The Trail Dames Podcast

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...

Dixie Huthmaker grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, where she became an accomplished musician and teacher. In the years that followed, she married the love of her life, Roland "Buddy" Huthmaker, and had two children, Anna and Charles. When her children were in middle school, Dixie's adventuresome nature made itself known as she started writing a book, dreaming of visiting cathedrals all over Europe,...

Gail D. Storey is the author of I Promise Not to Suffer: A Fool for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest Trail , winner of the National Outdoor Book Award, Colorado Book Award, Nautilus Silver Award, Barbara Savage Award from Mountaineers Books, and others. Her hilarious novels The Lord's Motel and God's Country Club were published by Persea Books, New York. With her husband, she bicycled across the count...

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 founder of Trail Dames Incorporated, a hiking club for women of a curvy nature. Between running her families violin shop (Huthmaker Fine Violins), working in Trail Dames, and teaching new skills around the world with Luthiers without Borders, she is always looking for ways to experience the magic of the outdoors and the beauty of the trail. Connect with Anna, aka Mud But...

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...

Meghan J. Ward is a writer, editor, digital content specialist and all-around storyteller based in Banff, Canada (Treaty 7 territory). A fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Meghan has written several books and contributed to anthologies, blogs, award-winning films and some of North America's top outdoor, fitness and adventure publications. Raised in Ottawa, Meghan ventured West to 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...

Anna, aka Mud Butt, is the host of the Trail Dames podcast and the founder of Trail Dames. She is always looking for ways to encourage people to get outdoors and this time of year gives her the perfect opportunity to do just that!! Connect with Anna, aka Mud Butt, at info@traildames.com You can find the Trail Dames at: Our website: https://www.traildames.com The Summit: https://www.traildamessummi...

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...

Deborah Webb - Retired from Verizon and involved with GATC for the past five years as a volunteer for Activities Committee, Hike Leader, and Trail Ambassador. I accepted the position of Activities Director in 2022 and am currently on the board of directors for GATC. Cathie, Ashley, and I are working together to try to encourage more women to join GATC and enjoy our hikes. Our past hikes have been...

Bowen Blair is an environmental attorney who has protected some of the nation's most important landscapes. In the Columbia Gorge, Blair helped draft and lobby the act that established the country's most prominent national scenic area and negotiated the purchase of thousands of acres for public parks and tribal homelands. He was later appointed by two Oregon governors to the Gorge Commission, which...

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 is the host of the Trail Dames podcast, the Founder of Trail Dames, The Summit, and the Trail Dames Foundation. When she isn't dancing up the trail with the Dames, she can be found at her family business, Huthmaker Fine Violins, where she is known as the Bow Queen.   Guest Links- Eupepsia Wellness Center - https://eupepsia.com/WellnessCenter/wellnessSpa   Connect with Anna, aka Mud Butt, at i...

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 am a soulful coach and heart-led content creator who is following my soul's calling to cultivate greater love, inner strength, and healing in the world. I approach my clients with warmth, understanding, and honesty. As an overcomer of childhood sexual trauma, addiction, domestic abuse, and chronic illness, I devoted many years to healing myself. Yet, I still struggled to maintain healthy re...

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...

A Force for Nature: Nancy Russell's Fight to Save the Columbia Gorge, by Bowen Blair. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60503767-a-force-for-nature Bowen Blair website - https://www.bowenblair.com/ LIGHTS TO GUIDE ME HOME: A Journey Off the Beaten Track in Life, Love, Adventure, and Parenting - by Meghan J Ward. https://rmbooks.com/book/lights-to-guide-me-home/ Meghan J. Ward Website - https://w...

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...

Andrea Lani is the author of Uphill Both Ways: Hiking toward Happiness on the Colorado Trail (Bison Books, 2022). The book chronicles the 500-mile hike through the Rocky Mountains that she took with her husband and three kids, the hike on the same trail she and her husband took 20 years earlier, and the natural, environmental, and social history of Colorado. She's a graduate of College of the Atla...

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...

Rosanna Rostad is an active mom and grandmother who can often be found hiking, backpacking, leading hikes, and serving on the Board of Directors for the Trail Dames. After becoming an ethical vegan in 2014, Rosanna has spent years learning to cook amazing vegan food, and often volunteers in different projects educating people on the ease and fulfillment of forgoing animal products. She believes th...

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...

26 years ago, I was blessed to have Jamie Gregory as a student. She had the most open heart and the brightest of spirits and was a true joy to be around. As an adult, Jamie has put her gifts towards becoming a mid-wife, nurse, and now the co-founder of Life Tree Women Care. She focuses on respecting cultures, listening intently to her patients, and creating a safe medical place where women are hea...

After 14 years as a librarian, Suzanne left that field in 2013. She knew she still wanted to be of service but wanted to help animals rather than people- although she still helps people. Suzanne became licensed for small mammals in 2014 and added her federal migratory bird permit in 2016. In 2018, she started rehabilitating rabies vector species, with a focus on bats. Right now she primarily take...