Backpacker Radio

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek, we are joined by Ben Crawford of the Crawford Family.  In 2018, Ben Crawford, along with his wife Kami, and their six kids, ages between two and sixteen years old, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail.  We learn all about the unique challenges of this undertaking, including how to keep kids spirits high when hiking in snow for over a month, what their gear system looked like, and how they handled a very mixed reception from the online hiking community.  This conversation also takes some wlid turns including how Ben and Kami were excommunicated from their Christian Missionary group, how he hit the jackpot as a blackjack card counter, and why he doesn't school his kids (either in the traditional sense or with homeschooling).   We wrap the show by announcing the winners of our big episode 100 giveaway, we have a triple crown of villains, and we get some horse facts, llama edition. OnX discount code: Use code: "Backpackerradio20" for 20% off at onxmaps.com. Greenbelly discount code: Use code: "TREK2021" to save 10% sitewide at greenbelly.co Goodr discount code: Use code “backpacker15” to save 15% on your first order at goodr.com/backpacker15 Check out Hikerlink.co to connect with hiker trash past, present and future. Interview with Ben Crawford  Instagram Youtube  2,000 Miles Together (Book)  Their AT documentary  Holy Rollers: The True Story of Cound Carting Christians 00:04:41: QOTD: What is your favorite crossfit lift?  00:10:00 - Welcome Ben Crawford of the Crawford Family 00:10:14 - Give us the full breakdown of how you got started on the AT 00:12:04 - Does the government have it’s own branded peanut butter?  00:14:00 - Did you have a family to look up to before starting the trail?  00:16:10 - Can you do a run through of the kids and their ages?  00:17:56 - Are you and your wife still religious?  00:18:46 - Why were you excommunicated?  00:20:15 - When you were excommunicated did you lose all of your friends? Or did you have friends outside the church? 00:21:25 - What led you to start questioning what was happening around you? 00:24:50 - When did you make the leap from realizing your kids were physically capable to deciding to hike the AT?  00:28:31 - When did you start the trail and when did you plan to finish?  00:29:20 - Can you tell us how cold it was in March when you started?  00:30:41 - What were the hikers around you saying seeing a family that big with temperatures that low?  00:32:14 - Were the kids carrying their own gear? What was your overall gear system and setup? 00:33:20 - What tent did you have for the kids?  00:37:30 - What is your strategy for keeping morale up for the whole family?  00:40:28 - What was your parenting style that created adventurous, outdoorsy kids?  00:44:20 - Is there any science to show that it’s bad for kids to over exert themselves at such a young age?  00:47:07 - Can you talk about CPS getting involved while you were out on trail?  00:49:51 - How did you deal with people talking about you online?  00:51:07 - What happened when the government was called?  00:55:00 - You think the person who called on you did so from youtube?  00:56:29 - What is unschooling?  00:58:21 - Do you think your rejection of institutions and institutionalization comes from your upbringing in the church?  00:59:32 - Can you talk about your career and entrepreneurial pursuits? What was your business life like prior to the trail?  01:04:14 - How do you get people to start black jack?  01:04:26 - Holy Rollers: The True Story of Cound Carting Christians 01:05:18 - Do people need a certain background to be good at black jack?  01:06:46 - So is it against house rules?  01:09:28  - Have you always been good at math? And what skills are required to execute this? And What is it?  01:11:07 - So you need learning money?  01:12:04 - What’s the advantage without counting cards?  01:14:25 - How do kids learn math when they are doing unschooling? Or other things that are essential to doing “life” things? 01:16:45 - What about reading?  01:17:28 - Do you  have any sort of confines for the kids? Are there things kids have to do during the day?  01:20:58 - Is it easier for you to give 45k for your kids to build a house after doing black jack?  01:22:15 - What happened with the kids and the house? 01:22:36 - Are you teaching them the carpentry skills, etc.? 01:24:40 - Do you have any framework for how you go about something like giving the kids a house?  01:28:22 - Can you tell us the Katahdin story and the conclusion to your hike?  01:33:40 - How can people budget for a thru-hike? Or go outside the confines of a 9-5 to fund a hike?  SEGMENTS Episode 100 Winner: Package 1 Winner: Justin Cornell Package 2 Winner: Meredith Snyder Package 3 Winner: Henk Humes Honorable Mention for Chuck Lopez for putting all the show intros together Trek Propaganda Backcountry Guide Killed in Grizzly Bear Attack Near Yellowstone by Tina Mullen The Top Down Jackets for Backpacking The Top Synthetic Jackets for Backpacking Triple Crown of Villains (Fire Season Prediction for 2021: Grim) 'This has never happened': California's only wildfire research center makes scary discovery Mail Bag  5 Star Reviews  [divider] Check out our sound guy @Paulybooyshallcross. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and  Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Jason Lawrence, Austen McDaniel, Andrew, Christopher Marshburn, S11N, Sawyer Products, Brad and Blair (Thirteen Adventures), and Cameron Brown. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Cynthia Voth, Brandon Spilker, Emily Brown, Jeffrey Miller, Mitchell, Zoe Jenkins, Dcnerdlet, Jeff LaFranier, Mark Snook, Peter Ellenberg, Thomas Fullmer, Jacob Northrup, Peter Leven, TraskVT and Lindsay Sparks.   

