What does it look like to slow down, really slow down, and cross a country under your own power? Taylor Nichols is an actor, avid backpacker, and co-host of the Bike Talk radio show and podcast, and he did exactly that, biking solo and self-supported from San Francisco to East Lansing, Michigan. His destination was the house he grew up in, where his 101-year-old father still lives. Over 53 days and more than 3,000 miles, Taylor navigated the rugged California and Oregon coasts, followed the Lewis and Clark trail through Montana, and discovered that small-town bars in North Dakota double as community gathering halls. He opens up about the unexpected mental peace of life on the road, the headwind-as-metaphor insight that shifted his perspective, and the kindness of strangers, including a trail angel named Sherry who rescued him in an Oregon rainstorm.

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Visit Adventure Cycling

David Rovics

https://www.soundclick.com/track/764943/david-rovics/the-bicycle-song

used with Creative Commons license

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Connect with Hike:
Instagram: @thehikepodcast
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Email: hikepodcast@gmail.com

Relive Trail Days or just live vicariously through Paladin's adventures. We chat about the essentials - the woods, THRU-r Village, what it's like attending for the first time and the joy of the hiker parade. There's lots of stories about his tramily and hikers he ran into while in Damascus.

Paladin's trail magic is a special thing and represents the best of our hiking community.

Follow Paladin on Instagram

Check out THUR-r https://thru-r.com/

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Instagram: @thehikepodcast
Facebook: @thehikepodcast
Email: hikepodcast@gmail.com

What happens when you leave behind the familiar and take a leap into the wilderness? Author Christine Reed joins me to share the story behind Alone in Wonderland, a powerful memoir about heartbreak, healing, and finding strength one step at a time on the trail.

Outdoorsy Women+ Book Pod | Rugged Outdoorswoman

Outdoorsy Women+ Book Club | Rugged Outdoorswoman

https://substack.com/@ruggedoutdoorswoman

https://www.instagram.com/ruggedoutdoorswoman/

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Email: hikepodcast@gmail.com

What happens when you trade a four-decade career in business for the mountains, the trails, and the life you almost left behind? In this episode, I sit down with Tom French, author of The Gap Years: Climbing, Skiing, and the Journey Back, to talk about adventure, reinvention, and what it truly means to reconnect with the outdoors at any age. Tom's story is a powerful reminder that the call of the wild doesn't have an expiration date; some of the most meaningful journeys begin exactly when you think the adventure is over.

Whether you're an avid hiker, a weekend adventurer, or simply someone who has ever felt the pull of wild places, this conversation will inspire you to lace up your boots and get back out there.

🎧 Enjoy this episode? Pick up a copy of The Gap Years: Climbing, Skiing, and the Journey Back by Tom French on Amazon or your favorite independent bookseller!

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Email: hikepodcast@gmail.com

When was the last time you actually stopped on a trail, not because you needed water, but because something made you pause? In this episode, Lori invites you to slow way down and experience the trail through all five senses. From the lichen-covered boulders of Blackrock Summit to the quiet of the southern AT, she shares what spring in Shenandoah National Park sounds, smells, feels, and even tastes like, and how bringing that same attention to your own local trail will change everything.

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Email: hikepodcast@gmail.com

Scott Little of Green Cove Collective comes on the show to discuss the Virginia Creeper Trail as it exists post-Helene and what the impact the hurricane had on the trail and it's close knit community of shops, restaurants and outdoor enthusiasts. In this episode we chat about how Scott started his online shop and then the brick and mortar store in Green Cove during Covid as a way to both support and be an essential part of the biking and outdoors community that has been created around the Creeper Trail.

The Virginia Creeper Trail is a 35-mile (56 km) multi-purpose rail trail. Located in southwestern Virginia, the trail runs from Abingdon to Whitetop, near Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and the North Carolina border.

The trail accomodates hikers, cyclists and equestrians on its descent from Abingdon to Damascus.

18 miles of the 34-mile mile Creeper Trail, from Damascus to Whitetop, have been devastated. To date, 18 trestles have been lost – destroyed or washed away. In extended sections, the trail itself no longer exists… reclaimed by the rushing, flooded creeks. Trailheads, access points, amenities and signage have been destroyed as well (Credit: Virginia Creeper Trail Conservancy).

To connect with Scott/Green Cove Collective and learn more:

Instagram: @virginiacreepertrail, @greencovecollective

Web: greencovecollective.com

Music clip credit:
"Whiskey on the Mississippi" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Email: hikepodcast@gmail.com

Maria Wishart aka Wheezy-Pee chats with Lori about hiking with your dog and as a hiker how to interact with dogs on trail.

Some of the things we chat about:

• What makes your dog a candidate to accompany you on your hike
• Reactive dogs
• Town food and dog caloric needs on trail for a thru hike
• Considerations for backpacking and section hiking with dogs
• Your dog's gear set up based on season and care needs

Companies mentioned:

Down Dog Bags

Alpha Pak

Red Paw Packs

Sea to Summit

Connect with Maria:

Instagram: @hike_woof_wiggle_repeat

Facebook: Maria Wishart

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Connect with Hike:
Instagram: @thehikepodcast
Facebook: @thehikepodcast
Email: hikepodcast@gmail.com

In this premiere episode of the Explore Virginia Podcast, host Lori Prima brings on guest Bill Henry of the Blue Ridge Heritage Project.

The project's vision is:

• Develop a memorial site in each of the eight counties where land was acquired to create the Shenandoah National Park; and
• Educate visitors about the lives and culture of the people who lived in the mountains through living history presentations, exhibits, and demonstrations.

In this informative episode you will learn more about the history of the project, the families who were removed from the land that is now Shenandoah National Park and how the chimney memorials came to be placed in eight counties where families called the mountains home.

You can learn more by visiting:

https://www.blueridgeheritageproject.com/

List of recommended books and other resources can be found here

Reach out to the podcast:

Loriprima@explorevirginiapodcast.com

Subscribe to the podcast at:

https://explorevirginia.buzzsprout.com/

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Connect with Hike:
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Email: hikepodcast@gmail.com