Jan 26, 2017
Steven Cullen was a section hiker who I met on my first day on
the trail. We clicked straight away and he continued to follow my,
and other, blogs once he finished his week-long section hike. I
thought it might be helpful to include a section hiker in the
podcast and, though I met many, he was my first thought. In our
interview, we talk about the differences between section and
thru-hikers, with Steve making some perceptive, and funny,
observations. He is one of the group of hikers who may one day take
the life-changing step to thru-hike but, as you'll hear, he'll be a
section hiker for the time being. Steven can be reached at steven.cullen.70@gmail.com.
He will be happy to offer advice if anybody reaches out to him.
Jessa continues her preparations
for her March 23 start date. She shares her latest update, with, of
all things, health insurance being a concern. What I loved about
this update was that Jessa is feeling accountable to the show,
which is giving her some discipline in getting done the things she
needs to achieve. We still need more entries for Jessa's trail
name. I'll be sharing them all with her a week before she sets out.
Remember, the prize for your choice being the one chosen is both
volumes of my book on the A.T from my 2014 thru-hike. Keep the
entries coming to steve@mightyblueontheat.com.
Indeed, anything you want to share about the show should be sent to
that address. Our third interview was with Aaron Martray, the owner
of Katabatic Gear. When I hiked the A.T. in 2014, I took the
Palisade 30 quilt with me. It is STILL the "Editor's Choice"
on the invaluable www.outdoorgearlab.com, three
years later. I found it to be both light and incredibly warm.
It even helped me survive a seven-degree night in the Smokies.
It wasn't cheap but worth every cent. If you'd like to find out
more about the Palisade 30 or any other Katabatic Gear bag, just
email Aaron at info@katabaticgear.com, or call
him on 303-984-4189. If you want to read the review on the quilt,
click
here. You'll probably notice that "If I Did It Again" is
missing this week. This is partly because there are three
interviews, but mainly because I've run out of stuff I'd change
were I ever to slog my way up the eastern side of the country
again. However, I'm sure one or two of my listeners will have their
own pet peeves about the trail. Please don't keep it to yourself.
Email me and I'll share your gripes with everybody. Happy
Trails!!