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are joined by Dr. Freeborn Mondello. Freeborn, who is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, explodes our brains with some non-conventional advice for hikers, backpackers, and really any endurance athlete. This includes why stretching might be a waste of time, the importance of heavy weight resistance training, and why the traditional 3 sets of 10 reps is going to be counterproductive to your goals- and yes those last two points are not contradictory. Whether you're training for a hike or simply want to maintain good health, you'll find this conversation fascinating- we sure did. We wrap the show with a triple crown of days of the week, a new gross or not gross, and some good innovating pee pants for people with vaginas.   OnX Backcountry discount code: Use code: "Backpackerradio20" for 20% off at onxmaps.com. Greenbelly discount code: Use code: "TREK2021" to save 10% sitewide at greenbelly.co Gossamer Gear discount code: Use code "POOPSTORY" to save 15% off your cart at GossamerGear.com Check out Hikerlink.co to connect with hiker trash past, present and future. Interview with Dr.Freeborn Mondello RunfreePT.com Instagram - @runfreept Youtube - RunfreePT Free consults over video or in person — runfreept@gmail.com 00:04:30 - QOTD: What’s an injury you have that always comes back?  00:06:47 - Welcome Dr.Freeborn Mondello!  00:07:43 - You’ve done multiple iron man races? What does that entail?  00:10:09 - What is the chafe situation like after a 2.4 mile swim and immediately hopping onto a bike? 00:11:12 - Where have you done your iron man races?  00:12:48 - Did you consider throwing in the towel on the 106 degree day?  00:15:02 - You’re a champion mountain biker? 00:16:10 - How do you go from excelling at a sport where you use high twitch muscles to a sport that uses slow twitch muscles? 00:17:46 - Have you had your muscle twitch fibers measured?  00:18:49 - Is there any science to support being able to switch your muscle fiber types?  00:19:57 - So you grew up in Silver City near Gila National Forest?  00:20:30 - So you’ve been familiar with the CDT for a long time?  00:22:01 - How did you get into physical therapy? 00:25:19 - Is there anything cool you learned why getting your doctorate that most people wouldn’t know or expect?  00:27:00 - How much of a role does neurology play in PT?  00:30:26 - Can you explain dry needling? 00:34:10 - So it’s really your nervous system sometimes telling you that you can’t do something rather than your muscular system? 00:36:30 - Would an orthopedic surgeon have a different take? 00:37:14 - How do the mechanics of dry needling work? How far in does the needle go?  00:40:12 - Can you tell us about the performance enhancing aspect of dry needling? 00:42:41 - Is there something about dry needling that would make it against the rules?  00:44:06 - Does dry needling have a place in the context of a thru-hike? If this is their first time, are those dice worth rolling? 00:46:51 - Is dry needling more effective for acute injuries or chronic ones?  00:48:27 - How long does dry needling last? How often do people have to come back?  00:52:20 - How does the central nervous system play a role in weight training overall?  00:55:49 - Pavel’s kettlebell training video and Rogan interview  00:56:26 - Can you define hypertrophy vs. strength training?  00:59:27 - Do the nutritional requirements differ in hypertrophy vs. strength training?  01:03:08 - What would your protocol be for someone getting ready to hike in a couple months?  01:09:40 - Can strength training work with things you have at home?  01:14:20 - Are kettlebells that different from dumbells?  01:15:44 - If you’re on an island and you can only bring one kettle bell with you, what weight is it?  01:17:06 - How long are you supposed to swing kettlebells for?  01:18:57 - Don’t just buy a kettle bell and start swinging! 01:20:20 - Why is 80% the ideal number for optimal strength training?  01:23:40 - Why is strength training important for endurance sports? Why is doing deadlifts helpful for someone going on a thru-hike? 01:26:17 - Is stretching helpful? What role does it play in endurance sports?  01:30:12 - Is foam rolling helpful? Balls that roll out your muscles?  01:32:08 - Is it possible that foam rollers or lacrosse balls do help people or is it a placebo effect? 01:34:37 - So stretching can help flexibility, but that doesn’t necessarily help injury prevention?  01:36:04 - Can you talk about the difference between mobility and flexibility? 01:37:33 - So tension can just be solved with various workouts?  01:38:48 - What should someone look for to find a good physical therapist or a good personal trainer?  01:42:54 - Is being stretched to your full capacity after ACL surgery advisable?  01:43:53 - How can you tell the difference between an injury you need to rest and a sore muscle you can just push through?  01:46:34 - How do you open hip flexors to reduce lower back pain?  01:48:32 - What is your youtube channel? RunfreePT (five way hip drive)  01:49:52 - What is the best way to prevent shin splints?  01:52:08 - What can people do to help prevent foot issues?  01:56:02 - Is it a good idea to ease into minimalist shoes before a thru-hike? 01:59:00 - So it sounds like strength is the solution?  02:02:10 - Where can people find you? RunfreePT.com Instagram - @runfreept Youtube - RunfreePT Free consults over video or in person — runfreept@gmail.com SEGMENTS Triple Crown of Days of the Week Gross or Not Gross?  Zach ate moldy beef sticks Chaunce drank Harper’s drool Mail Bag 5 Star Reviews  Special thanks to OnX by Backcountry. Shoutout to Pauly (our editor/beats guy) @paulyboyshallcross Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and  Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Jason Lawrence, Austen McDaniel, Andrew, Christopher Marshburn, S11N, Sawyer Products, Brad and Blair (Thirteen Adventures), and Cameron Brown. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Cynthia Voth, Brandon Spilker, Emily Brown, Jeffrey Miller, Mitchell, Zoe Jenkins, Dcnerdlet, Jeff LaFranier, Mark Snook, Peter Ellenberg, Thomas Fullmer, Jacob Northrup, Peter Leven, TraskVT and Lindsay Sparks. 

