Highwater Trek Co Podcast

Hello Trekkies! Do you have your own favorite pleasure beverage? Let us know! Send your stories, suggestions, questions, corrections, physical ailment complaints, threats, or love letters to: highwatertrekco@gmail.com Join the crickets on our very quiet socials: Facebook   @highwatertrekco Instagram  @highwatertrekco   Theme song "Ozark Stomp" by the talented Peter J. Lehman. Find the full version...

Hello? Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear us....  Sam and Katy are BACK to check in on our beloved trekkies (we hope you're still with us) and let you know that we're here, we're alive, we still exist.  Join us and our enthusiastic new co-host Luck Wilder (who couldn't quite figure out what to think of headphones and had much to contribute to the conversation) as we catch you up o...

We're here, it's November, and acorns are falling from the sky.   Join Katy and Sam as the talk about one of their favorite sections of the Ozark Trail: The Upper Current River Section. We talk a bit about the history of this section, and the hard work that went into taking it from a seed of an idea to the rugged beauty of a route it is today. Big thank you to Kathie Brennan of the Ozark Trail Ass...

Hello Mountain Lizards! Welcome to another episode of Highwater Trek Co's podcast, where we live to gab about all things outdoors and backpacking. Join our hosts as they reminisce on their experiences participating in the Ozark's Mountain Challenge, a 17 mile, all-ascent trail event that takes place in Sam A. Baker State Park in the beautiful hills of Southern Missouri. Participants had twelve hou...

Hello Trekkies, our old friends! We've come to talk at you again.... Grab your passports and pack your bags with all your TSA approved items, because we're off to the Camino de Santiago! Join Sam, Katy, and longtime friend of the show, creaky farm table, who had a lot to creak about in today's episode. We tried to edit out some creaks, but farm table refuses to be silenced, and who are we to censo...

Hello Trekkies! We just wanted to pop in and check in with you all. We have been on a bit of an impromptu hiatus, and it's likely to continue for a little while longer.  It has been such a bustling time of year, and although we had full intentions of keeping on with our regular podcasting schedule, the reality has altered those expectations. It has always been important to us that the content we p...

Team Struggles is THE VIBE for this episode.  Disclaimer: our precious Michael got lost in the woods without his ten essentials, so he was unable to join us for recording, and the audio is not what it usually is. We did our best, but this one is probably better suited for headphones than car speakers.  Just settle in, our dears, and visualize that you have called us to chat, and the connection is...

Highwater Trek Co is on a mission! Join us for today's episode as we are preparing for 9 ascents up Mudlick Mountain in the upcoming Ozark Mountain Challenge, taking place May 4th in Missouri's own Sam A. Baker State Park. Our hosts describe their individual training approaches to the almost 8000 foot climb, and discuss the work required to feel ready to conquer those 17 uphill miles. We also shar...

Team Struggles is back to tell you all about our Spring Challenge for 2024: Active April! Join Sam, Katy, and a very hungry dog who hasn't learned to chew with her mouth closed for this shortie episode. It's chock-full of giggles and nonsense before we finally get to the point--which is to tell you all about the Active April Challenge and the reasons behind the challenge being crafted in the way i...

Welcome to the Highwater Trek Co podcast, where our hosts discuss all things backpacking plus more! Get to know the humans behind Highwater in today's episode, as Katy asks Sam 21 random questions related to hiking, and offers her own replies in return. Join us for this easy going episode as we consider our preferences and contemplate pet peeves pertaining to time spent on trail. And somehow along...

Sam and Katy are back in the hot seats. Yes, actual hot seats as the sun pours through the windows on an unseasonably warm February day, sweating away as we dust Michael off and try to remember how to record a podcast. It's been a hot minute. And that is the last of the heat jokes. Join us as we talk about where we've been, what we've been doing, why we aren't the same people, and what some of our...

My, what a lovely day… The windows are open and the skies are noisy. Join us, (Sam and Katy, in case you’re new here) at the creaky farm table once again for a chat about what we have going on in our lives and why… We’re taking a break! The wind joins us with gusto, a helicopter with no chill eavesdrops, and a new cat friend is eager to show off her bell ringing skills and voice occasional opinion...

