Backpacker Radio 57: Crazy Jack Northam on Summiting Whitney ~200 Times, Listener Poop Stories, and The Top Tents on the Appalachian Trail

We are joined by Crazy Jack Northam.  Crazy Jack earned his name by summiting Mount Whitney (the highest peak in the United States’ Lower 48) nearly 200 times, an endeavor he didn’t begin until the ripe age of 50.  Today, Jack is 72 years old and still going strong.

He regales us with tales of his many ascents up his favorite mountain, why he chooses to summit the same peak, his yo-yo hikes on Whitney, his climbs beginning at the nearby town of Lone Pine, and how he stumbled into some seriously historic butter.  Chaunce and I close out the show by highlighting the top shelters on the Appalachian Trail, give an official ruling on the best Doritos flavor, do the Triple Crown of food items remaining in your bag when you get to town, and get into a new recurring segment, Listener Poop Stories.

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• Interview with Crazy Jack Northam
  • How he got his trail name
  • Why he continues to hike the same peak over and again
  • His yo-yo hikes of Mount Whitney
  • Search and rescue missions on Mount Whitney
  • Jack’s time in the Marine Corps
  • Advice for older hikers
• Trek Propaganda
  • The Top Tents on the Appalachian Trail: 2019 AT Thru-Hiker Survey by Mariposa
• Triple Crown of food left in your bag when you get to town.
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• Listener Poop Stories
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