Hikes and Mics Podcast

Send us Fan Mail 🎙️ Season 15 kicks off with outdoor educator and former pro writer Meg Atteberry — and a backcountry survival story that will stay with you. Six days into Wyoming's brutal Wind River High Route — 86 miles and 23,000 feet of gain, much of it off-trail — Meg's friend shattered six bones in her foot on a steep talus pass, 25 miles from the nearest trailhead. Meg had to hit...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to redesign the outdoors for everyone? Gnara Co-Founder GG Edwards joins our Season 14 finale to share how a glacier in Alaska sparked a revolution in outdoor apparel. While guiding on the Mendenhall Glacier, GG faced a choice every woman in the backcountry knows too well: trek across crevasses and peel off layers in freezing temps, or risk dehydration. Instead,...

Send us Fan Mail What if Washington's most overlooked landscape isn't a towering evergreen forest — but a sun-baked sea of sagebrush bursting with far more life than you'd ever expect? Cyrus Philbrick and Bridget Clark of Cowiche Canyon Conservancy join us at Snow Mountain Ranch to talk about the shrub-steppe — the vanishing ecosystem this nonprofit land trust has spent 40+ years pr...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a 33-year McKinsey career ends on Friday — and you're on an ice wall by Saturday afternoon? Tom French, author of The Gap Years: Climbing, Skiing, and the Journey Back , joins us to talk about trading his corporate corner office for crampons, summiting Everest under a full moon at 2:15 AM, and why it's never too late to reclaim the passions of your youn...

Send us Fan Mail What if the most powerful story in a national park isn't the landscape — it's the people inside it? NYU-trained filmmaker, Explorers Club member, and director Brendan Hall joins us to share the journey behind Out There: A National Parks Story — a feature documentary seven years in the making, born from a post-graduation road trip across 10,000 miles of America's pub...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you strip away the gear, the gadgets — and even the shoes? Barefoot Ken is here to show us. Meet Ken Posner, also known as Barefoot Ken — ultramarathoner, analyst, author, and the man quietly redefining what it means to connect with nature, one shoeless summit at a time. In this episode, Ken traces his journey from Chicago city kid to barefoot adventurer, sharing...

Send us Fan Mail What makes a hike truly unforgettable? National Geographic Explorer, Outside Magazine contributing editor, and author Stephanie Pearson joins us to find out. Her new book, 100 Hikes of a Lifetime U.S.A. (out now), was born from one of the hardest seasons of her life — and launched with a lightning storm on the Maah Daah Hey Trail in North Dakota. In this conversation, Stephanie op...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a cancer diagnosis becomes the spark that launches a full-time outdoor adventure career? This week on Hikes and Mics, I sit down with Alec — travel writer, photographer, and the force behind Explore with Alec, for one of the most honest and inspiring conversations we've had on the show.  Alec is a two-time cancer survivor and bone marrow transplant recipient...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you combine a trailhead, a cold pint, and a community that refuses to leave anyone behind? You get Hiking for Brews — and this episode, we're sitting down with the woman who brought it back to life. Nicole is the organizer of Hiking for Brews, a DMV-based group drawing anywhere from 20 to 80 hikers across Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Originally founded...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a touring musician trades the stage for the trail — and starts breaking records? Meet Cody Taylor : former drummer, endurance coach, and unsupported FKT holder of both the Bruce Trail (900km) and the International Appalachian Trail. In this episode of Hikes and Mics, Cody takes us deep into what it really means to go fully unsupported — carrying a 55-pound pack,...

Send us Fan Mail 700+ miles. Alone. Dragging a sled across Antarctica with nothing but training, grit, and the kind of stubbornness that makes history — and she did. Meet the first American woman to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole.  On January 18, 2026, Monet Izabeth made history — skiing solo and unsupported across 700+ miles of Antarctic ice to the South Pole . The wild part? Three ye...

Send us Fan Mail Snacks, Stories, and the Trail That Changed Everything **The first half of the episode Jared's microphone came from his iPods, the second half is from his condenser microphone.** What happens when a college writing professor trades plagiarism cases for backcountry trails? You get Jared Champion , aka Snackbox , one of the most thoughtful voices in the outdoor storytelling spa...

Send us Fan Mail Season 14 is HERE — and we're kicking things off with a reunion three years in the making. Welcome back to Hikes & Mics! For our Season 14 premiere, I recorded in person on the banks of the Salt River in Arizona with two beloved returning guests: Tami and Elise — first featured back in Season 2. In this episode, we cover: 🥾 Elise's life on two coasts — guiding women...

