We had such a good time drafting national parks last year (Episode 17), we had to do it again. This time, we're drafting hiking trails, on a 50 mile budget. Jeremy Jones (see Episode 1) and my brother Jeff Smith (see Episode 17) join me for four rounds of drafting our favorite hikes. Well, we included a bonus round too! Each person had 50 miles to spend (where we counted trail mileage, not hiking mileage), and amazingly enough, there were some hikes that were stolen from one another. Tune in to ...
Jul 28, 2021•59 min•Ep. 26
Rowan Smith, the founder of Summit Strength, is one of the world’s only specialist hiking coaches. With over 10 years of experience as a Personal Trainer, Rowan coaches hikers from across the globe, creating 100% tailored coaching. He targets individual’s physical and mental strength, with clients fulfilling bucket list adventures such as Everest Base Camp, Kilimanjaro, the Pacific Crest Trail and many more. On the podcast we talk about his journey to becoming a professional hiking trainer, his ...
Jul 16, 2021•38 min•Ep. 25
Jessie is the US Program Manager for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation initiative (Y2Y), whose mission is to connect and protect habitat across 2,000 miles (3,200 km) and inspire others to engage in similar work. Jessie’s conservation experience and academic background integrate forest ecology, biodiversity, species conservation, and climate change into collaborative projects in forest and watershed restoration, wildland protection, and human-wildlife coexistence. She currently lives in Idah...
Jul 03, 2021•27 min•Ep. 23
In Season 2, I detailed my hike of the 220+ miles of the John Muir trail. This season, I'm excited to share my most recent hike of the Collegiate Loop, a 160 mile loop (obviously) that is part of the much longer, 500 mile long Colorado Trail. In this episode, I share the route details (miles, elevation, clockwise/counterclockwise), how to plan your hike (resupplies, research resources), and provide day-by-day details of my 8 days on the trail. See photos here for a play-by-play as I walk you thr...
Jun 26, 2021•45 min•Ep. 22
Snake River Brewery's Luke Bauer joins the podcast to talk about a hodgepodge of his favorite things, including craft beer, Wyoming hikes, and packrafting. Luke has worked in the craft beer industry 12+ years, as well as several years in the outdoors industry, specifically with the American Alpine Club and recently, the American Packrafting Association. Luke is a climber, paddler, hiker, and backpacker, among other things, and he's definitely a friend of the show. As you'll hear in the podcast, ...
Jun 13, 2021•36 min•Ep. 21
Eli Bernstein joins the podcast to talk (nerd out) about backpacking gear. In the conversation, we chat about Backpacker Magazine, how he ended up there, how they review and test gear, and general tips for consumers when picking gear. Eli has worked as Backpacker's gear editor for four years. He spends most of his time trying to hike, ski, and climb in scenic places with as few people around as possible, all the while testing gear and not trying to fall too in love with it. I found Eli's enthusi...
Jun 04, 2021•33 min•Ep. 20
Teresa Martinez joins the podcast to talk about the Continental Divide Trail and how towns across the 3,000+ mile trail are building communities around stewardship and education. For much of her 30 year professional career, Teresa has worked throughout our entire National Trails System. From 1987-2007 she worked for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, from 2007 to 2012 she worked for the Continental Divide Trail Alliance and since 2012 she has been the Executive Director (and co-founder) of the C...
May 28, 2021•42 min•Ep. 19
Listen to the 4+ minute unscripted (in that I didn't spend too much time on it -- full time job getting in the way) intro to Season 3, including BRIEF intros to our season 3 guests. Guests featured in the preview have been recorded already, so there likely will be a few more surprises along the way! Like it, sign up for more here
May 21, 2021•16 min•Ep. 24
Barney Mann (trail name, Scout) joins the podcast to talk about his upcoming book (released August 1st), Journey's North. In Journeys North, Scout details the journey of a half-dozen hikers--including Barney and his wife, Sandy-- as they trod north, slowly forming relationships and revealing their deepest secrets and aspirations. They face a once-in-a-generation drought and early severe winter storms that test their will in this bare-knuckled adventure. In fact, only a third of all the hikers wh...
Aug 04, 2020•41 min•Season 2Ep. 18
My friend Will (top-left) and brother Jeff (bottom) join me to have a little fun in mixing sports and parks. We're having a draft! What park should go #1? What park is a sneaky steal in the 5th round? What park doesn't get drafted and makes you scream at us? Join us for a little fun, some adequately appropriate sports puns, and see what 15-20 parks make our draft. Our facts may be loosely accurate, but our sports punditry may be 100% on. Stay all the way through to the 15th pick, as it's the mos...
Jul 24, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Ryan has a history of connecting people with local trails, having spent time with the NPS, Sonoma Ecology Center and Bay Area Open Space Council. Today, Ryan is the CEO of OuterSpatial, whose mission is to connect you with organizations that protect and manage your favorite outdoor places. The mobile app shares alerts, posts, trail conditions (closures), and events from your local parks all at your fingertips. Organizations can then use visitation information and gain insight from those using th...
Jul 16, 2020•29 min•Season 2Ep. 16
From Liz's website at http://www.eathomas.com/about/ Liz Thomas is among the most experienced female hikers in the US and is known for backpacking light, fast, and solo. In 2011, she broke the women’s unsupported speed record on the 2,181-mile long Appalachian Trail, besting the previous record by almost a week. She has completed the Triple Crown of Hiking–the Appalachian Trail, the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail, and the 3,100 mile Continental Divide Trail–and has backpacked over 15,000 miles a...
Jul 05, 2020•32 min•Season 2Ep. 15
As Interim Deputy Vice President of the Energy & Climate Program Director, Chase works with staff in the public policy and public lands departments to develop and evaluate policy options for sustainably managing energy production on the nation's public lands in the face of global warming. On the podcast, we chat about his journey into public lands policy, the role of BLM land, and the pressing issues affecting federal lands in the US, namely the West.
