Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Apr 04, 2023•16 min
Bio- I’ve been coaching for over a decade. Before I was a coach, I spent many years teaching science to middle schoolers, and it was there that I learned how to make the complex simple, how to connect honestly and authentically, and how important it is to pay attention to the whole of a person. Years ago, during a time when I was overwhelmed and overworked, I visited a meditation labyrinth not far from my home and discovered this quote at the base of a bench: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do ...
Mar 28, 2023•59 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Mar 21, 2023•14 min
Marina and her Ascend board of directors were faced with insurmountable odds when Afghanistan's government fell to the Taliban. The young women of Ascend were forced to flee or go into hiding. Join us as Marina talks about evacuating and resettling 134 of the Ascend Family and how they are back to their mission of “empowering young women through mountaineering-based leadership training and community service!” Bio- Ascend was founded in 2014 by Marina LeGree who, while living and working in Afgha...
Mar 14, 2023•47 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Mar 07, 2023•11 min
In my early twenties, I fell in love with expeditions kayaking the outer islands of Alaska's southeast coastline. Inevitably, we experienced variable conditions, sun to rain, and everything from freezing water temps to natural hot springs. With no access to laundry for weeks at a time, and limited space, I could take only essential basics, and each piece of gear had to perform. I refined and honed my packing list and found substitute products for what I really wanted, which all too often weren't...
Feb 28, 2023•43 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Feb 21, 2023•14 min
Rianna is a multi-passionate serial entrepreneur living a nomadic life for the past 11 years. As a wilderness guide and nature-based coach, she organizes walking & hiking retreats for women who are (just like her) involuntarily childless, in which she takes them on a transformative journey so that they can start creating a life they love again, despite not having what they want the most. From walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and hiking the Appalachian Trail in the USA, to watching th...
Feb 14, 2023•43 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Feb 07, 2023•13 min
Dixie Huthmaker grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, where she became an accomplished musician and teacher. In the years that followed, she married the love of her life, Roland “Buddy” Huthmaker, and had two children, Anna and Charles. When her children were in middle school, Dixie’s adventuresome nature made itself known as she started writing a book, dreaming of visiting cathedrals all over Europe, and attended sailing school. She always told her kids that they could follow any dream that they had...
Jan 31, 2023•48 min
Gail D. Storey is the author of I Promise Not to Suffer: A Fool for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest Trail , winner of the National Outdoor Book Award, Colorado Book Award, Nautilus Silver Award, Barbara Savage Award from Mountaineers Books, and others. Her hilarious novels The Lord's Motel and God's Country Club were published by Persea Books, New York. With her husband, she bicycled across the country, self-supported, on their tandem. In addition to the Pacific Crest Trail, she's hiked parts of th...
Jan 24, 2023•52 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Jan 17, 2023•19 min
Anna, aka Mud Butt, is the founder of Trail Dames Incorporated, a hiking club for women of a curvy nature. Between running her families violin shop (Huthmaker Fine Violins), working in Trail Dames, and teaching new skills around the world with Luthiers without Borders, she is always looking for ways to experience the magic of the outdoors and the beauty of the trail. Connect with Anna, aka Mud Butt, at info@traildames.com You can find the Trail Dames at: Our website: https://www.traildames.com T...
Jan 10, 2023•15 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Jan 03, 2023•12 min
Meghan J. Ward is a writer, editor, digital content specialist and all-around storyteller based in Banff, Canada (Treaty 7 territory). A fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Meghan has written several books and contributed to anthologies, blogs, award-winning films and some of North America’s top outdoor, fitness and adventure publications. Raised in Ottawa, Meghan ventured West to the mountains in 2005 and never looked back. An avid outdoor adventurer with a voracious appetite to ...