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek brought to you by OnX Backcountry, we are joined by Clara "Redfeather" Hughes.  Clara, in no uncertain terms, is a bonafide superstar.  In addition to a multitude of thru-hikes under her belt, Clara is a world-class speed skater and cyclist, being the only athlete in history to win multiple medals at both the summer and winter Olympic Games.  Let that sink in for a second.  We go deep on all the things you'd want to ask an Olympic superstar, including what her training regimen looks like, what it feels like to win a gold medal, and how much of a drunken orgy the Olympic village really is.  We also learn how her backpacking endeavors played a role in her Olympic career and why she attributes a portion of her success to her trekking.  We do a triple crown of Olympic sports (fittingly enough), how a professional tennis player stole our idea to sell our body parts in a non-prostitution sorta way (not that there's anything wrong with that), and a contentious patent pending. OnX discount code: Use code: "Backpackerradio20" for 20% off at onxmaps.com. Greenbelly discount code: Use code: "TREK2021" to save 10% sitewide at greenbelly.co Gossamer Gear discount code: Use code "POOPSTORY" to save 15% off your cart at GossamerGear.com Goodr discount code: Use code "backpacker15" to save 15% on your first order at goodr.com/backpacker15 [divider] Interview with Clara Hughes Clara’s Instagram Clara’s Website Clara's Book  [divider] 00:04:55 - QOTD: What is your favorite pizza? 00:08:36 - Welcome Clara Hughes! 00:14:51 - What is this Baja hike?  00:17:44 - How did you get into your Olympic career?  00:25:22 - So you first got into sport when you were 16 or 17, how old were you for your first Olympic games? 00:25:44 - When you were younger did you know you were gifted as an athlete? 00:25:55 - How did you go from not really doing sport to being an olympic athlete? What happened in the middle?  00:29:03 - So the Olympic medals came after the JMT revelation? 00:31:10 - What is the community of the Olympics in Canada? How does it even work getting into the Olympics? What does the system look like in the months outside of the Olympic games? 00:33:18 - How did the structure of the Olympic community help with your mental health struggles? 00:40:40 - Is there a part of you that does want to turn hiking into sport and try an FKT? 00:44:28 - Do you relay your story about mental health on trail?  00:48:55 - When are they going to make a movie about your life? Has anyone approached you about one? If not, why are they f*cking up? 00:52:41 - Why do you think thru-hiking is a bigger deal in the U.S.? 00:55:31 - Can you give a little background on the Great Divide Trail? 00:57:48 - How much crossover is there between speed skating and cycling?  01:00:18 - When did you realize you wanted to do Olympic cycling?  01:02:18 - Can you put in headphones in the Olympics? If not, what’s in your head?  01:05:03 - Has anyone tried to rig the spring part of the skate to make it super powerful? 01:06:28 - Where are the wipeouts more intense? Cycling or speedskating?  01:08:57 - Would you rather have a slicey bloody injury or an internal bone breaking injury?  01:10:47 - Are there photos of your sunglasses injury?  01:12:41 - What does it feel like to win a gold medal?  01:16:19 - Can you speak to the states of flow you get into competitively vs. training? 01:20:23 - Is Olympic Village as crazy as all the stories?  01:23:13 - Do you have any wild Olympic Village stories? 01:25:18 - Is the last day of the Olympics the biggest party day? 01:26:50 - Do you wear your medals all the time? 01:29:31 - Where should people go to keep up with you?  SEGMENTS Interview debrief Trek Propaganda Six Triple Crown Spots to Visit If You Can’t Thru-hike This Year by Eloise Robbins Triple Crown of Olympic Sports News from Off the Trail Patent Pending (Hangry App) Mail Bag 5 Star Reviews A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Jason Lawrence, Austen McDaniel, Andrew, Christopher Marshburn, S11N, Sawyer Products, Brad and Blair (Thirteen Adventures), and Cameron Brown. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Cynthia Voth, Brandon Spilker, Emily Brown, Jeffrey Miller, Mitchell, Zoe Jenkins, Dcnerdlet, Jeff LaFranier, Mark Snook, Peter Ellenberg, Thomas Fullmer, Jacob Northrup, Peter Leven, TraskVT and Lindsay Sparks.

In today's episode of backpacker radio presented by the trek, we are joined by Emily Ford.  Perhaps you've heard that name in the backpacking sphere of late, because Emily recently wrapped a thru-hike of Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail- in the dead of winter- becoming just the second person ever to do so, and the first woman.  We do a deep dive on Emily's journey, including what gear she used, the weather conditions (spoiler alert- it was cold as hell), how she had to knock on strangers' doors to ask if she could sleep in their yard, and how she managed this trek alongside a husky that did not belong to her.  This is a fun conversation. We wrap the show with a preview of The Trek's brand new podcast- Walking Distance, a Triple Crown of odd firsts, another edition of backpacking advice of the day, and some history of how North Carolina's tallest mountain played a role in the death of the person its named after. But first. Gossamer Gear discount code: Use code "POOPSTORY" to save 15% off your cart at GossamerGear.com Greenbelly discount code: Use code: "TREK2021" to save 10% sitewide at greenbelly.co Reel toilet paper discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER" to save 25% at reelpaper.com Check out Hikerlink.co to connect with hiker trash past, present and future. Interview with Emily Ford Emily’s Instagram 00:04:42 - QOTD: Do you like backpacking in the winter? Or what’s the worst part of hiking in freezing temperatures?  00:08:00 - Welcome Emily Ford 00:08:20 - Where are you from originally and how and when did you get into backpacking? 00:09:54 - Did you hear what happened on Lake Superior?  00:10:23 - What kind of stuff did the people who were fishing lose?  00:10:57 - Why don’t we hear your Minnesotan accent? 00:11:07 - What’s the best accent you’ve got? 00:12:13 - When did your intro into hiking and backpacking begin? 00:14:02 - How much do you think rugby helped you train you for backpacking? 00:15:37 - Did your rugby coach’s mantra play in your mind as you hiked?  00:16:18 - What made you want to do a winter thru-hike? 00:17:25 - Did you feel like it was a hard adjustment to backpacking after being used to quicker movements with rugby? 00:19:34 - How do you get into powerlifting? 00:22:03 - Did powerlifting help with carrying such a heavy pack for winter backpacking? 00:23:17 - Can you give us the full spiel about the Ice Age Trail and what you just accomplished? 00:24:37 - You’re the first woman and second person ever to winter thru-hike the Ice Age Trail, correct? Does that speak to the difficulty of the feat or the difficulty of being out in that cold of weather? 00:25:39 - What’s the terrain like on the Ice Age Trail? Also you finished in 69 days?! Nice. 00:27:04 - Was it difficult technically or more like rolling hills? 00:28:09 - Had you hiked much of the trail in summer? 00:28:48 - When did you have snow shoes on the trail? 00:29:42 - What was this Wisconsin winter like? How cold was it? 00:31:17 - Did your dog sleep with you in your sleeping bag? 00:32:14 - What’s a musher? 00:33:30 - So the kennel just let you borrow a dog for the winter? 00:34:59 - How did Diggins respond to thru-hiking in winter?  00:36:36 - So Diggins was melting the snow underneath her as she slept? 