The Trail Dames Podcast

Bio- Aaron is a registered dietitian and backpacker with over twenty years of experience in the field of nutrition and in the backcountry. In 2017, she left her clinical dietitian career with dreams of thru-hiking the PCT and starting a business focused on backpacking nutrition. Seven years later, Backcountry Foodie is a thriving business serving thousands of hikers worldwide. Guest Links- BCF web...

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 th...

Bio- Born on a dairy and tobacco farm, one of my chores was bringing in the cows for milking. I enjoyed walking over our 100 acres to get the cows, or just to be out in Nature. I had never heard of hiking trails…I followed the cow paths. After graduating from High School in 1963, I attended three different universities to achieve my BA in teaching, MA, and a Rank One (30 hours above the Masters)....

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 th...

Bio- I was born and raised in Alaska, where I still call home today. I was a two-time NCAA National Champion in women's rowing and was voted CRCA/Pocock All-American my senior year. I still consider myself an athlete and love everything from CrossFit to weight training to long walks in the woods. At Western Washington University I earned a degree in Evolutionary Nutrition and went on to study at t...

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 th...

Bio- Lindsay Wenndt is a nationally certified health coach and fitness instructor, with specialty certifications in weight management and orthopedic health (a.k.a. joint pain). She's the founder of Break Free Fitness, a curvy women's health and fitness company that reserves 10% of its membership and coaching packages as scholarships for low-income women. Lindsay has taught more than 10,000 classes...

Katie Rhodes is a mountain ultra runner, hiker, Wilderness Education Instructor and NYS Licensed Guide based out of the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. She's currently pursuing a Masters in Conservation Biology with a focus in alpine ecology and also works as an Industrial Hygienist in the semiconductor industry. You can usually find her meandering through the woods, identifying plants, po...

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 th...

Anna, aka Mud Butt, is the host of the Trail Dames podcast, the founder of Trail Dames, Inc, and the owner of Huthmaker Fine Violins in Atlanta, GA. And she has been bitten by the advocacy bug!! Guest Links- AHS Hike the Hill - https://americanhiking.org/advocacy/#hike-the-hill State Environmental Tracking Website - https://www.ncsl.org/environment-and-natural-resources/state-bill-tracking-databas...

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 th...

Bio- Suzanne Roberts is the author of the lyrical essay collection Animal Bodies: On Death, Desire, and Other Difficulties (Longlisted for the 2023 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay),​ the award-winning travel memoir in essays Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love and Travel (2020), and the memoir Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail (Winner of the 2012 N...

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 th...

Bio- Melissa "Click!" Goodwin, a licensed outdoor guide and photographer. She is the founder of Girl Gotta Hike, which connects women with nature, confidence, and camaraderie, both online and on-trail through blog posts, podcast interviews, and guided hiking and backpacking trips in and around New York City. She and her dad, Michael "LongTime" Goodwin, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail together in...

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 th...

Bio- My name is Christy Espy, my background ranges from being a coastal biologist in Miami to a stay at home mom to my current gig as the science program supervisor at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center in Buford Georgia. I love to hike and find my peace in the outdoors and help children of all ages find their peace there as well. Guest Links- Gwinnett Environmental Heritage Center - E...

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 th...

Bio- My name is Mingrey, I was born with the last name Lim but adopted by the Wong family since day one. I grew up in Malaysia, at age 11, my family migrated to United States. I served 4 years in the Navy upon graduation of High School and married at 21. After 3 daughters and 12 years of marriage, not by my choice I was divorced. I worked for an import company that made guitar cases for Taylor Gui...

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 th...

Bio- I have grown up in Washington State my whole life near Mount Rainier and was introduced to exploring the outdoors by my Grandma when I was 5. I've grown up hiking, backpacking, and spending time outside throughout my life and have recently jumped into the world of mountaineering. My ultimate desire is to be a wife and mom, and to be an independent homeschool teacher/homesteader. I'm currently...

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 th...

Kelly Howard is the Fitness Consistency Expert with a touch of Adventure and the author of FIT: Active & Ageless for Life! For over 25 years she has helped busy women prioritize their fitness so they can feel great and have more fun and energy for the things they love in this second half of life. She believes you can do anything when you feel strong, confident, and empowered. Kelly loves adding fu...

Bio- I was born in San Diego, California, the 6th of 7 children. Five brothers and a sister. Attended elementary, Junior High, High School and Community College in San Diego. Married at 21 and we moved to Washington. We had two sons. I was a stay-at-home mom. I took up jogging and would jog about 5 miles several times a week. A friend of mine took me on a hike to Emerald Ridge in Mt. Rainier Natio...

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 th...

Teresa's Bio: I grew up in Florida, the youngest of four children from loving, caring and supportive parents. We were an active family, involved in sports and often taking family camping trips. I graduated from University of Florida with a Bachelors Degree in Zoology, but have never worked in the field. Once I learned of the Appalachian Trail, the thought of hiking the whole thing would not go awa...