Sounds of the Trail

Sounds of the Trail is back for the summer thru-hiking season! In this podcast episode we introduce some of our new correspondents who will be attempting thru-hikes of the Appalachian Trail in 2016. We get to hear about their reasons for thru-hiking, some of their hopes, and some of their fears. Is that a random twinge of the the knee or is it…? Next week we’ll be hearing from our Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail hikers as they get started. Thanks to Smiley 501, John Malusa, and Jesse Silverman for help with the new intro.

In this episode we get to hear from two hikers at two different points in their thru-hikes – the Before and the After. Special guests Sandpiper and Buff. We also include some very dubious info on water treatment – I personally recommend a filter. Music by: Baby Gramps I’m getting back on the AZT this afternoon, but I’ll be back in May to officially launch our second season! – Gizmo

Today’s podcast is all about the real stars of our show – the trails themselves. We talk about our 2016 lineup – the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail – discuss hiking family histories, and get to hear from the Triple Crown hiker Wired one more time for some trail stories. Wired keeps a blog of all her hiking adventures, so if you want to learn more about her, check it out here: Walking With Wired Music by: Baby Gramps Other sounds are from Freesound.org and include: Les Paul Rock by guitarelement Boom4 by noisecollector 1234567_guitar by growingup (Used under CC-BY 3.0 License)

IMPORTANT: If you are an Appalachian Trail Class of 2016 hiker (thru-, section, or otherwise), please listen right away! We need your help! As we get ready for thru-hiking season, we take a minute to remember why we want to do this. In this episode we hear from special guest Wired as she tells us what she has gotten out of thru-hiking and what about it has motivated her to keep hiking (over 10,000 miles by foot and counting). Then we get to hear from our friends at the Dirtbag Diaries, as they share with us the story of a hiker named Paul, and why they need our help. If you are interested in helping Paul, go to Paul’s Boots and see how you can help out. The Dirtbag Diaries is trying to find all their volunteers by February 17, 2016, and it’s coming up fast. When you’re done with that, take a minute to check out Wired’s blog: Walking With Wired. Music by Baby Gramps.

One guy, with one goal – to ski 2.5 million vertical feet in one year. That is, 2.5 million feet UPHILL. To make this happen, Aaron Rice is planning on skiing 10 hours a day, every day, for an entire year. Kimchi sits down with Aaron and his friend Joey Campanelli to talk about what it takes to do something like this, and why skiing uphill every day for 10 hours a day is something that anybody would even want to do. This subject is a little bit of a break from our usual hiker talk – we hope you enjoy it! The Sounds of the Trail team is working REALLY hard right now to get ready for the upcoming 2016 thru-hiking season. We’re lining up a lot of great stuff, so stay tuned! If you’re interested in learning more about our guests today, check out their webpages and instagrams. Aaron Rice www.airandrice.com His insta: @airandrice Joey Campanelli www.joeycamps.blogspot.com His insta: @joey.camps For avalanche awareness https://utahavalanchecenter.org And as always, big thanks to Baby Gramps for the music.

Where does it all begin? How do you grow up to become a thru-hiker? We get to hear from Rock Ocean as he interviews Kimchi and Par 3, from Gizmo, and even from Gizmo’s mom as we explore our origins as thru-hikers. Also, we have a big announcement – Sounds of the Trail is looking for 2016 trail correspondents. Interested? Check out our page and JOIN US. Music courtesy of Baby Gramps.

Sounds of the Trail is transitioning to an off-season format. In this week’s podcast we shift our focus to the third trail in the Triple Crown, the Continental Divide Trail, and get inspired by some youtube videos. Special Guests Liz and Bryan (along with Bumblebee Tuna and Toni the Tiger). During the hiking off-season Sounds of the Trail is switching to an every-other-week release schedule. Sounds of the Trail is planning on sticking around for a second season of thru-hiking podcasting in 2016, so stay tuned for more info on that. Music provided courtesy of: Baby Gramps

We finally get to do a recap with both Kimchi and Par 3 on finishing the trail. We discuss the end of the time on the trail, their best moments, and what it means to be a thru-hiker. Music by: Baby Gramps