00:36:59 - Was Diggins pulling her gear or your gear?  00:37:59 - Diggins was on leash in all your photos, can you talk about that? 00:39:39 - Do you think Diggins stayed near you because she began to trust you? 00:40:00 - What was it like giving Diggins back to her family? 00:41:00 - Does Diggins live close enough to visit?  00:41:38 - What kind of challenges were there with bringing a dog?  00:43:19 - Did Diggins get town food too? 00:43:33 - Did you get to go to any fish fries?  00:44:07 - What was your lodging situation while on trail? 00:45:16 - So you have friends all throughout Wisconsin? 00:46:24 - What is it like when you get to town? How do you pick which door you are going to knock on?  00:47:53 - How many times did you cold knock on people’s doors? 00:48:31 - Were people familiar with the Ice Age Trail?  00:49:05 - Are these people who let you sleep in their yard interacting with you at all?  00:49:22 - At what point did you start to get fan fare?  00:51:29 - Do you have any dream sponsors?  00:52:30 - Can you talk about your gear?  00:55:00 - How did your sleeping bag pack?  00:58:14 - What were you wearing while you were hiking? 00:59:46 - Did you have down or synthetic gear? 01:01:18 - Do you have leftover issues from frostbite on your butt? 01:02:08 - Would snow pants have been too hot?  01:04:19 - Were your shoes waterproof?  01:04:54 - Did you have gaiters?  01:06:04 - Did you keep hand warmers in bags to keep them working? 01:06:32 - What kind of eyewear did you have?  01:06:55 - Did you use trekking poles?  01:11:25 - Can you speak to being a black, LGBTQIA+ hiker? 01:13:42 - Have people messaged you that they are inspired by your journey? 01:14:44 - What’s next for you? 01:15:25 - Have you been in touch with Renee Patrick at all? 01:17:06 - Did you struggle with feeling stir crazy and bored and not being able to talk to other people? 01:19:08 - How did processing things while hiking interface with your journey? 01:21:02 - Can you talk about your job as head gardner? 01:22:13 - Where can we find you? What can we plug? 01:22:36 - What’s a goat apprentice? 01:23:00 - Did your dog know you were cheating on him while hiking with Diggins? 01:23:53 - Do you have any fun goat facts? 01:24:41 - So older goats don’t get mad at the younger goats when they bounce on them? 01:25:28 - If you are stranded on an island would you prefer goat or cow cheese?  01:26:38 - Why do people not drink more goat milk? SEGMENTS Trek Propaganda Walking Distance Podcast Triple Crown of Firsts Random Backpacking Advice…of the day. Mile by Mile Excerpt Mail Bag  5 Star Reviews A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Jason Lawrence, Austen McDaniel, Andrew, Christopher Marshburn, S11N, Sawyer Products, Brad and Blair (Thirteen Adventures), and Cameron Brown. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Cynthia Voth, Brandon Spilker, Emily Brown, Jeffrey Miller, Mitchell, Zoe Jenkins, Dcnerdlet, Jeff LaFranier, Mark Snook, Peter Ellenberg, Thomas Fullmer, Jacob Northrup, Peter Leven, TraskVT and Lindsay Sparks.

Today is our centennial show, and oh boy, is it a beast. For starters, as a thank you to you, our beautiful listeners- we are giving away some awesome prizes, including a Gossamer Gear tent, pack, and trekking poles- but really that just scratches the surface.  We're chatting with Jennifer Pharr Davis and Brew Davis about their current COVID Recovery Tour- a family road trip touring the national parks, and a concerted effort to both prioritize their mental health and inspire others to do the same.  In hilarious Hiker Trash fashion, the Davis fam conducts this interview from their hotel room's bathroom floor, because, kids. We wrap the show with a wild and somewhat inebriated series of segments- including some newbies such as Never Have I Ever backpacking edition, Gross or Not Gross, and Random Backpacking Advice of the Day.  And to really crank this one to 11, the segment portion of the show features our bud and resident yeti, Jabba aka The Real Hiking Viking aka Tom. Strap in. [divider] Listen   Download this episode. [divider] Gossamer Gear discount code: Use code "POOPSTORY" to save 15% off your cart at GossamerGear.com Greenbelly discount code: Use code: "TREK2021" to save 10% sitewide at greenbelly.co Reel toilet paper discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER" to save 25% at reelpaper.com. My Medic visit  discount code: Use code: "BACKPACKER25" to save 25% at mymedic.com [divider] Interview with Jennifer Pharr Davis & Brew Davis Jennifer Pharr Davis’s instagram Brew Davis’s instagram Jennifer Pharr Davis’s Facebook Brew Davis’s Facebook Jennifer Pharr Davis’s Website  Blue Ridge Hiking Company Brew Davis on Spotify 00:05:04 - QOTD: If your belly button was a real button, what would you want it to do? 00:08:00 - Explanation for winning prizes!  00:14:05 - Interview with Jennifer Pharr Davis and Brew Davis 00:15:00 - What is your most recent book?  00:16:53 - Where are you right now? What are you drinking? And what are you drinking it out of?  00:18:00 - You’re drinking what out of a what?  00:19:15 - Give us a brief intro on Blue Ridge Hiking Co. and how things have gone with COVID? 00:23:18 - The outfitter is new then?  00:24:10 - Can you talk about the President’s Council? 00:26:45 - Is there a certain time they add or remove people from the President’s Council? 00:28:00 - You serve (or served) on the board for the ATC? What is that like?  00:33:48 - What has it been like being a parent to two kids during the heart of COVID? 00:40:13 - Can you talk about what the National Parks tour is?  00:47:47 - What part of the tour is for work? 00:53:23 - How are your kids doing? Who is this trip for?  00:57:25  - How has COVID impacted your screen policy? 01:04:40 - How did you do the schedule for the National Parks tour?  01:06:00 - How do you stay on top of the changes with the pandemic and everything?  01:08:35 - Where in the tour are you now? Where have you visited?  01:12:17 - Can you tell a story about Al Capone and Hot Springs? 01:13:47 - Do you set goals based on your kids hiking desires? How do you choose which treks you take on? 01:23:53 - Do you have any parting words of wisdom for us?  01:26:53 - Where should people go if they want to keep up with the National Parks Tour?  SEGMENTS Trek Propaganda The Best Backpacking Meals of 2021 by Katie Kommer New Writer Applications on The Trek  Zach's Assistant Internship Random Piece of Backpacking Advice of The Day Gross or Not Gross   TRIPLE CROWN of band names Never Have I Ever 5 Star Reviews Prize package 1: Gossamer Gear The One Shelter, $100 gift card at Backcountry.com, 2 pairs of Goodr shades (upcoming advertiser), a 5-meal sampler from Greenbelly, a signed copy of Appalachian Trials or Pacific Crest Trials and Hiking from Home, a Trek Hat, AND A BPR STICKER Prize package 2: Gossamer Gear Gorilla Pack, $100 gift card at Backcountry.com, 2 pairs of Goodr shades (upcoming advertiser), and a 5-meal sampler from Greenbelly, a signed copy of Appalachian Trials or Pacific Crest Trials and Hiking from Home, a Trek Hat, AND A BPR STICKER Prize package 3: Gossamer Gear LT5 Poles, $100 gift card at Backcountry.com, 2 pairs of Goodr shades (upcoming advertiser), a signed copy of Appalachian Trials or Pacific Crest Trials and Hiking from Home, a Trek Hat, AND A BPR STICKER A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Jason Lawrence, Austen McDaniel, Andrew, Christopher Marshburn, S11N, Sawyer Products, Brad and Blair (Thirteen Adventures), and Cameron Brown. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Cynthia Voth, Brandon Spilker, Emily Brown, Jeffrey Miller, Mitchell, Zoe Jenkins, Dcnerdlet, Jeff LaFranier, Mark Snook, Peter Ellenberg, Thomas Fullmer, Jacob Northrup, Peter Leven, TraskVT.