Send us Fan Mail Season 14 of Hikes & Mics launches March 23rd — and it's our biggest season yet. This season's guests include the first American woman to ski solo and unsupported across Antarctica , an ultra-endurance athlete setting FKTs on some of North America's most demanding routes, a conservation photographer documenting climate-threatened wildlife in the alpine and the S...

Send us Fan Mail Kelsey Kurtis: Antarctica, Adventure Photography, Branding Yourself as YOU & the Legend of the Crotch Pot 🎒📸🐧 We're closing out Season 13 with an episode you will not want to miss. Kelsey Kurtis — photographer, author, adventurer, and certified force of nature — joins us for a conversation that covers everything from the Sierra Nevadas to the South Pole, and somehow en...

Send us Fan Mail 🧀 From the AT to the PCT: Tramily, Trail Grit & Life Off the Beaten Path with Pimento 🥾🌄 What does it actually mean to find your people on trail — and what happens when the trail ends and real life begins? In this episode of Hikes & Mics, we sit down with Jacob, better known as Pimento — a thru-hiker from Indiana who's hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Arizona Trail...

Send us Fan Mail 🚨 Survival Starts Before the Trail: Wilderness Safety & Smart Preparation with Dr. Rob Scanlon 🥾💧 What actually gets hikers into trouble on the trail — and more importantly, what keeps them alive? In this episode of Hikes & Mics , we’re joined by Dr. Rob Scanlon — physician, backpacker, and author of Surviving the Trail: Five Essential Skills to Prepare Every Hiker for...

Send us Fan Mail 🎻 Creativity, Courage & Kula Cloth: Finding Joy in the Wild with Anastasia Allison 🏔️✨ In this special milestone episode of Hikes & Mics , we’re joined by Anastasia Allison — founder of Kula Cloth , outdoor educator, former Washington State Park Ranger , professional violinist, and one half of The Musical Mountaineers . This conversation also marks a first for the podcas...

Send us Fan Mail ❤️ Love on the Long Trail: Thru-Hiking, Partnership & Shared Miles with Melanie & Dave 🥾✨ In this special Valentine’s Day Week episode of Hikes & Mics , we’re joined by Melanie (Poppi) and Dave (La Bamba) , a thru-hiking couple whose love story unfolded one step at a time across some of North America’s most iconic long trails. From the Pacific Crest Trail to the Colo...

Send us Fan Mail 🌿 Belonging on the Trail: Motherhood, Healing & Community with Alexandrie 🥾🤍 In this powerful and deeply grounding episode of Hikes & Mics , we’re joined by Alexandrie , founder and organizer of Black Hikers Explore , for a conversation about how hiking, motherhood, and community-building can come together to create spaces of healing, belonging, and joy in the outdoors....

Send us Fan Mail 🏔️ Leadership at Altitude: Hiking, Resilience & Reflection with Ketul Patel 🥾📘 In this episode of Hikes & Mics , we’re joined by Ketul Patel —author, hiker, and business transformation leader—for a powerful conversation about the intersection of hiking, leadership, resilience, and self-reflection . Ketul is the debut author of A Journey of Elevation , a book inspired by...

Send us Fan Mail 🏔️ Exploring Banff, Kananaskis & the Canadian Rockies with Angela & Russ 🐻🥾 In this episode of Hikes & Mics , we’re joined by Angela and Russ —an Alberta-based outdoor couple who live just outside the Canadian Rockies and spend all four seasons immersed in Banff, Kananaskis, Canmore , and beyond. After first connecting on the trail in Banff, this conversation dives d...

Send us Fan Mail 🌋 Geysers, Wolves & the Stories Beneath Our Boots with Micah 🐺🏔️ In this episode of Hikes & Mics , we’re joined by Micah — geologist, educator, and Museum Manager for the City of Farmington, New Mexico — for a powerful, story-rich conversation about geology, wildlife, public lands, and what it truly means to understand the landscapes we hike through . Micah shares how hi...

Send us Fan Mail 🎬 Season 13 Premiere — Tina Grimm: From Outlast to Thru-Hiking, Healing & Rediscovering Strength in the Mountains 🏔️✨ For the Season 13 premiere of Hikes & Mics , we’re joined by Tina Grimm — model, artist, thru-hiker, and contestant on Season 2 of Netflix’s survival series Outlast — for a deeply moving conversation about identity, resilience, and the transformative powe...

Send us Fan Mail 🏔️ Season 13 Bonus Episode — Stephen’s Road to Denali: Blue-Collar Mountaineering, West Coast Peaks & The Power of the Journey ❄️🥾 In this special Season 13 bonus episode , returning guest Stephen takes us inside his relentless, months-long push to prepare for Denali — the highest peak in North America — by launching a full-scale mountaineering campaign across the U.S. West C...