Welcome back Highwater Trekkies! It is once again time for a brand spankin' new episode. Join our hosts as they take a deep dive into the topic of hydration, and how to utilize beverages to best serve us as we adventure on trail and beyond. Tune in as Katy gives us an education about our own bodies' biological mechanisms that play a role in hydration, and how osmoality runs the show. Sam gives us...

Welcome Back Trekkies! Take off your boots and stretch your toes, because we're back with our second installment of our Trailments Series!  Join Sam, Katy, a creaky table, some aggressively rolly chairs, and the a/c that refused to be silenced by noise reduction techniques as we discuss dehydration and heat illness: just in time for the dog days of summer. Grab your water bottle and settle in for...

Summertime is in full swing here in the Ozarks, and the swelter is our companion on today's episode as we tackle the at-times contentious topic of how backpacking and nature are represented on social media. We ponder if backpacking is accurately portrayed, and does social media lead to unrealistic expectations? Do content creators bear any responsibility to be transparent or to educate? We dive in...

Team Giggles is back to tackle a not-so-giggly subject: Post Trail Depression. We've all been there--wrapping up a backpacking trip riding an adventure high, only to descend into melancholy after returning home. Join us as we explore where this phenomenon potentially comes from and ways we can try to cope with the often tough transition from trail life back to "real life". We talk about the parall...

Welcome back Trekkies! Join Team Giggles (and an abundance of song birds) for some front porch sittin' as they discuss physical ailments that can put a damper on your trail time, and can even result in dangerous outcomes.  Katy dives into the immune's lymphatic system, and explains the biological processes behind infection. Tune in to hear the scoop on how to prevent and treat infections while out...

20 Episodes, WHAAAAT?  Highwater Trek Co's 20th Episode has come and gone. Join us as we look back over the last 20 episodes and reflect on all we've learned, things we wish we'd done differently, and our hopes for the future! We (and the creaky farm table) converse about our desire to be more naturally--conversational, our biggest challenges, having the confidence to own this space and do less se...

Welcome back to Highwater Trek Co's podcast, where we discuss all things hiking! As recounted in today's episode, Katy recently had the experience of leading backpacking novices through a tough Ozark section of trail. Her adventure led our hosts to ponder what they believe to be the most important advice for beginners, and the lesson learning required of them to reach these conclusions. Tune in to...

Welcome back, Highwater Trekkies! Buckle up and settle in friends, for Katy's chaotic and "like"-riddled account of her first solo section hike. Katy chronicles in rambling and unfocused detail, what went into planning her first solo section hike and her first backpacking trip with her dog in tow, why she chose the Ouachita, and how it all went.  Follow along as she hikes in the wrong direction, m...

Welcome to the latest episode of the Highwater Trek Co podcast! In today's episode, our hosts will discuss some common hazards one may encounter on an Ozarks trail in the springtime and year round. Join in as the conversation starts with water crossing safety, and continues as we discuss several critters that bite. Sam gives us the scoop on our slithery snake friends, and discusses tips to navigat...

Highwater Trek Co's Sam and Katy are back to talk trail etiquette, do's and don't's, the principles of Leave No Trace, and how to avoid being dubbed the trail nincompoop. Have you ever wondered how not to be a dipsh*t on trail? Well set your fears of ineptitude aside and open your ears, because we did some digging, and we're here to share what we found! Join us as we talk about trail right-of-ways...

Happy March Trekkies! Join us for our newest episode as we welcome the emerging salutations of Spring; including frogs and flowers, ticks and skunks. We discuss early spring conditions in the Ozarks that may require consideration before hitting the trails. We also discuss upcoming, hiking related events that are happening in our area.  Plus, tune in to hear easy foraging tips for finding delicious...

Sam and Katy are back from a much-needed break to tackle the tough subject of mental health, and the positive impact that actively engaging with nature can have.    TW: Mental health, suicide Join us as we explore the connection between wild spaces and mental wellness in general as well as the benefits more specific to hiking and backpacking. We discuss the long history behind the idea that nature...

Join Katy and Sam as they reflect upon their section hike of the southernmost miles of the Appalachian Trail. Team Giggles reminisce about their favorite moments and most difficult challenges as they traversed the trail through Georgia and into North Carolina.  Tune in to hear how our hosts found liberation from expectations in the woods of the Blue Ridge, and how inspirational they found the...