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are joined by Patricia Cameron. Patricia is a journalist, thru-hiker, and the Founder and Executive Director at Blackpackers, a non-profit whose mission is to eliminate economic disparities of people of color in outdoor recreation.  We chat in-depth about Patricia's Colorado Trail thru-hike last year, including what it was like to hike during a pandemic, how much she enjoyed the hiker trash camaraderie, some of her favorite stops along the trail, and more.  We also learn about the origin of Blackpackers, some of the challenges and successes she's had in building it, and the impact she's with the Colorado POC community so far.  We wrap the convo with some very important Breaking Bad chat and what it's like to pee yourself. The show closes with a triple crown of animals you don't want to see on trail, we ponder how badly we want to explore the universe, Badger opines about why Altra is losing ground with the thru-hiking community, and we get a taste for a new podcast project courtesy of our very own, Ms. Juliana Chauncey. Gossamer Gear discount code: Use code "POOPSTORY" to save 15% off your cart at GossamerGear.com Greenbelly discount code: Use code: "TREK2021" to save 10% sitewide at greenbelly.co Reel toilet paper discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER" to save 25% at reelpaper.com. My Medic visit  discount code: Use code: "BACKPACKER25" to save 25% at mymedic.com   [divider] Interview with Patricia Cameron  COBlackpackers.com Patricia’s Twitter Patricia’s Instagram Blackpackers Instagram Blackpackers Facebook Patricia’s blogs on Backpacker.com about her CT hike 00:05:00 - QOTD: What are your spring hiking plans? 00:07:58 - Welcome Patricia Cameron of CO Blackpackers! 00:08:27 - How did you get into the outdoors/backpacking?  00:09:48 - Did the green vested guru have any hesitancy for showing you how to set up the tent?  00:10:46 - Are you originally from Colorado Springs? 00:11:05 - When did writing about backpacking become part of the equation? 00:12:58 - Were you at Outdoor Retailer on behalf of CO Blackpackers? 00:14:22 - Can you talk about your journalism background? 00:15:27 - Are you a football fan? 00:17:11- How did Blackpackers correlate with the CT (timing wise)?  00:17:46 - Can you explain Blackpackers for people who don’t know? 00:20:19 - What regions of Colorado does Blackpackers work with? 00:21:04 - Can you talk about the evolution/growth of Colorado Blacpackers over the last year? 00:24:55 - Can you talk through where your head was at with starting the trail? 00:26:19 - Did you choose to hike the Colorado Trail based on the pandemic?  00:27:00 - How did your son feel about you hiking the trail? 00:29:24 - How much lightning did you have to deal with on your hike?  00:30:34 - What did you do when you were stuck in the storm? 00:34:22 - Can  you talk about the hiker camaraderie and what your expectations were going into the hike? 00:36:08 - How many people were you seeing on the Colorado Trail? 00:37:14 - Can you speak to the night when someone said “whiskey” and you decided to camp with them? 00:39:30 - Did you enjoy the towns on the CT?00:40:24 - You had some great town stays besides Breckenridge — can you talk about Salida? 00:42:47 - What’s your go-to when you go into town? 00:43:45 - Was there a standout meal on the trail? 00:44:56 - Were you taking notes every night? 00:45:45 - Did you ever bring drinks with you on the trail? 00:51:00 - Can you talk about your gear? 00:54:10 - Did you accept yourself during the hike or before?  01:00:30 - Can you talk about your pacing? You are a self-described slower hiker? Can you speak to the pace you did it in? 01:02:33 - Did you do any of the side trails or 14ers on the trail? 01:03:10 - Do you have a favorite location from the Colorado Trail?  01:06:11 - How many people do you think Blackpackers has brought outside so far?  01:07:40 - Did you feel like you were successful in reaching people outside of the hiking world through other venues (like skiing)?  01:09:18 - Are you a big Breaking Bad fan? 01:10:00 - Who from Breaking Bad would be best at thru-hiking? 01:10:17 - Who would you like to thru-hike with?  01:11:40 - Can you speak to the mentality some people have that there isn’t a race boundary in the outdoors? 01:15:25 - What are some of the biggest challenges you are facing with running and starting Blackpackers?  01:16:20 - If people want to help but aren’t local where can they go and what can they do? Donate at COBlackpackers.com Volunteer  01:17:33 - Can you speak a little more about the specific NOLS course you went on? 01:18:41 - Does that inform the kind of courses you’ll be leading? Does NOLS help with certifications? 01:27:40 - Lots of potty talk  01:30:14 - Upcoming trips you are excited about personal or with Blackpackers?  01:31:57 - What’s harder — hiking the Colorado Trail or raising a teenager? SEGMENTS Trek Propaganda 5 Reasons Why I Chose to Flip-Flop the Appalachian Trail by Austin Hays Triple Crown of animals you don’t want to confront on a hike Reddit Brain Buster  If an alien offered you a one week trip across the galaxy and back with the catch being 15 years passes on Earth, would you accept or reject the offer and why? Follow-up: As an alien your goal is to ruin life for all of the earthlings as much as possible. However, you only have time to do one thing. What do you do? One-Minute Gear Reviews Mile By Mile Podcast Teaser Mail Bag  5-Star Review  A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Jason Lawrence, Austen McDaniel, Andrew, Christopher Marshburn, S11N, Sawyer Products, Brad and Blair (Thirteen Adventures), and Cameron Brown. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Cynthia Voth, Brandon Spilker, Emily Brown, Jeffrey Miller, Mitchell, Zoe Jenkins, Dcnerdlet, Jeff LaFranier, Mark Snook, Peter Ellenberg, Thomas Fullmer, Jacob Northrup, Peter Leven, TraskVT.

