We talk about my first year of freelancing, coming home from a thruhike with an empty bank account, fear of failure, rolling with the punches, debt and affording thruhiking, spending fasts, sacrifice, regrets, Instagram and thruhiking, preconceived notions of thruhiking, and having to make the decision not to complete your thruhike. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

This week’s episode features a badass thruhiker who was on the AT at the same time as me. She hiked the AT in two LASH segments and I’ve interviewed one person from each of her tramilies! I’m so glad we got to connect. She had so much advice to pass on that I’m definitely going to implement in my own life. Tessa hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Long Trail, and the PCT. We talk about how it felt to prepare for her first thruhike on the AT versus the PCT. She hiked straight through the Sierras in a high snow pack year so, of course, we geeked out about that. We also touched on hiking alone, the heartache of looking back at thruhike photos, making a thruhike work for your budget and schedule, and leaving her trail family at the end of a LASH. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

In this episode we’re discussing thru-hiking as a total beginner, the divorce that sparked his thru-hike, why he chose the AT over the PCT, getting a job as an Alaskan Tour Guide, being a gay man on trail in 2017, giving yourself permission to ask for help, and returning home from a thru-hike to live with his parents. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

I talked to Hell Yeah for this episode. We discuss his two AT SOBO thruhike attempts and their differences, trail hair, gear, and coming home from a thruhike. We also trade trail stories. It’s good to be back! We have music!! Do you love it? Let me know! I’d love to hear from you. DM me on insta @trailnamehere, message me on facebook at facebook.com/trailnamehere, or shoot me an email at trailnamehere.com! Check out the TNH insta and facebook to vote on your favorite art for the show too! I will be posting the podcast just once a month on the last Friday so that I can focus on building my freelancing career and getting on the road. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

In this interview we talk about Starting your first thru-hike with a partner, the logistics of bike packing, and the differences between thru-hiking and bike packing. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

In this episode we talk about Katy’s 52 hike challenge, redefining hiking, plastic, and life as a social media manager. For this episode we sat out in Katy’s backyard by a little fountain so you may hear that in the background. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

We touch on topics like mental health, social media, and working in the service industry. We also talk about starting life over at age 40 and the many trails that Jesse has done so far. This is a two part episode, be sure to listen to part 2!! Here’s where Jesse’s writing will be featured! https://americanwildmagazine.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

This is the second part of a two part episode with the Boston Mule! Go back and listen to the first episode if you haven’t already! We start this episode by discussing the use of explicit language. Later, we talk about coming home from the AT, asking for help, and prepping for his second thruhike. We did this interview right on the side of the Appalachian Trail, so there were some interruptions from day hikers, forewarning. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

This episode features Gabby Sales. Gabby reached out to me through Instagram! We talked about hiking by yourself for the first time, the 52 Hike Challenge, getting pricked by a cactus, finding yourself, and using hiking to help with your mental health. Gabby mentions a guide she wrote for beginner hikers, you can check that out here: http://from1girlto1world.com/2019/02/05/solo-hiking-the-benefits-the-ultimate-guide-and-the-dos-and-donts/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

In this episode, Shutterbug and I talk about coming home from a thru-hike, wilderness therapy guiding, and mourning the loss of someone while on a thru-hike. Please bear with me, the sound quality this week is not great but it will get better next episode! Stay tuned through the end of the interview to hear a mini life update from me and check out this link if you want to learn more about Terra: --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

On this episode, Spencer and I compare NOBO vs. SOBO; he tells me what it was like to have a girlfriend and a dog at home during his hike; we also discuss coming back to our nuanced society and leaving the corporate world. "The only limitation was how much daylight there was." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

Hardhat and I talk about the time his food was stolen by a bear, coming home from the trail, Flip-Flopping, and so much more. "When I decided it was time to leave, I used the AT as something to leave to. Instead of just leaving and it was exactly what I needed." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

Rachael and I talk about returning to ‘real life’ after trail, our hardest days on trail, and everything in between. “Now it’s like, you know how to dial in to ‘You can do this girl! Look at all you’ve done!’ and that’s what I started telling myself, even towards the end!” --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

In this short bonus, you'll hear what didn't fit into Devin's episode: her trail name story, her plans for the PCT this year, why tangents are actually important, hiking with a group, saying goodbye to tramily members, and why she chose to change her trail name. It's a packed 20 minutes! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

Ashley and I talk about Giardia, Trail Names, becoming a rafting guide, community, chafe cars, and canyons. "Backpacking... there's just something, like, your whole heart is just there." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

Devin and I had a super casual conversation about breaking bones on a thru-hike, hiking with Lyme, contacts, goals for the future, and sooooo much more. "So many different things happened on trail. When people ask you, 'How was trail?' Well the whole thing overall was great! But do you want to hear about that time when I fell and bled all over or that time when a bear woke us up in the middle of the night and growled right next to our tents?" --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

Beth and I talk about her very first hike, societal preconceptions of a 'hiker,' feeling left out in the outdoor clothing industry, and the 52 Hike Challenge. Beth Bradley has performed at The Moth Story Slam and GrandSlam in Denver. "I kept telling myself, "Just get to there."" --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

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Wicked and I talk about being unprepared for the cold on our thru-hikes, tents, life after the trail, and overcoming anxiety during her thru-hike. “As the trail went on, I realized that I was actually just really strong for being able to cope with mental health issues while still doing this amazing feat of thru-hiking." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

In this episode we hear Slider’s tramily stories from The Northbound horde, paying back your student loans on trail, carrying a plastic trombone the entire AT (which cows really liked), and backpacking with her mom! "They'd see me coming around the corner and go "oh it's the girl with the trombone!"" --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

This is the second part of a long interview I did with Rachel in December. I love Rachel’s perspective and we got a lot deeper for this second half. We talk in this episode about bodily functions (skip ahead about 10 minutes if you’d like to avoid it!), food, community, injuries, and mental health. This was a very full episode with laughter and seriousness. "You know those meme posts where it's like, 'you're taking all of this,' and it shows a pictures of pills. Then it shows like a very stereotypical shot of some pine trees and a trail and says, 'but you really need this.'?" --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

Rachel and I discuss her struggles with substances growing up, how she came out of that phase of her life, dipping her toes into the backpacking community, and becoming who you want to be one step at a time. "[hiking] totally let me know my worth." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

"You are allowed to feel any emotion you want out there. If you're angry, be angry! But you're only angry at yourself. It's not like you can be angry at anyone else!" --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

"To this day that's where I feel home is, on trail." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support

"You always have to go through the extreme first before it becomes easier." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theguidebook/support