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...

Mar 13, 2025

Nick Panetta is our guest this week. He is an avid section hiker on the Appalachian Trail, and a stickler for detail. He attempted a southbound thru-hike back in 2012, was woefully ill-prepared, and only made it part of the way through the 100 Mile Wilderness.

Undeterred, perhaps even more determined, Nick went away...

Mar 6, 2025

I saw a great Facebook post on one of the Appalachian Trail pages recently. Shelley Harris (Hopscotch) wrote her reflections after her thru-hike, offering common sense solutions to those contemplating such an adventure.

Basically, Shelley suggested that you can figure it out as you go along, and you shouldn’t stress...