case. Ben and Steve discuss her life and hike in their conversation, as well as the human connection that Ben made with this indomitable woman. Ben has fo...
Episode #80 - Ben Barbante (Juan Durer)
March 29, 2018 07:00 - 1 hour - 68.1 MBJuan Durer has certainly earned his trail name. Once he had decided that living for now was far better than waiting for retirement, he has been a man on a mission. He hikes then moves on to the next hike. When Steve caught up with him, he was just two miles into another long-distance hike. He is rational, indeed intentional, with the life he is leading and his laugh comes easily and is contagious. Since he finished the AT in 2016, he has hiked in Japan, Australia, Africa, and done "a couple...