Episode 28: The Benton MacKaye Trail

In Episode 28, Sprinkles and NoKey discuss their ultimate summer:  Thru-hiking 1400 miles on four major trails along the East Coast - including the Benton MacKaye, Finger Lakes, Northville-Placid and Long Trails. Forewarning, we spend the majority of the podcast discussing their 20 day, ~290 mile hike on the Benton MacKaye Trail - a great alternative to the Appalachian Trail in the South - but there's lots of great tips on backpacking and thru-hiking in general. So listen in - … [Read more...]

Fall always makes me think of Katahdin

Fall always makes me think of Katahdin - October 6th, 1994.  A few pics from 21 years ago today... … [Read more...]

Return Of The Dana!

In the mid-90', Dana Design was the backpack for thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail.  I liked mine so much that I bought a second one two years after my thru-hike despite the steep price of $400+ And Dana Gleason, founder of his namesake Dana Designs, has returned to the market!  After selling his company and watching a series of outdoor companies fumble with a once dominant brand - Dana is back (and so is the Terraplane). The U.S. Military and U.S. Forest Service "hot shot" … [Read more...]

Episode 27: Superwoman

In Episode 27, You think you're tough?  Well Niki Rellon just might have you beat!  Niki's sports pursuits include professional kickboxing, ski instructing, cross-country cycling, thru-hiking, and currently a six month journey on the Appalachian Trail.  Did I mention that she is doing it on one leg?  Well now you know. In the podcast, Niki talks about her first ventures in to the outdoors, her hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, and the event that changed her life - a … [Read more...]

Signs it's time for a hike …. the Hampton Inn gives you a room key with hikers on it!!!

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Walk In The Woods pre-screening in Midtown Atlanta

Walk In The Woods pre-screening in Midtown Atlanta last night with Ken "The Weasel" Knight. No VIP passes for us but thankfully we did get seats. And Amy Knight earned them after her work on the Konnarock crew doing Appalachian Trail work for a week this (and last) summer in Virginia. Those are the real heroes of the A.T. - the volunteers that build and manage it. The movie is in theaters Labor Day weekend - based on the book by Bill Bryson. Ken/I are in the first 20 minutes, and the lesson … [Read more...]

Episode 26: Blind Courage

In Episode 26, I speak with Director Clint Ross who is hard at work with Producer Paula O'Neal on the film adaptation of the book Blind Courage, which is based on the 1990 Appalachian Trail thru-hike of Bill Irwin - the first legally blind hiker to complete the entire Trail within a single year. In the show, Clint discusses the first draft of the screenplay, the trailer, and the upcoming plans to film the movie.  He also give us some personal insight in to Bill Irwin and how he … [Read more...]