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are joined by Eric Giuliani.  Eric, more or less on a whim, decided to trade his unfulfilling corporate job to circumnavigate the globe without taking a single flight. Yes, 70,000 miles by boat, train, and automobile, and- to make the story even more ridiculous- he relies largely on his very nascent photography skills to barter his way around the world.  We learn all about this massive adventure, including an in-depth accounting for how he pitched hotels to lodge in exchange for his services, how difficult it can be to lay low during high terror alerts as a 6'10" former collegiate basketball player, what it's like to spend several days on cargo ships without any form of entertainment, and more. We wrap the show with a quick chat about Trail Days 2021, a triple crown of things we'd do with a million bucks, and an absurd story about a bear biting a woman's ass in an outhouse. Reel toilet paper discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER" to save 25% at reelpaper.com. Gossamer Gear discount code: Use code "POOPSTORY" to save 15% off your cart at GossamerGear.com Good To-Go discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER25" to save 25% on your order and get free shipping on orders over $100 at Goodto-go.com. [divider] Interview with Eric Giuliani  Eric’s Book - Sky’s the Limit: One Man’s 70,000 Mile Journey Around the World  Sky’s The Limit trailer for Eric’s book  Eric’s Instagram  Eric’s Twitter Eric’s Youtube 00:05:07 - QOTD: What is a movie that inspires you or has inspired you to get outside? 00:11:02 - Where does your travel story start?  00:13:18 - Can you elaborate on why it’s better to hate your job than like your job?  00:15:31 - How did your finances and the philosophy of the travel itself interface with one another? 00:19:42 - So before you left you didn’t actually have the skills you were bartering? 00:23:59 - How far in advance were you booking places out (through bartering)?  00:26:15 - What was your success rate on reaching out to people? What goes into a good pitch for what you were trying to do?  00:28:21 - Did you ever feel any sort of imposter syndrome while doing this?  00:30:15 - Did your pitch start to work better once your portfolio got more built out? 00:32:30 - Did your pitch start to involve more video as you got better?  00:38:19 - Drones are the move. 00:39:28 - Can you share how you chose what destinations you chose? How you formatted the trip? 00:45:24 - Is it even more difficult to lay low as a westerner being 6’10”? 00:47:04 - You’ve mentioned that the bus rides are dangerous, can you explain some of the dangers they pose? 00:49:09 - Were there ever instances during these risky trips that put you on edge? 00:50:40 - Were you doing anything recreationally during the African leg of your journey? 00:52:39 - What happened after Egypt? 00:54:55 - How did you keep yourself entertained on a cargo ship? 00:56:00 - Were there any huge storms on cargo ships? 00:58:44 - Can you talk more about your Europe adventures? 01:04:13 - What were you traveling with? 01:05:35 - Did you buy new stuff as you went along? 01:07:12 - Who did you give the bartered jacket to? 01:08:06 - Were you good at pitching yourself in person before you left or did you hone the craft over the course of your journey? 01:09:11 - When you did pay for things did you ever negotiate? Did you ever haggle? 01:11:00 - What was the primary thread that you enjoyed about this trip? 01:13:33 - Where did you go after Beijing? 01:17:08 - Did you ever have a moment on the ships where you felt like it might sink? 01:19:15 - What does someone do in Antarctica? 01:23:00 - What is the place you are actually staying like? Can you describe the town or whatever it is? 01:24:20 - Do you have any general pieces of advice for anyone who’s interested in doing something similar?   SEGMENTS As Trail Days Moves Forward, Hikers Wonder About Safety by Tina Mullen  The Trek Editorial Internship  Gear Wars: Merino Wool vs. Synthetic Base Layers Katie Kommer  Reddit Brain Buster: What’s a fact that makes you uncomfortable? We’ll start — bones are wet. The strongest species on earth is the dung beetle. Triple Crown of things you would do with a million dollars* *must be selfish, not altruistic  5 Star Reviews Mail Bag  Alaskan Woman Attacked By Bear From Below  A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Jason Lawrence, Austen McDaniel, Andrew, Christopher Marshburn, S11N, Sawyer Products, Brad and Blair (Thirteen Adventures), and Cameron Brown. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Cynthia Voth, Brandon Spilker, Emily Brown, Jeffrey Miller, Mitchell, Zoe Jenkins, Dcnerdlet, Jeff LaFranier, Mark Snook, Peter Ellenberg, Thomas Fullmer, Jacob Northrup, Peter Leven, TraskVT.

