Trail Correspondents

There are many fascinating components to the thru-hiking lifestyle, none more so than the social dynamics a hiker will encounter during the course of this trek. Today our hikers give us a glimpse into the ways in which hikers group up on trail. We learn if they're hiking solo, with a partner, in a group and why, how the dynamics have evolved since the early days of their journeys, the friendships they've formed, how it's compared to their pre-trail expectations, and much more. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Check out Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials. In today's show, we hear from:  Frozen Katharine Rudzitis Missy and Jon Baatz Kenneth Pararo Melissa Glass Nancy Alexander Sarah Herman Zack Munsell Jazmin Ortega [divider] Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise or praise for Trail Correspondents?  Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Stitcher and Google Play. INSTAGRAM:

We hope you've got enough appetite to stomach another show about trail food, because today's edition is an all you can eat buffet of hiker fare. Our remaining PCT and CDT hikers weigh in on what their favorite trail foods are, what they're craving most, if they've been stricken with the notorious hiker hunger, how their food systems have evolved over the course of their hikes, and more. For anyone who's curious about how long distance backpackers manage their diets, this episode will provide plenty of food for thought. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Get a 10% discount off at northxnorth.co by using code "TREK10". In today's show, we hear from:  PCT HIKERS Karthikeya Nadendla Laura Stewart Julie Klazynski Liam Purtle Eric Dernbach & Alison Dernbach Angie Kane Check out our suggested PCT Gear List. CDT HIKERS Sara Dhooma Dosu [divider] Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise or praise for Backpacker Radio?  Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. Subscribe to

Food. It's is a subject of endless fascination to just about everyone. Even the most experienced hikers stand room for improvement with their backcountry menus. Rarely do I go a long stint on trail without picking up some sort of tip for how to enhance my hiker fare. This episode will be appealing to those who want to improve their on trail culinary skills or who are simply curious about what a hiker eats, what the vaunted hiker hunger is all about, and how tastes evolve over the course of a thru-hike. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Get a 10% discount off at northxnorth.co by using code "TREK10". In today's show, we hear from:  Frozen Katharine Rudzitis Amazing Grass Green Powder Missy Baatz Kenneth Pararo Melissa Glass Nancy Alexander Sarah Herman Zack Munsell Jazmin Ortega Related reading: My PCT Thru-Hike Diet & 3 Ingredient Backpacking Meals [divider] Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise or praise for Trail Correspondents?  Reach out to podcast

Gear. For some people it's their favorite topic in the world, for others, it results in a shoulder shrug and an eye roll. But whether you love or hate gear talk, there's no way around it: what you carry on your back, plays a big role in how much you enjoy your hike. More precisely, getting it wrong the first time, can be emotionally and financially draining. -Check out the full list of what our hikers changed in the show notes below- Today our hikers share what they've sent home, what they've upgraded- really an overall glimpse into their gear systems thus far. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Get a 10% discount off at northxnorth.co by using code "TREK10". In today's show, we hear from:  PCT HIKERS Karthikeya Nadendla Sent home Big Agnes Air Pillow, but is considering retrying on trail, or trying Sea to Summit Pillow Started with New Balance Summit Unknowns, swapped out for for Altra Timps after heel pain Laura Stewart Sent home cook set cup accessory Forwarded the lar

To prepare for a thru-hike is to spend months reading blog posts, watching videos, and following social media accounts trying to absorb as much information for your forthcoming journey as possible.  But even the most type A person can't completely envision what lies ahead on the trail- and thank god for that. That is precisely the premise of today's show.  Today our hikers let us in on how the journey has deviated from their expectations. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Get a 10% discount off at northxnorth.co by using code "TREK10".  In today's show, we hear from:  Laura Stewart Karthikeya Nadendla Julie Klazynski Liam Purtle Eric Dernbach Alison Dernbach Angie Kane Sara Dhooma Dosu Have any praise, questions, praise, comments, praise or praise for Backpacker Radio?  Reach out to podcast@thetrek.co. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!   Download this episode here. Find us on Stitcher and Google Play. INSTAGRAM: Follow Trail Corresponde

Today's episode was not supposed to happen.  At the beginning of the season, we outline the subjects in which we want our hikers to share with you. Today's show was not on that agenda. This episode is in response to the recent news of the murder that occurred on the Appalachian Trail. In the very early hours on May 11th, a pair of hikers were attacked by a man with a machete.  One of them survived, albeit with very serious wounds, the other, Ronald Sanchez known on trail as Stronghold, did not.  For the sake of not repeating myself, you can hear more details about this attack and my brief thoughts on this horrific incident in the intro of episode 38 of Backpacker Radio. For this show, however, we wanted to feature the take of our Appalachian Trail hikers, those who were out on the trail during this tragic event.  In the following recordings, they share how they found out about the news, and how it has impacted their hikes, along with that of their trail families.  Here it is. Check out The Trek's YouTube Cha

It's the subject which most aspiring thru-hikers dedicate the most time, energy, and money toward.  Yes, let's talk gear. We get an early look into our how our crew's backpacking gear is treating them. They share what they've sent home (if anything), if they've added anything new, if they have any regrets- really just an overall shakedown, a few weeks into their treks. This is a subject of deep passion to many of our listeners, so grab your pens and notepads, and get ready to scribble down some notes, because here comes some advice from those who've walked some of the walk. Check out The Trek's YouTube Channel. Leave us a review on iTunes. In today's show, we hear from:  Frozen Prefers Altra Lone Peak 3.5 over Lone Peak 4.0 Katharine Rudzitis Loves her Big Agnes tent and Osprey pack Switched from AWOL Guide to Guthook App Recommends ear plugs Missy Baatz Switched from hammock to tent- Big Agnes Tiger Wall 3 NeoAir XTherm and NeoAir Xlite Osprey Atmos 65L and Zpacks Arc Haul Kenneth Pararo Sawyer

As you likely recall, in episode 5, we got our first updates from the trail. Today we get our first trail update from our second group of hikers. More specifically we get a pair of updates. We first get a taste of where our hiker's minds are the night before they embark on their treks. This likely comes as no surprise, but this is a time when emotions are flowing like a fire hose. Whether it's excitement, anxiety, or a combination of the two, our hikers' long-awaited treks are just one bad night of sleep away. And the second recording comes from the end of their first day on trail, where they're given a blank slate to talk about whatever most inspires them. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Get a 10% discount off Hyperlite Mountain Gear's Windrider and Southwest by using code "TREK10" at hyperlitemountaingear.com. In today's show, we hear from:  Laura Stewart Karthikeya Nadendla Julie Klazynski Liam Purtle Eric Dernbach Alison Dernbach Angie Kane Sara Dhooma Dosu Lucas Wo

To prepare for a thru-hike is to spend months reading blog posts, watching videos, and following social media accounts trying to absorb as much information for your forthcoming journey as possible.  But even the most type A person can't completely envision what lies ahead on the trail- and thank god for that. That is precisely the premise of today's show.  Today our hikers let us in on how the journey has deviated from their expectations. Today's updates come from the same hikers you heard in the previous episode.  We're going to continue segmenting our hikers this way, grouped by embark date, rather than trail, to limit the delay of these recordings as much as possible.  This means you'll be getting updates from both the AT and PCT, and hearing from Frozen, Katharine, Missy, Kenneth, Melissa, Nancy, Sarah, Zack and Jazmin. Enjoy. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Get a 10% discount off Hyperlite Mountain Gear's Windrider and Southwest by using code "TREK10" at hyperlitemo

The shows leading up to today's served a necessary role. They introduced us to our 2019 hikers. We got to meet the vast array of personalities trekking across the country, and learn a good deal about the motives behind these epic journeys. But, I like to think that these entries were just this season's hors d'oeuvres. Today's show begins our main entree. Today's show features our first updates from the trail. In this episode, you'll receive a pair of entries from our Correspondents. The first actually comes the night before they hit the trail. This likely comes as no surprise, but this is a time when emotions are flowing like a firehose. Whether it's excitement, anxiety, or a combination of the two, our hikers' long awaited treks are just one bad night of sleep away. And the second recording comes from the end of their first day on trail, where they're given a blank slate to talk about whatever most inspires them. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Get a 10% discount off Hyper

A few weeks ago, I touched base with our correspondents to see what subjects they wanted to discuss before taking off for their hikes. As you may imagine, their responses were all over the map, as they are soon to be. Given they were due to hit the trail soon and their emotions were likely hitting a fever pitch, I gave them free rein to talk about whatever subjects were most top of mind for them. Today's show is our first wild card episode for season 2. The most prominent theme you will discern from today's show is the sacrifices our hikers had to make to pull their thru-hikes together.  As you can imagine, taking a half year off to walk is no simple task. We also hear about- the thing they've been too afraid to talk about publicly, that they'll be disclosing for the first time on this show. Their outlook on society at large and how thats influenced their desire to thru-hike. Finances. Other people's reactions. Life on the home front, and more. This show covers a lot of ground and elicits some raw emotion, an

Preparing for a thru-hike can be a maddening experience.  When it comes to overhauling your life to spend upwards of a half year, on foot, in the backcountry, where does one even begin to make sure they're crossing all of their ts and dotting all their i's prior to stepping foot on trail.  That is precisely the subject of today's episode. So- how are our hikers going about this process?  Let's find out.  First you'll hear from our Appalachian Trail hikers, follwed by our Pacific Crest Trail Hikers, Continental Divide Trail hikers, and Lucas, our American Discovery Trail Correspodent.  Enjoy. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PLAY | FIND US ON STITCHER Learn more about Appalachian Trials and Pacific Crest Trials.  In today's show, we hear from:  Nancy Alexander Frozen Missy Baatz Melissa Glass Kenneth Pararo Katharine Rudzitis Travis Laura Stewart Sarah Herman Karthikeya Nadendla Zack Munsell Julie Klazynski Jazmin Ortega Liam Purtle Eric Dernbach Alison Dernbach Angie Kane Sara Dhooma Dosu Lucas Woolf

This is episode two, part two, season two.  If you've listened to Backpacker Radio, you might be making assumptions about the subject of today's show.  But, lucky you, this one is not poo-themed.     Instead, we're going to meet the remainder of this season's trail correspondents.  Today's show will introduce you to our Appalachian Trail and Continental Divide Trail hikers.     In the interest of not repeating myself, I will quickly highlight our thinking in those we brought on for this year's show.  First, we wanted to feature primarily first time thru-hikers, as it's my belief that the during your first long distance trek, the highs are higher, and the lows are lower.  We wanted the emotion to jump through your headphones and/or speaker and into your soul.  Two, we wanted to feature a greater diversity of voice, to represent more communities, as the trail demographics tend to be rather homogenized.  We want to encourage as many people as possible to discover the magic of the backcountry- in a sustainable w

We're back!  After a few month-long hiatus, Trail Correspondents presented by The Trek is storming back into your world like a phoenix rising from the ashes. As you likely already know, last year the Trail Correspondents series ran through The Trek's flagship podcast, Backpacker Radio.  Due to the popularity of this series, we deemed it worthy of its own home, i.e. this podcast. So.... What is Trail Correspondents? Last year, we showcased roughly a dozen thru-hikers taking on Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail.  Every other week, we'd feature their updates from the trail centered around a particular subject or theme.  Through their eyes and vocal cords, we got a glimpse into the minds, hearts, and souls of those who take on a half year backpacking trip. This year, by and large, it's going to be more of the same.  The primary difference for this year's show, is the hikers that we're featuring.  More specifically, the theme for this season of Trail Correspondents was to Feat