Dec 27, 2022•49 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Dec 20, 2022•20 min
Anna, aka Mud Butt, is the host of the Trail Dames podcast and the founder of Trail Dames. She is always looking for ways to encourage people to get outdoors and this time of year gives her the perfect opportunity to do just that!! Connect with Anna, aka Mud Butt, at info@traildames.com You can find the Trail Dames at: Our website: https://www.traildames.com The Summit: https://www.traildamessummit.com The Trail Dames Foundation: https://www.tdcharitablefoundation.org Instagram: https://www.inst...
Dec 13, 2022•14 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Dec 06, 2022•22 min
Deborah Webb - Retired from Verizon and involved with GATC for the past five years as a volunteer for Activities Committee, Hike Leader, and Trail Ambassador. I accepted the position of Activities Director in 2022 and am currently on the board of directors for GATC. Cathie, Ashley, and I are working together to try to encourage more women to join GATC and enjoy our hikes. Our past hikes have been longer distances and more strenuous, so we are hoping to schedule shorter hikes that will encourage ...
Nov 29, 2022•50 min
Bowen Blair is an environmental attorney who has protected some of the nation’s most important landscapes. In the Columbia Gorge, Blair helped draft and lobby the act that established the country’s most prominent national scenic area and negotiated the purchase of thousands of acres for public parks and tribal homelands. He was later appointed by two Oregon governors to the Gorge Commission, which he chaired. Guest Links- The book - https://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/force-for-nature About Na...
Nov 22, 2022•50 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Nov 15, 2022•17 min
Anna is the host of the Trail Dames podcast, the Founder of Trail Dames, The Summit, and the Trail Dames Foundation. When she isn’t dancing up the trail with the Dames, she can be found at her family business, Huthmaker Fine Violins, where she is known as the Bow Queen. Guest Links- Eupepsia Wellness Center - https://eupepsia.com/WellnessCenter/wellnessSpa Connect with Anna, aka Mud Butt, at info@traildames.com You can find the Trail Dames at: Our website: https://www.traildames.com The Summit: ...
Nov 08, 2022•29 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Nov 01, 2022•15 min
Bio- I am a soulful coach and heart-led content creator who is following my soul’s calling to cultivate greater love, inner strength, and healing in the world. I approach my clients with warmth, understanding, and honesty. As an overcomer of childhood sexual trauma, addiction, domestic abuse, and chronic illness, I devoted many years to healing myself. Yet, I still struggled to maintain healthy relationships, even into adulthood. I liberated myself from these toxic patterns for good by delving d...
Oct 25, 2022•44 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those original Pack...
Oct 18, 2022•20 min
A Force for Nature: Nancy Russell’s Fight to Save the Columbia Gorge, by Bowen Blair. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60503767-a-force-for-nature Bowen Blair website - https://www.bowenblair.com/ LIGHTS TO GUIDE ME HOME: A Journey Off the Beaten Track in Life, Love, Adventure, and Parenting - by Meghan J Ward. https://rmbooks.com/book/lights-to-guide-me-home/ Meghan J. Ward Website - https://www.meghanjoyward.com/ Connect with Anna, aka Mud Butt, at info@traildames.com You can find the Trail...
Oct 11, 2022•14 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Oct 04, 2022•17 min
Andrea Lani is the author of Uphill Both Ways: Hiking toward Happiness on the Colorado Trail (Bison Books, 2022). The book chronicles the 500-mile hike through the Rocky Mountains that she took with her husband and three kids, the hike on the same trail she and her husband took 20 years earlier, and the natural, environmental, and social history of Colorado. She's a graduate of College of the Atlantic and the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast MFA program, a senior editor at Literary Mama...
Sep 27, 2022•38 min
Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those origina...
Sep 20, 2022•18 min
Rosanna Rostad is an active mom and grandmother who can often be found hiking, backpacking, leading hikes, and serving on the Board of Directors for the Trail Dames. After becoming an ethical vegan in 2014, Rosanna has spent years learning to cook amazing vegan food, and often volunteers in different projects educating people on the ease and fulfillment of forgoing animal products. She believes that ‘nothing tastes as good as compassion feels’ and approaches her diet and her life with an open he...
Sep 13, 2022•28 min
