Trail Correspondents

Every thru-hike becomes a gear test sooner or later. Our 2026 Trail Correspondents take stock of what's earned a permanent place in their packs, what's headed for the next post office, and which pieces of gear have surprised them—for better or worse. From luxury items to costly mistakes, these stories from the AT, PCT, and CDT prove that the right gear can make all the difference... until it doesn...

Every hike begins with a story we tell ourselves about what the trail will be. Now several weeks into their journeys, our 2026 Trail Correspondents reflect on where expectation has collided with reality. From romanticized visions and unexpected hardships to surprising joys and perspective-shifting moments, these stories from the AT, PCT, and CDT reveal what the trail is really like once the dream...

Wild Card time! No prompts, no script, and no rules!  Expect the unexpected as this jam-packed episode swings from the bizarre to the profound. You'll hear wild field updates featuring a 1:37 AM wake-up call by sheriff deputies in a cemetery, a chaotic mid-day standoff between a coyote and a turkey, and the pure joy of a trail angel loaning out a truck packed with ice cream. But it's not all crazy...

One week down, and the honeymoon phase now officially collides with reality. Our 2026 Trail Correspondents check in from the AT, PCT, and CDT after their first week on trail, sharing sore bodies, emotional highs and lows, unexpected surprises, and the early signs of who's settling into trail life… and who's wondering what they've gotten themselves into. Correspondent Roster In this episode, we hea...

Every thru-hike starts long before the first step. Our 2026 Trail Correspondents share how they've been preparing for their AT, PCT, and CDT thru-hikes, physically, logistically, mentally, and emotionally. From deliberate zero-prep approaches to 123-sheet resupply spreadsheets, the range of strategies is as diverse as the trails themselves. One thing they all have in common: the trail has a way of...

Every thru-hike starts with a "why." In our Season 5 premiere, ten Trail Correspondents introduce themselves before stepping onto the AT, PCT, and CDT. A retired cop. A stand-up comic. A welder down 180 pounds. A guy chasing his trail buddy onto the PCT. Ten people, ten origin stories, and the trail hasn't even started yet. Correspondent Roster In this episode, we hear from: Logan Hannah - Instagr...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is the final episode of season 4: an interview with your former self.  Traditionally, this episode is formatted such that we pan back and forth between the present and the past as the Correspondents ask and answer questions they posed to themselves prior to leaving for their journeys; however, as I started to dig into putting this episode together, I was...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! We've finally come to it: the finish.  Send us your questions about anything and everything here : https://www.speakpipe.com/TrailCorrespondents In today's episode we hear from : Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK, Abbey, aged 26, is swapping the rolling hills of the South Downs for the mountains of the Pacific Crest. A thru-hike of the JMT...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! I am your host moron and this is episode 13 all about the last week on trail. There are a lot of complex, possibly mutually exclusive and contradicting feelings that can arise on the last week of trail. You've found a groove, have your gear and resupply system fine tuned and have all of the intellectual, emotional and physical momentum you could need to reach...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! You'll certainly find a noticeable theme throughout these clips - especially with those who are completing their first long trail, that it's difficult to sum up in words what's been learned.  The duration of time a thru hike requires is definitely enough to cause a thorough change within a person - it's so all-encompassing and transforming that it's hard to n...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! T his is Episode 11 which is all about the mental game required to attempt a thru-hike.  Denial is not just a river in Africa and it's the stories we tell ourselves that frame our experience as heavenly or hellish. Now some relevant quotes:  Henry Ford, "Whether you think you can or can't, you're right." Sapiens author, Yuval Noah Harari, " Homo sapiens is a...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! I am your host moron and this is the last installment of the wildcard episodes for this season of the show. No real need for introductions here as we all know the drill by now. So, settle in and prepare to hear a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lot in between.  Let's get into it.   In today's episode we hear from : Abbigale (Abby) Evans Abby Eva...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! Though many of us eat more so out of pleasure, schedule, routine or the like, a hiker's relationship to food evolves during the course of a thru-hike and it's an interesting change to take note of. Wherever you fall in the dietary spectrum it's somewhat unlikely that you will have the same relationship with food pre and post trail.  Food is important and it b...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! Today we're talking about the physical adjustment our correspondents have endured on trail.  When it comes to staying on trail, you have to listen to your body. You ignore its cries and protests at your peril. If there's one piece of advice I can give with respect to acclimating to the physical demands of thru hiking, it's to tend to things THE MOMENT they ar...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! Today we're looking at another wildcard edition of the show.  In case you don't know, wildcard episodes give our correspondents free reign to talk about whatever they'd like.  So strap in for some wholesome rambling regarding this, that, and the other! Let's get into it.  In today's episode we hear from : Abbey Turnbull Harking from the South Coast of the UK,...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is episode 6: the social experience. This episode isn't just about the "tramily" most hikers will invariably and organically find themselves a part of - it's about the trail angels, the people who give you rides to town, the clerks at the grocery stores, the attendants at gas stations and so on.  When you're on trail, you're on a mission and its gravity...

Welcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is episode 5: expectations vs. reality.  Picture in your mind's eye, an ideal version of time spent in nature. It's likely not raining and warm but not hot. Perhaps the perfect cooling breeze supportively buffets your face while you climb a challenging but not impossible ascent.  You may find yourself surrounded by lush, green foliage, peeking out from wh...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! I am your host moron. This is episode 4 of Trail Correspondents - the first wild card edition, wherein each of our contributors get to relay whatever is on their mind. This episode is a fun exposé highlighting everyone's unique taste and what they individually bring to the table: it's a narrative potluck, y'all.   Let's get into it!  In today's episode we hea...

W elcome back to Trail Correspondents! This is the moment we've all been waiting for: hitting the trail. While 11 members of this group have boots on the ground and are headed in their chosen direction toward their trail's terminus, today we also hear from one correspondent who has yet to depart along with another who, after a harrowing first day, has made the difficult decision to get off trail. ...

I t's said that proper preparation prevents poor performance. That being so, though there is a high level of inescapable serendipity and general chaos that has to be accepted and even embraced during a thru-hike, equally important is the forethought that goes into this kind of endurance endeavor.  Preparation is individualized and personal. In the world of trail tropes, it's also often said that o...

Hello and welcome back to the much anticipated, 4th season of Trail Correspondents! This season features a great group of hopeful hiker who will be sharing their journeys with us all. Beyond just getting to know this new batch of folks, there is also the passing of the host-torch from Zach "Badger" Davis to Kenneth "Moron" Pararo. We get a quick update on this change of guard, hear a bit from Moro...

Today marks the final episode of our third season. At the beginning of this year, before embarking on their SOBO thru-hikes, I asked our Correspondents to interview themselves. Specifically, their future selves. We wanted a way to demonstrate the metamorphosis a hiker goes through during their journey- or perhaps lack thereof. This was our listeners' favorite episode last year, and I have no doubt...

The finish.  We are here.  Not days, not weeks, but months of blood, sweat, and tears, all with the remote hope that the journey will conclude at the intended destination- the southern terminus.  A goal that at one point feels too big to conceptualize, and today, this goal is realized. Our hikers give us a glimpse of how they're feeling- their current emotional state and how the expectation of rea...

Today brings us to our hikers last week on trail.  Here, we asked our hikers to reflect on their journey overall.  Although this isn't technically a wildcard episode, we gave our Correspondents free rein to focus in on whatever they felt most passionate about in the process of looking back on their journeys.   You'll hear some disbelief, you'll hear some excitement, you'll hear some somber thought...

The trail is my teacher. Perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of a long distance backpacking trip is the time it allows someone to be with their thoughts. It's not uncommon for the time and space to allow for a breakthrough, or even just seeing old problems in a new light. Today we learn what lessons our hikers have learned over their course on trail. FIND US ON ITUNES | FIND US ON GOOGLE PL...