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© 2023 Walking Distance
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Hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young) Walking Distance is for day hikers looking to break into backpacking as well as more experienced trekkers looking to level up their knowledge and seek inspiration. Experts join Blissful to explore a unique subject in the world of long distance trekking. serving as a deep dive on why we believe that everything truly is within….Walking Distance.
21 Episodes
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In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Tamra Neblett-Hemmila, a 28-year-old long distance backpacker from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Tamra also happens to be black, Latina and Muslim; she was quite visible on the CDT this past season, practicing her faith by wearing a sport hijab on trail. If she seemed “uncommon” on the trail, her story is universal to hikers.Blissful Hiker covers how Tamra practiced her faith on tr...
1In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Tom Smith, a professor of wildlife sciences at Brigham Young University in Utah. Initially Smith’s research specialities included bighorn sheep and caribou, but when he began working at Katmai National Park in Southwest Alaska, he shifted to studying the most common animal there: bears. In the last 20 years, Smith has conducted research in Alaska, India, and in bear country ...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Cindy Ross, a Triple-Crowner, writer, artist and speaker, and Travis Johnston, a Triple-Crowner and veteran. Cindy Ross has authored books about her own adventures on the trail, but her newest, Walking Toward Peace, highlights 25 veterans and their stories of the trail. Cindy and her husband run a nonprofit called River House PA that helps veterans suffering from trauma. Tra...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Dan Purdy, a professional backpacking guide for Wildland Trekking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Ali Carr, an outdoor adventure writer and founder and CEO of Basecamp, an outdoor job organization.. Dan traded in his engineering desk job for a career in guiding backpacking trips in 2018, starting by volunteering in Norway through a Workaway position. Ali started...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Rebecca Olson, a team leader volunteer with King County Search and Rescue in Washington State, and Steve McClure, a board member of The Mountaineers, an alpine club and nonprofit in Seattle. The Mountaineers, founded in 1906, has trademarked the 10 Essentials and offers a book that’s called the ‘bible’ of mountaineering.Blissful Hiker covers how to use search and rescue serv...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Shalin Desai, a Triple Crowner and Vice President of Advancement at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), and Aer Parris, a 2015 PCT thru-hiker who identifies as queer and gender neutral. Desai is also the first person of South Asian descent to become a Triple Crowner, and he also identifies as queer. After their 2015 thru-hike, Parris began blogging for REI, often writin...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Sophia Garber, a 24-year-old Appalachian Trail thru-hiker and vlogger, and Second Chance Hiker, aka Cory. Every morning Sophia writes “be the sunshine” with sharpie on her arm, a phrase that comes from her friend Cristal; she met Cristal working at the Ulman House, a nonprofit for young adults with cancer. Her mantra reminds her to find meaning and joy in things that can be ...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Gabe Joyes, an ultramarathoner and sponsored athlete, and Ryan Ghelfi, an ultramarathoner and endurance athlete coach. Joyes lives in Lander, Wyoming, near the Wind River Range, and nabbed the FKT (Fastest Known Time) for the Wind River High Route last September, completing it in 47 hours. Ghelfi has several FKTs under his belt and owns the company Wilderness Fastpacking in ...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Andrew Skurka, one of the best traveled and fastest hikers on the planet, and a National Geographic and Outside Magazine Adventurer of the Year. Skurka has hiked enormous distances, including 4700 miles on the Alaska-Yukon expedition, 6900 miles on the Great Western Loop. and 7700 miles on the Sea-to-Sea route. As a result of his travels, Skurka has developed a system for fa...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Janet Hensley, a trail angel on the Appalachian Trail known as Miss Janet, plus Rob Firmin and George Mills, a couple living in Whanganui, close to New Zealand’s long distance trail, Te Araroa. Miss Janet’s relationship to the AT started when she lived in Erwin, Tennessee close to the trail; she hosted over 10,000 hikers at her hostel before she was eventually drawn to the r...