In today's episode of backpacker radio presented by The Trek we are joined by Ben Lawhon the Director of Education and Research at Leave No Trace.  Not that Leave No Trace needs any introduction, as this is a framework we've spoken about countless times on the show and I'm guessing you were familiar with it before Backpacker Radio entered your lives, but this interview is incredibly important and we think you'll find surprisingly entertaining.  Not only do we go very deep on the proper way to shit in the backcountry including why poop soup is king, but we cover a range of topics including why something as seemingly small as tossing an apple core off the trail can have profound impacts, how social media interplays with Leave No Trace, and the best way to educate others who are in violation of LNT, including why saying nothing can sometimes be the best policy.  We're very sincere in saying that we think you'll find a lot of very interesting tidbits in our conversation with Ben. We wrap the show with a triple crown of 90s sitcoms, how we would handle a docile zombie apocalypse of stinky people, and a mailbag featuring the cinnamon connection invading people's dreams. Backcountry discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER15" to save 15% on your "first" purchase at Backcountry.com/backpackerradio. Gossamer Gear discount code: Use code "POOPSTORY" to save 15% off your cart at GossamerGear.com Good To-Go discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER25" to save 25% on your order and get free shipping on orders over $100 at Goodto-go.com. [divider] Interview with Ben Lawhon LeaveNoTrace.org 00:05:00 - QOTD: What is your biggest LNT non-compliant pet peeve?  00:07:30 - Introduction to Ben Lawhon 00:07:58 - How did you get into conservation? 00:11:07 - What were some of the things you learned in your LNT master course that sparked your interest?  00:13:04 - Is there a trick to instilling LNT ethics in people? Does you notice a correlation with thru-hiking?  00:17:30 - Can you speak to the difference on the AT between the 90’s and now from an LNT standpoint?  00:20:34 - How does a Leave No Trace principle come to be? What is the process for developing them?  00:25:06 - What was the Leave No Trace principle that got cut?  00:26:32 - Are there any instances of principles or techniques being removed?  00:29:28 - Do you ever get people who are frustrated when principles change? 00:31:26 - Does anyone have any failed shitput footage? 00:31:47 - Can you elaborate on plan ahead and prepare?  00:35:14 - What would you recommend to someone who is preparing for a short backpacking trip?  00:37:51 - Can you elaborate on the principle: Travel and camp on durable surfaces? 00:41:06 - When the trail is muddy, should you walk through the mud or go around it?  00:43:41 - Are you seeing increasing issues with people stepping off trail to take the perfect Instagram photo?  00:46:35 - Can you elaborate on the principle: Dispose of waste properly? 00:53:21 - Has the guidance on packing out your toilet paper changed? And does it vary by environment?  00:56:37 - So if your hole is the depth it should be it won’t get dug up? 00:57:24 - Should people cover up the toilet paper with their poop? 00:59:25 - Fact or myth: do menstrual fluids attract bears? 01:00:45 - When should people not bury their poop? 01:03:55 - When people are hiking with their dogs should they bury their dogs poop too? 01:04:10 - Do you know of any compostable diaper liners that you could bury?  01:06:56 - Can you chuck apple cores off into the woods? What is the leave no trace policy on it? What are the biggest problems?  01:10:00 - Can you talk about the leave what you find principle? 01:16:19 - Is there anything about carving into trees  you want to talk about?  01:19:18 - What is the leave no trace stance on cairns? 01:21:32 - Can you elaborate on the principle of minimizing fire impacts?  01:25:02 - You said no fires on the AT in Georgia?  Follow up from Ben on the subject:    See: https://www.georgia-atclub.org/hike-the-a-t/hike-the-georgia-appalachian-trail/frequently-asked-questions   Camping on the trail in Georgia Refer to the guide books for locations. There is camping at all of the shelters or you may camp at one of the many established campsites along the trail or stay in one of the shelters. Learn about and follow Leave No Trace principles and use areas already hardened by use. If you have a fire, please use existing fire rings and be sure your fire is dead out before leaving the area. Be acquainted with no-fire zones such as on Blood Mountain. Refer to the Chattahoochee National Forest website for news and information about fire restrictions that may be in effect.   01:29:31 - Do you think LNT will ever change it’s stance on campfire guidance?  01:32:10 - What about explosive gender reveal parties?  01:33:20 - Can you elaborate on the principle: respect wildife?  01:39:20 - What’s the proper way to approach someone who is violating Leave No Trace? 01:45:14 - How does that apply to online behavior?  01:48:39 - What is Leave No Trace’s social media recommendations on geotagging? 01:52:50 - Where can people go to learn more?  LeaveNoTrace.org   SEGMENTS Trek Propaganda  Trek Ambassadors  Badger Sponsorship is now CLOSED Triple Crown of 90s Sitcoms Reddit Brain Buster: You have an incredible night's sleep, wake up and the world is infested by zombies (9 out of 10 people). They are not lethal. Instead they're painfully boring, obsessed with politics and smell like off codfish. What do you do? Mail Bag  5 Star Review A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Jason Lawrence, Austen McDaniel, Andrew, Christopher Marshburn, S11N, Sawyer Products, Brad and Blair (Thirteen Adventures), and Cameron Brown. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Cynthia Voth, Brandon Spilker, Emily Brown, Jeffrey Miller, Mitchell, Zoe Jenkins, Dcnerdlet, Jeff LaFranier, Mark Snook, Peter Ellenberg, Thomas Fullmer, Jacob Northrup, Peter Leven, TraskVT.

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are joined by THE Survivorman, Les Stroud.  This interview does not disappoint.  We talk about Les' entry into the world of reality tv- and why he hates the genre overall, he talks a little bit of shit on Bear Grylls, we chat about some of his most precarious moments in the bush, and Les gives us a very compelling pitch on why Sasquatch is probably real. We wrap up the show wondering how we'd run amok if the world was frozen for 24 hours, we learn what Vinegrower's Day is, and I hate on lemon juice. Photo credit: Laura Bombier   Backcountry discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER15" to save 15% on your "first" purchase at Backcountry.com/backpackerradio. Good To-Go discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER25" to save 25% on your order and get free shipping on orders over $100 at Goodto-go.com. Feals.com discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER" for members to get 50% automatically taken off their first order with free shipping at feals.com. Interview with Les Stroud: Survivorman - Les’s Youtube - Les’s Podcast  - Les’s Book — Wild Outside - Les’s New Special — Surviving Disasters 00:05:19 - QOTD: What is the closest you’ve come to using (or have you used) extreme survival skills while backpacking? 00:12:45 - Intro to Les Stroud, how did you get started in the outdoors? 00:14:59 - Was TV inspiring you to get outdoors why you created Survivorman? 