From The Backcountry

Eli Burakian is a photographer, backpacker, and distance athlete from New Hampshire. Eli goes big on huge routes that people haven't thought to do yet, and his FKTs include the Cohos Trail, Live Free or Die Route, Pemi 14 4,000 footers, and more. Most recently, Eli set the unsupported FKT traversing Iceland north to south. His 13 day journey is pretty incredible, and the photos that he took a...

There are a LOT of FKT routes out there. The Fastest Known Time website lists a few routes across the entire U.S. that constitute its "premier" list, but in terms of finding the biggest, grandest routes in specific areas, theres not much else to go off. Xander Keiter and I have been around the FKT scene - in Maine and New Hampshire in particular - so we thought  we'd give our though...

Zane Wasicko is a backpacker and trail-runner from Pennsylvania. Zane has accomplished a lot already, (including section-hiking the entire AT with his dad from when he was 15-17 years old), but most recently Zane became the youngest person (17 y/o at the time) to complete the White Mountains Direttissima, a thru-hike of the New Hampshire 48 4,000 footers. Not only that, he hiked it entirely unsupp...

Scott Benerofe is a thru-hiker and peak bagger from the northeast who is currently based out of Vermont. Scott hiked the Long Trail in 2016, the AT in 2019 (we never met), and has finished the NE115. This past winter, Scott completed an incredible SOBO (south-bound) thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail - starting in early December. Listen to Scott tell me his story of one of the most brutal and awe...

The past week I've been moving to a new place and starting medical school, so things have been incredibly busy! I din't have time to schedule a conversation this week, so instead I'm doing an Ask Me Anything from questions submitted to my Instagram @_will.peterson. Let me know if you like this type of content! Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyperlitemountaing...

Liz "Mercury" Derstine is a distance athlete and professional musician. She has some incredible efforts under her belt, including the northbound women's Appalachian Trail FKT, the women's Pinhoti self-supported FKT, and most recently, the women's self-supported Long Trail FKT. Listen to our conversation to hear all about her amazing journey to her latest accomplishment. Fi...

Alyssa Godesky is a professional triathlete and endurance athlete based in the northeast. She Holds the women's supported FKTs on the Long Trail and Adirondack 46, and most recently she bested my FKT for the supported New Hampshire 4,000 Footers. This is a super unique conversation between the two fastest people (at the moment) to ever climb the 48, and I hope you all enjoy! Find Alyssa on In...

Stef Bishop is an accomplished ultra-endurance athlete based out of Long Island. She has performed at the highest level in multiple disciplines of endurance sports, including winning the World's Toughest Mudder in 2016. Just to name a couple of others, she has completed the Speed Project, a nearly 300 mile event from the Santa Monica Pier to Las Vegas, and she also set the women's New Ha...

Jack Kuenzle is an endurance athlete and coach for Uphill Athlete who travels around smashing some of the largest FKTs out there. In this episode we talk about many of his efforts, but we largely focus on his most recent FKT, a monstrous 26 hour record on the White Mountains 100. We also talk about his journey to endurance events, how to train to run in the mountains, and much more. Find Jack on I...

Whitney Pearson is a long distance hiker, peak bagger, and distance athlete based out of the White Mountains. She holds some awesome unsupported FKTs, but most recently she became the first woman to complete the Pemidential route, a grueling 81 mile route with 26,500 feet of vertical that connects the Presi Traverse and the Pemi Loop. She hiked and ran the entire route unsupported. Listen as we di...

Beginning on July 19th, Xander Keiter and I - along with a large support crew - set out to try to set the fastest known time for the New Hampshire 4,000 Footers. I ultimately set the new trailhead to trailhead record at 3 days, 12 hours, 35 minutes, and Xander climbed 41 of the 48 before succumbing to brutal ankle pain. Listen along to hear about our personal experiences during this amazing experi...

Philip Carcia is a distance athlete, hiker, backpacker, content creator, and lover of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As of June 21st, Philip has embarked on his third attempt at a single calendar season hike of the White Mountains Guide, a brutal hiking feat that has never been accomplished. Philip completed the White Mountains Guide on his first two attempts in 2020 and 2021, missing the s...

Philip Carcia is a distance athlete, hiker, backpacker, content creator, and lover of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. On June 21st, Philip will embark on his third attempt at a single calendar season hike of the White Mountains Guide, a brutal hiking feat that has never been accomplished. Philip completed the White Mountains Guide on his first two attempts in 2020 and 2021, missing the singl...

Shane Moore is a backpacker, surfer, and swimmer. Shane and I have been friends since highschool and hiked over 1,400 miles of the Appalachian Trail together in 2019. Revel in our *high-level* conversation as we are chased around our highschool parking lot by leaf blowers and lawn mowers. In this episode we touch on our 2019 thru-hike, Shane's recent hike on Maine's new Great Circle Trai...

Ben Peterson is a backpacker, 2021 Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, and my older brother. Listen this week as we discuss our different hiking adventures and our parallel but very different journeys to loving backpacking and the outdoors. Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyperlitemountaingear.com for 15% off your entire order podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromtheba...

First, yes I know it's May 18th and not April 18th. I apologize for my idiocy. This week I ramble about a few more days on the New England Direttissima and why I ultimately decided to stop. I also rant about "are you running Boston" and Altras. Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyperlitemountaingear.com for 15% off your entire order podcast Instagram: https://ww...

This week I ramble about my second week on (but mostly off) the New England Direttissima. Follow along for broken gear, scraped up legs, and graduation fun. Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyperlitemountaingear.com for 15% off your entire order podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromthebackcountry/

This week I ramble about my first few days on the New England Direttissima, a thru-hike of the New England 67 4,000 footers. Sorry about the quality of the podcast this week and the next few weeks, I’m recording it on my phone while *kind of* on trail. But ya know, the name of the show is From The Backcountry, so you knew what you were getting in to. Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition...

Mac is an ultra runner, backcountry skier, skimo racer, and soon-to-be graduate of Northeastern University. She has run a 100K on the Florida Trail, a Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, and the Midstate Massive 100 miler, among other things. She is currently the LCC (Loj Committee Chair) of NUHOC (Northestern's Outdoors Club), a top leadership position in the club that is responsible for the club'...

Will rambles about the New England Direttissima, seasonal allergies, skiing Mount Washington, physical therapy, and more. Send an email to fromthebackcountry@gmail.com if you want to. Read more about the New England Direttissima here: https://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/blogs/ultralight/sixty-seven-points-to-point-to-will-petersons-new-england-direttissima Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitn...

Zach McCarthy is an outdoor adventurer from Western Maine. He is an experienced backcountry skier, trail runner, and ultra runner. He is also the founder of Inclusive Ski Touring, an organization dedicated to developing an inclusive uphill community through organized group programs. Find him on Instagram @zmccart and @inclusiveskitouring Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyper...

Adam Ribeiro is an endurance athlete, climber, ultra runner, and all around athlete. He has competed successfully in many athletic competitions ranging from obstacle races to American Ninja Warrior to Ultramarathons. You can find him on Strava, and he is also the host of the "Run, Climb, Repeat." podcast. Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyperlitemountaingear.com fo...

Xander Keiter is a trail runner and ultra-marathon runner in New England, recent graduate of Boston University, future lawyer, and one of my closest friends. We talk about his journey to the outdoors and some of our intersecting projects, among other things. Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyperlitemountaingear.com for 15% off your entire order podcast Instagram: https://www...