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Miranda Webster, the star of REI’s Youtube series, “Miranda in the Wild.” Beginning her career as a cashier at REI, Miranda now educates new backpackers about everything from meal planning, how to wash gore tex, and most popularly, how to poop in the woods.Blissful Hiker covers the Youtube filming process, how Miranda relates to her Youtube audience, and advice to others hop...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we dive into the formation of the National Park Service, and the backcountry chef behind Yosemite: Tie Sing. Sing, a Chinese-American working in the early 1900s in the midst of intense hostility towards Asian-Americans, persisted through working for national parks. Known as the “gourmet chef of the Sierra” and “the philosopher of the Sierras,” Sing Peak in Yosemite National Park is named aft...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Jason Gayheart, Heather Balogh Rochfort, and Kayla and Fynleigh Percy. Jason Gayheart, lives in South Carolina and will be hiking the Continental Divide Trail this summer with his wife Jackie and their three children, ages 16, 12 and 8. Heather Balogh Rochfort, who you might remember from the first episode of Walking Distance, recently co-founded WildKind Closet, a non-profi...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Emily Ford, the first woman and person of color to thru-hike Wisconsin’s 1,200 mile Ice Age Trail in winter. Emily is from Duluth, and the head gardener at the historic Glensheen Mansion. She completed her Ice Age thru-hike with a dog she cherished, Alaskan husky Diggins.Blissful Hiker covers the unique loneliness of solo backpacking, humanity’s relationship with wilderness,...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Dan Durston, a biologist, Canadian gear designer, and owner of Durston Gear. Durston hiked the Great Divide Trail in the Canadian Rockies as well as the Pacific Crest Trail, and also holds some Fastest Known Times – of the Stein Traverse in British Columbia and the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana. Dan uses his backpacking expertise to design simple and light outdoor equip...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Andrew Downs, the Senior Regional Director of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) - South, and Gina Knox, a 2021 Granite Gear Groundskeeper. Downs thru hiked the AT in 2002, and has a volunteer-first approach to protecting and maintaining the Appalachian Trail. Gina Knox has postponed her AT thru-hike for 2021, and is instead dedicated to cleaning up 300 miles of public ...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Aaron Owens Mayhew, a registered dietician and thru hiker. In 2017, Mayhew left her career to thru hike the PCT, and has since section hiked some of the AT and the Oregon Coast Trail. She’s also the founder of Backcountry Foodie, a site that she runs with her husband, Chris, to provide meal plans and shopping lists, community forums, masterclasses and other resources surroun...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Dr. Elizabeth Andre, an associate professor of nature and culture at Northland College, and Molly Herber, a project manager for NOLS. Dr. Elizabeth Andre has instructed white water canoeing, mountaineering, and dog sledding at Outward Bound, joined a National Geographic dog sled expedition across the Canadian Arctic in 2007, and teaches a course on outdoor safety. Molly Herb...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Nicholas Kristof, an award winning columnist at the New York Times and dedicated section hiker. Nicholas has won two Pulitzer prizes for his coverage of China and the genocide in Darfur, and section hiked the PCT with his daughter Caroline over a few summers. Now, he’s working on section hiking the Pacific Northwest Trail, hiking with his wife, their daughter, and her boyfri...
In this episode of Walking Distance presented by The Trek and hosted by Blissful Hiker (Alison Young), we are joined by Alan Dixon, an outdoor guide and competitive athlete, and Kelly Floro, lead writer and content editor for The Trek. An elite kayaker and triathlon competitor, Alan grew up in California hiking Yosemite and the Sierra Nevadas. Alan has been backpacking since he was 5 years old, and helped found the ultralight backpacking movement in the early 2000’s. Kelly Floro’s first thru-...
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I am really enjoying these as someone just getting into the sport, especially this episode. It is overwhelming! Luckily I am unfortunately enough to live in Florida and can only do small hikes for the upcoming months, so I am taking my time and building my gear set slowly. Your "practical" approach on here is going to help me out a lot I think.