A Serialized Podcast About the Appalachian Trail

It’s been three years since I completed my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (which I blogged about here on the Trek). Like many former thru-hikers, I dream about the next opportunity that I’ll have to do a long-distance hike. But although I haven’t been on the AT itself, I’ve remained immersed in the lore of the trail for these past three years. I’ve been working on a new, serialized podcast about the Appalachian Trail, and I’ve just released the first two episodes in our podcast feed. The series will have its initial radio broadcast on New Hampshire Public Radio on Saturday, July 5th.

To be clear, this podcast is not a meandering account of my AT thru-hike, and it’s not an endless interview with some wonky expert on the AT. This is a serialized, documentary-style podcast and radio show that explores the origins of the Appalachian Trail through the lens of an AT thru-hike. The podcast explores the stories of remarkable people, surprising history, and the modern challenges facing the trail. Check out our show trailer to get a sense of the series.

I’ve been producing documentary films for the past 15 years, and I originally imagined this project as a documentary film, not a podcast. Surprisingly, there aren’t many good films about the Appalachian Trail. The film adaptation of “A Walk in the Woods” was comically bad, and there are few documentaries that do it justice. I wanted to change that, until I started to think more deeply about the logistics of shooting a film while simultaneously thru-hiking the AT.

A documentary-style podcast seemed like the perfect solution. While film gear is heavy and cumbersome, audio gear is lightweight and easy to pack. I built myself an ultra-lightweight audio recording kit that included lavalier mics, a small field recorder, and a mini parabolic microphone (a small plastic dish with a mic in the center designed for recording bird song). The parabolic microphone had to be strapped to the outside of my pack, leading to lots of questions from fellow hikers. Ultimately, I became known on trail as “Birdman” because of my interest in recording bird songs.

Recording birdsong with my mini parabolic microphone.

I recorded lots of conversations and interviews during my AT thru-hike. I captured audio from fellow thru-hikers, but I also scheduled interviews during zero days and spent many hours capturing the sounds of the forest. While I had some ideas about the stories I wanted to follow when I started the hike, most of what you’ll hear in the series are stories that I stumbled across while I was walking.

I spoke with some truly remarkable people with unique and interesting connections to the AT. Here are a few that stand out in my memory:

• Gil Jackson (trail name: Doyi) — a Cherokee language instructor and elder who thru-hiked the AT to experience the suffering felt by his ancestors during the Trail of Tears.
• Lamar Marshall — A historian and land surveyor who mapped ancient Cherokee footpaths throughout Southern Appalachia, and documented sections of the AT that overlap these ancient trails.
• Lavita Hill — Co-organizer of the successful campaign to restore the original Cherokee name of the AT’s tallest peak, Kuwohi (formerly Clingman’s Dome).
• Philip D’Anieri — Author of the bestselling book about the AT, “The Appalachian Trail: A Biography.”
• Sandra Marra — President and CEO of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy who’s dedicated most of her life to the AT.
• Anthony Cohen — Historian who hiked 800 miles along one of the routes of the Underground Railroad and compares his experience to the AT.
• Ben Montgomery — Author of “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk,” a bestselling book about how Gatewood’s thru-hike saved the AT from obscurity.
• Laura Waterman — Celebrated mountaineer and expert on the history of mountain climbing in the Northeast.
• Nicole Zussman — President and CEO of the Appalachian Mountain Club.
• Nolan Altvater — Educator and storyteller who works for the Passamaquoddy Tribal Preservation Office.
• Patty Cormier — Director of the Maine state forestry service, and the chair of the Baxter State Park Authority.

At its heart, however, this is the story of my AT thru-hike. It’s about the struggles and the beauty of a long-distance hike on the AT. It’s a portrait of a footpath and national park that I came to think of as my second home. 

Birdman and Chili Pepper Woman on the AT in New York.

Common Land is available on all major podcast platforms. Episodes 1 & 2 dropped in the show’s feed on Wednesday, July 2nd, and new episodes will follow every Wednesday. Our initial radio broadcast will happen on New Hampshire Public Radio on Saturday, July 5th, with new episodes following every Saturday. There are 12 episodes in the series, each a half hour long.

If you’re currently hiking the AT and want to help us spread the word about the show, apply to be a Common Land Trail Ambassador!

If you run a business that’s associated with the AT and want to help promote Common Land in exchange for recognition on our website and social media, click here.