They call us hiker trash … HIKER TRASH!

Hey world,

In an attempt to stay relevant, I’m steppin’ back onto my soap box!

Exciting things on the horizon: I’ll be thru-hiking the John Muir Trail in the not-so-distant future with a good friend, Citrus, from the AT class of ’23! Get ready for some beautiful and/or silly updates.

To grab your attention in the meantime, we’ll start with a few nostalgic pictures. On this day one year ago, I took the morning to enjoy some views,

and crossed from Massachusetts into Ver-mud.

Now that you’re here – let me offer some unsolicited advice for anyone in a period of readjustment… 

If a canoe ride (forever earmarked in my brain as ‘The Bakery Excursion’ aka Dough Boy and Bagel cross the Kennebec) taught me anything: STAY. IN. TOUCH. WITH. TRAIL. PEOPLE. This started as unsolicited advice from our own version of Charon, but still rings true long after leaving the Appalachian Trail. Returning to our different lives beyond a section or thru-hike, normal people will struggle to understand your why, while you will struggle to understand why normal people continue to operate unphased in society today…

That said, after trail, I stayed in touch with a trail friend who grew up 20 minutes down the road from me. We met at Laughing Heart Hostel in North Carolina last April and spent a long time laughing about how small the world is… Please let me introduce: Slim Pickens. He started the trail a few day days after me, but we leapfrogged the whole AT, and we summited Katahdin on the same day. Missing each other by mere hours at the northern terminus, we reconnected in the homeland. Here are some fun facts about a great human:

1. He thru-hiked the AT to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s. His link is still active, so here’s a shameless plug to donate to the cause.
2. You can find his trail documentary, called Stumble on YouTube. This is an incredibly honest account of the highs and lows on trail. Side note: as a musician, the soundtrack beyond his own music is completely composed by fellow hiker musicians. 
3. The most important part! He’s an insanely talented musician who hiked over 3/4 of the trail with his guitar. He won the 2023 Trail Days Talent Show (with a song he recently released on Spotify, featured at 2:03:30 on the June 3, 2024 episode of Backpacker Radio). With a voice more sultry than Elvis and guitar skills rivaling SRV, Clapton, and Hendrix, this guy is going places. Check out his website or instagram for updates following his musical journey… or if you want to see him play to ponies!

Here’s to hoping all you hikers who have found your people are staying in touch and getting back into the wilderness together!

Cheers,

Bagel