00:17:21 - How do you feel about reliance on cell phones for navigation? 00:19:20 - How did you background in music transition into your work in the outdoors?  00:24:38 - Do you know how much all your camera equipment weighs? 00:27:23 - Does it bother you to be mentioned in the same breath as Bear Grylls? 00:30:33 - Did you get to talk to Mike Judge about King of the Hill?  00:31:54 - What is the place you’ll never go? 00:32:12 - Can you talk about reality TV in general? Do you feel like you are being dragged down by the category? 00:36:20 - Can you tell us about the year long honeymoon project?  00:39:33 - Where can someone find Snow Shoes & Solitude? Or any of your stuff? Les’s Youtube 00:39:48 - So you own all the rights to your content?  00:42:20 - Can you give an introduction to the show and your vision of Survivorman? 00:44:25 - How far out there are you when you are filming shows?  00:52:04 - How do you decide where you’re going and how much prep goes into it?  00:56:20 - Les has a podcast: Survivorman with Les Stroud  00:57:23 - What was your favorite food you ever caught?  00:58:21 - Do you bring sleeping bags? Not even in the Arctic?  00:59:02 - How does turtle taste?  00:59:56 - Do you think you would have kicked ass on Fear Factor?  01:00:09 - Did you ever schedule your survivor experiences to avoid exposure/cliffs? 01:00:50 - What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?  01:02:46 - Can we talk about bigfoot?  01:03:11 - Is there an environment that is particularly hard?  01:05:55 - How did you know that beef fat was safe to eat even though it was old?  01:08:30 - Does fire get rid of most diseases and harmful things? 01:09:25 - Did it get more tempting to avoid failures as the show went on? 01:13:41 - What is bigfoot?  01:19:42 - So it’s not one bigfoot? It could be a species?  01:20:40 - Why are there so many people who have seen bigfoot but no game camera has picked it up? 01:24:11 - Do you think aliens is a likely theory for what bigfoot is? 01:25:16 - Could bigfoot be an alien? 01:25:31 - Would you describe yourself as a skeptic or believer?  01:27:22 - Thoughts on the lochness monster? Ghosts?  01:30:06 - You’ve experienced bigfoot? What did you experience?  01:30:38 - Can you tell us about your Surviving Disasters special? 01:31:27 - Les’s book Wild Outside is coming out March 1 01:32:00 - Surviving Life with Les Stroud podcast  01:32:44 - Everything is on Youtube SEGMENTS Trek Propaganda The Best Tents for Thru-Hiking by The Editors  Walking Distance Podcast by Alison Young  Reddit Brain Buster: Time freezes for 24 hours and you are not affected, what do you do? Chaunce's Diet Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Jason Lawrence, Austen McDaniel, Andrew, Christopher Marshburn, S11N, Sawyer Products, Brad and Blair (Thirteen Adventures), and Cameron Brown. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Cynthia Voth, Brandon Spilker, Emily Brown, Jeffrey Miller, Mitchell, Zoe Jenkins, Dcnerdlet, Jeff LaFranier, Mark Snook, Peter Ellenberg, Thomas Fullmer, Jacob Northrup, Peter Leven. Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and  Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube.

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are once again joined by Andy Downs of the ATC.  For those who might be unfamiliar, the ATC has been under a bit of heat of late for the news of their accepting a very large gift from the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a project they once opposed.  Andy gives us a thorough breakdown on the history of the project, why the ATC is no longer actively opposing it, and answers some of the common critical questions being lobbed in the ATC's direction.  We also dive into the subject of the ATC making the request for people to yet again postpone their thru-hikes on the AT in 2021, how the decision was arrived to, and some key considerations to make for those who are still dead set on hiking the Trail. Zach also outline why The Trek will not be closing the platform to thru-hikers this year, the duo talk about their ideal marriage partner and/or shapeshifter victims, and listeners are blessed with a trio of poop stories to close out the show. Backcountry discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER15" to save 15% on your "first" purchase at Backcountry.com/backpackerradio. Gossamer Gear discount code: Use code "POOPSTORY" to save 15% off your cart at GossamerGear.com Good To-Go discount code: Use code "BACKPACKER25" to save 25% on your order and get free shipping on orders over $100 at Goodto-go.com. [divider] Interview with Andy Downs of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy 00:05:30 - QOTD: Why did Chaunce have to reschedule the show? 00:06:39 - Welcome back to Andy Downs 00:08:00 - You mentioned not being the best thru-hiker can you explain? 00:09:52 - How many times have you been to prison?  00:10:05 - What is your title at the ATC? 00:11:00 - What power line issues were you dealing with yesterday? 00:12:04 - What was 2020 like for you and the ATC? 00:14:18 - What was trail maintenance like on the AT in 2020?  00:16:25 - What is the chain of command with trail maintenance clubs? What exactly does the ATC do? 00:19:20 - Does the ATC provide any funding? 00:20:42 - Does the ATC run the ridge runner program? 00:22:25 - Can you talk about how the Mountain Valley Pipeline history intertwines with the AT? 00:34:16 - Why is this big news all of a sudden? 00:35:36 - What is not being disclosed about the deal and why is that the case?  00:37:54 - Can you speak to the million-dollar bonus you got (joking)? 00:39:47 - Is the money going to go to rerouting in Virginia?  00:44:43 - As someone who fought the pipeline for a while can you understand why people are upset?  00:48:21 - Do you have to advocate for the deal now?  00:49:45 - What is your obligation to the advancement of the pipeline? 00:53:36 - Some people say you are incentivized to help finish the pipeline? 00:55:34 - What are the potential impacts of the pipeline?  01:03:05 - So what are the big downsides?  01:09:35 - Are there large environmental concerns? 01:11:14 - Are the ecosystems around the AT not also considered the ATC’s responsibility? 01:18:00 - Can you talk about the ATC’s stance on Covid-19? 01:27:24 - Does the ATC have any say in trail days?  01:30:18 - Have you had any feedback from trail towns asking you not to discourage hikers?  01:33:10 - What should people know? Where should they stay up to date? Project Planning Reference Materials   SEGMENTS Trek Propaganda Thru-Hiking in 2021, COVID-19, and The Trek’s Platform by Zach Davis  2021 Badger Sponsorship: A $20,000+ Gear Giveaway to Benefit the National Scenic Trails Reddit Brain Buster  You get to pick one person with a 50/50 chance that in the morning you’ll either wake up as them or married to them — who do you choose?  Mail Bag  5 Star Review   [divider] Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Jason Lawrence, Austen McDaniel, Andrew, Christopher Marshburn, S11N, Sawyer Products, Brad and Blair (Thirteen Adventures), and Cameron Brown. A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Cynthia Voth, Brandon Spilker, Emily Brown, Jeffrey Miller, Mitchell, Zoe Jenkins, Dcnerdlet, Jeff LaFranier, Mark Snook, Peter Ellenberg, Thomas Fullmer, Jacob Northrup, Peter Leven. Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and  Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube.