Apr 17, 2025

Anna McKinney Smith, a 2021 thru-hiker, is our guest today. Anna found her people out on trail and, more significantly, she also found her person, who became her husband.

Anna referred to having a “common purpose of forward momentum” that appealed to her, and she has since been a writer for the Trek and opened her...

Apr 10, 2025

Melanie Wood is our guest this week. She hiked SOBO last year, running into the devastation of Helene with about 700 miles to go, having to prematurely end her hike. She is still recognized as a thru-hiker because, quite rightly, she hiked the trail that was available.

Melanie went on to write about her experiences on...

Apr 5, 2025

We have a German hiker on the podcast this week. Annika Ananias recently flew into the US to hike the Arizona Trail with her American boyfriend, when she was pulled out of line, harshly interrogated, deported, and banned from re-entering the country for five years. This, despite having a ten-year visa. She has a...

Mar 27, 2025

This week, we meet Bill Zyckowski, or Big Willy Dawg. Bill is a retired police officer who truly needed a walk in the woods to bring some meaning to his life.

As you’ll hear, he embraced it thoroughly, forming a strong bond with his fellow hikers, the majority of whom were decades younger. He emerged changed, as...

Mar 20, 2025

Nicole Markovich joins us on the podcast to tell us about her 2022 AT thru-hike, the drastic changes to her life that ensued, and the ultimate formation of a business that encompassed both her teaching and backpacking experience.

As if that wasn’t enough, she also met the man who would become her boyfriend at...