logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2022
38m 39s

Even Hikers Get The Blues

NHPR
About this episode
When Jocelyn Smith was growing up, she told her friends and family she didn’t want to go to college. Instead, her goal was to hike all 2,190 miles of the Appalachian Trail, a rugged journey spanning from northern Georgia to central Maine. Last year, she finally realized that dream in a seven-month long, life-changing adventure. But as soon as she started her ... Show More
Up next
Oct 29
Operation Night Cat Update: New Plea Deals and Charges
“Operation Night Cat” is a special series from NHPR’s ⁠Document ⁠team and ⁠Outside/In. Since we first brought you this series in November 2025, there have been two big updates. Host Nate Hegyi sits down with producer Jason Moon to explain. Missed it the first time? Check out the ... Show More
15m 15s
Oct 28
Zombies, jack-o’-lanterns, and our spooky scary skeletons
On a recent fishing trip, Nate came across a bone-chilling sight. It was a salmon that seemed kind of… dead. Its skin was falling off, it smelled horrible, and it didn’t have any eyes. Turns out, Nate had stumbled onto a (barely) living example of a recent listener question: “Are ... Show More
31m 22s
Oct 21
Why these food safety experts will eat rare steak, but not buffet fruit salad
Can you eat a tuna sandwich if it sits in your backpack all day? Is ceviche risky? And, after Hot Cyclospora Summer, are we allowed to eat lettuce yet? We brought your food safety questions to Don Schaffner and Ben Chapman, scientists and hosts of the podcast Risky or Not?, and t ... Show More
34m 39s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2023
The Food-Obsessed Subculture Of The Appalachian Trail
<p>How do you feed yourself on a hike that’s more than 2,200 miles long and takes six months to complete? Every summer, hundreds of people attempting to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine, are faced with that question. This week senior producer Emma Morgenst ... Show More
39m 45s
Apr 2024
My Dad's Depression
For Paul Barach, hiking is an antidote to depression. Is it that way for everyone? This episode takes us from Washington State to Joshua Tree National Park and explores what happens when we try to impose our own life solutions on a loved one. --- Links: Support Out There on Patre ... Show More
30m 6s
Jun 2023
Queer in Appalachia
<p class="">As a nonbinary person, Newt Schottelkotte never felt at home in Appalachia. But then, they went on a road trip with their dad. Driving through the Blue Ridge Mountains, something started to shift. This is a story about figuring out how to be yourself without abandonin ... Show More
32m 43s
Jul 2023
Amazons: Return from the Wild
In May 2022, Marci Kornegay set off from the Southern Terminus to hike the Pacific Crest Trail but as the journey progressed into Northern California, Oregon and Washington State, wildfires interrupted her goal of reaching the Northen Terminus in Canada by the fall. Undaunted and ... Show More
40m 40s
Nov 2024
Mom and Son Hike the Appalachian Trail
What would it take for a sixteen year old boy to hike the entire Appalachian trail with his mom? That's what we are talking about today with Jessica and Largo, the mother and son duo we chatted with last week about traveling the world as a family. Jessica and Largo saw their rela ... Show More
48m 52s
May 2025
Uinta Triangle | Episode 2
New podcast from the COLD team: Eric Robinson forges a new friendship on the John Muir Trail, while an old friendship frays under stresses of the trail. From the High Sierra to the Himalaya, Eric’s aspirations in the outdoors continue to grow. His wife, Marilyn Koolstra, accompan ... Show More
1h 7m
Jun 2024
Exploring the Spirit of Wildness with Laura Waterman
I first came across the work of Laura Waterman while conducting research on the origins of the Appalachian Trail. As many of our listeners are surely aware by now, I completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2022, and am currently working on a 10-episode documentary radio ... Show More
1h 16m
May 2023
Moonlight
<p class="">We've all had moments when we feel lost. Sometimes it's literal; sometimes it's emotional. Either way, it's unnerving. And lonely.</p> <p class="">This episode takes us from the deserts of California to the jungles of the Philippines, and explores how one young woman ... Show More
32m 4s
Mar 2023
Don't Leave the Trail
<p>Today’s podcast features 3 stories that will make you think twice before leaving the trail. The audio from all three of these stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel and has been remastered for today's episode.</p><p>Story names, previews & links to original YouT ... Show More
31m 49s