It’s the end of A season, but it’s not quite the end of THE season, at least not for a few hardy hikers or for Sounds of the Trail. Not many northbounders are still braving the mountain passes, but we ran into a few still heading for Maine. Special guests Smokey Bear, Homegrown, and Bailey the dog. Sounds of the Trail is back after a short hiatus. We’re in the process of transitioning to an off-trail broadcast, and figuring out what that’s going to look like. We have some good stuff lined up so be sure to tune in. If you are interested in getting in contact with Smokey Bear and Homegrown, either to do a little Trail Angel-ing or to possibly collaborate on some of the photo/video that they’ve been collecting, shoot an email to soundsofthetrail@gmail.com and I will get everyone in touch. We’re happy to be back! Thanks for listening. Music provided by: Baby Gramps

Thru-hikes are a hugely physical undertaking that take a lot of time and a lot of money – or at least the ability to forego earning money. A lot of people ask – how do you make a thru-hike happen? We have no magical secrets to share – but we do have some thru-hikers share stories about their own journeys on the Appalachian Trail. Young, old, and in-between, the trail is for everybody. Special guests Spicy Guy, Bluebird, Hakuna Matata, and Sock Ninja. We delve dangerously close to “overly inspirational” territory in this podcast, but I don’t care. You need to listen to this. Check out Kimchi’s photographic work (and maybe even buy a print) HERE. I am going out of the country for about a month for work. I’m going to try to keep the podcast going while I’m gone, but I can’t make any promises. I’m packing my microphone just in case. -Gizmo Music, as always, provided courtesy of the inimitable Baby Gramps

This week’s podcast revolves around one Maine thing – the people and places of Maine. We get to hear from thru-hikers, trail angels, and trail Maine-tainers (heh heh) working with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club. Special Guests are Pain Wizard, Scout, and the MATC. What have YOU done to support your trails today? Check out the Maine Appalachian Trail Club if you want to support them. Do you want to support all your trails, and not just Maine? Then please consider telling your congressman! Go to Who Is My Representative, find out who is representing you, and then TELL THEM that we need trails! If you live outside the USA, you probably have trails too! Go help out. Music by: Baby Gramps

In our continuing attempts to be neither educational nor informative, we have an entire podcast episode about thru-hiking gear that fails to provide any real useful information. What kind of gear do you need to thru-hike? Depends on who you ask. Special guest Chia Pet and many others. Music by: Baby Gramps

Sounds of the Trail finally covers our most requested topic: thru-hiking with dogs. We hear from three different dog owners on the challenges and rewards of thru-hiking with a dog. We also get to hear from our fellow thru-hiking podcaster, Ratatouille, who produces Trailside Radio. Special Guests: Oyster, Joan of Arc, and Sleddog. If you haven’t checked out Trailside Radio, you should! Check it out here. Music by: Baby Gramps. Thanks Baby Gramps!

Thru-hiking is a “bucket list” item for a lot of people. In this podcast, we talk about pursuing our other dreams, making a thru-hike happen, and start thinking ahead towards the end of the trail. (Don’t worry, we’re not there yet.) Our special guests for this episode are two hikers we’ve heard from before: Patches and Kodak, both bringing us some new trail wisdom. Par 3 is at PCT Days up in Oregon as he gets ready to hike Washington and finish up his thru-hike – we’ll hear from him next week. He’s been interviewing like crazy. If you missed it last week, don’t forget this week – check out Patches’ Blog. Also, come on over and take a look at Kodak’s Photography. Thanks for all the listener love! We love you all. Music by: Baby Gramps

Let’s follow along with Kimchi as she gets back on trail at Mt. Katahdin to begin her flip-flop are the Appalachian Trail. Special guests for this podcast are Patches, Mighty Mouse, and Sparky. Check out Mighty Mouse’s Blog and Patches’ Blog! Or, get a SOTT sticker by sending me an email at soundsofthetrail@gmail.com. If you aren’t into free stuff or blogs, head over to our Instagram and see photos of our contributors! Music by Baby Gramps