Jun 26, 2020•44 min•Season 2Ep. 14
This past year, I went on the Hike Podcast and shared my story of hiking the John Muir trail (JMT). Lori, the host, pinged me a few months later and told me that it was the highest listened to podcast of the season. It only makes sense that I come onto my own podcast and share a more in-depth journey of how I planned for the JMT (Part 1) and detail the thirteen days on the trail (Part 2). In Part 2, I share my favorite stretches, campgrounds, funny stories, mistakes, and tips for the 13 days I w...
Jun 19, 2020•50 min•Season 2Ep. 13
This past year, I went on the Hike Podcast and shared my story of hiking the John Muir trail (JMT). Lori, the host, pinged me a few months later and told me that it was the highest listened to podcast of the season. It only makes sense that I come onto my own podcast and share a more in-depth journey of how I planned for the JMT (Part 1) and detail the thirteen days on the trail (Part 2). In Part 1, I detail the JMT route (miles, elevation, remoteness), how to plan your hike (permits, resupplies...
Jun 12, 2020•43 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Andrew Skurka is a long-distance backpacker, guide, and writer, who lives in Boulder, CO. As a twenty-something he hiked three notable long-distance trips including the Alaska-Yukon Expedition (6 months, 4,700 miles),Great Western Loop (7 months, 6,875 miles), and the Sea-to-Sea Route (11 months, 7,775 miles). Only one of these has been repeated, and only once. For these trips, Andrew was named “Adventurer of the Year” by both Outside and National Geographic, as well as “Person of the Year” by B...
Jun 05, 2020•35 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Gülnur Tumbat (aka G) is a Professor of Marketing at San Francisco State University (and my former neighbor, lucky me) who is attempting to climb the 7 highest summits on the world's 7 continents. G will become the first Turkish woman to complete this feat, having completed six of them (Antarctica is last), and recently topping Mt. Everest. On the podcast, we talk how G prepares for tackling the world's largest mountains (physically, mentally, and gear planning), and we chat about various climbs...
Jun 05, 2020•47 min•Season 2Ep. 10
This season, we have the following big-time guests lined up for you: Gulnur Tumbat – a dear friend of mine, and expert mountaineer. Gulnur, who goes by G, has climbed 6 of the 7 tallest summits in the world, having only Vinson in Antarctica left. She’d be the 1st Turkish women to accomplish this. In G’s episode, we talk training – mental and physical – and in depth about her 7 summits journey, including recapping her most recent summit of Mt. Everest. Andrew Skurka – I got tipped off by Andrew f...
May 25, 2020•6 min
The first step to taking on more backcountry, either in places most visitors can't get to, or because you want to do your first thru-hike, you'll need to learn how to do big mileage days. I walk through some of my key tips in prepping for 15+ mile days, particularly on trails/locales you may not be familiar with. Hikes referenced in this podcast include the Red Peak pass hike from Quartz Mountain (Sierra National Forest to Yosemite NP), the Routeburn track in New Zealand, and a 16 mile section o...
Aug 06, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Mia is the National Director of Girls Who Hike, an organization creating communities of women that can connect, network & discover together through local trails.
Jul 06, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Marcia Argust directs Pew’s efforts to restore America’s parks, working with a team of data & policy experts to address the backlog plaguing the National Parks. Marcia joins the podcast to discuss the importance of addressing our National Park's deferred maintenance, how she arrived in D.C. & other public lands issues.
Jun 27, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 7
After visiting many local breweries and always having a love for the Pacific Northwest outdoors, Rachel Wood and Brandon Fralic, like many others, started to witness the two cultures go hand-in-hand. Rachel and Brandon join the podcast to talk about how they pair beer with hikes and preview their next book.
Jun 13, 2019•30 min•Season 1Ep. 6
One hike is not enough per podcast. That's why Broken Laces has assembled its own team of hiker correspondents. Thomas resides in the northeast and was a hiking partner of Riley's for several years in North Carolina. And Mike, whose gait rivals that of an Avatar, is a runner first, hiker second, but has hiked many trails in the Pacific Northwest. They share some local parks in their communities that have multiple uses, are kid and dog friendly, and are not well traveled.
Jun 07, 2019•23 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Two friends of the podcast, Tigran Nahabedian and Anna Gibbons (13:00), talk about how they came to love their local parks, why they serve park interests, and share their favorite hikes and places.
May 31, 2019•39 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Steve Iobst, former Deputy Superintendent of Yellowstone NP and Grand Tetons NP, shares his story of how he began with the National Park Service (NPS) while providing a unique perspective on the future of the NPS. Topics include ongoing challenges the NPS faces, his favorite park stories, and of course, our recurring segment of Trails and Ales.
May 22, 2019•41 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Bernadette Murray first through-rode the PCT in 1969 with her family as a 12-year old. Bernadette joins the podcast to talk about how their family tackled and prepared for the trail, the numerous adventures one encounters when the trail is very undeveloped, and some funny and painful moments on trail.
May 22, 2019•40 min•Season 1Ep. 2
I talk with my friend, Jeremy Jones, on his reentry into backpacking as an adult of two sons and business owner. Topics include what it takes to get into physical and mental backpacking shape & advice on how to introduce backpacking to your kids. And of course, "Trails and Ales", where we chat about Kiitos Brewing in SLC.
May 22, 2019•43 min•Season 1Ep. 1
This is a 1.5 minute preview of Season 1's podcasts. Take a quick listen before diving in. #outdoors #hiking #backpacking #camping #glamping #nationalparks #parksandrec #podcast
May 07, 2019•2 min•Season 1Ep. 1
