If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.
Gail Sheehy
This week I’ll produce the fifty-second episode of my podcast. She’s one year old! and what a great years it’s been, sharing stories of my hikes primarily on the Te Araroa in New Zealand, but also some shorter thru-hikes of Isle Royale in Lake Superior and the Kekekabic in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota.
I am so pleased you’ve come along for the ride – because going back and reconstructing the story of those hikes and all the feelings, the encounters and the sounds I heard was deeply satisfying for me. It quite literally changed how I remember my first thru-hike – and, I think, how I’ll experience thru-hikes going forward. For that alone, I’m so glad I jumped in and created a podcast.
So here’s what I want to do going forward. In a little over three weeks, I will be starting the Continental Divide Trail. It’s one of the crown jewels of trails in the United States – a National Scenic Trail – and follows as closely as possible the highest parts of the Rocky Mountains through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. You’ve heard me talk about it and now it’s, at least becoming, more of a reality.
I am taking my microphone with me and plan to podcast on trail! I hope I can stay on schedule and drop new episodes each Thursday morning, but that of course depends on where I am and if I have decent wifi access. I also can’t burn up all my battery in my tent and not have enough to collect sound, take pictures and video as well as charge my Garmin Inreach mini – the 3 oz satellite communication system that keeps me in touch with Richard and has an SOS if things go sideways out there – so there are a lot of things to consider.
That being said, this next phase of the podcast will be on trail and as it happens – with a few shows here from my studio as I prepare. I know mentioned that you can support me as a hiker/artist at Patreon – it’s a membership platform where you can give as little as $5 per month and get a bit more access to me – I’ll plan several Q&A cocktail hours along the CDT via Zoom and we can check in – that’s only available to patrons. So if you can support my work, I’d be incredibly grateful.
Now the other big change is the name of the podcast.
I had a lot of fun with the play on words that is The Pee Rag – the unglamorous bit of kit every bad ass woman needs on trail as metaphor for empowerment and not needing permission to get out there – also the play on Rag – being like a broadside.
But, the name doesn’t exactly capture what I do – which is to hike. And any name you have to explain maybe isn’t quite working out. What I want is to clarify who I am and what I’m doing. Also, there’s this whole idea of “brand consistency.” I’m not a brand – I’m a middle aged solo female thru-hike. But I do want the name of my podcast to match my trail name and make it patently obvious what the show if about.
So, the new name of my thru-hiking, personal essay, found-sound creation is – blissful hiker – walking the world! OK, I know it seems really obvious, but after some thought, a few conversations with some of you ardent listeners and a feeling of wanting to drill down and focus, this very simple descriptive name of my website and blog, my Facebook and Instagram profile, as well as the name gear manufacturers put on the packages when they send me stuff – makes sense to keep using.
Moving on, I’ll have new sounds to collect and more stories to tell and this time with the CDT – all while I’m on trail – though next week, you’ll hear me preparing food, gear, getting permits and trying to figure out what the heck I’m doing on a long trail.
Thanks for listening and reading and being a part of each step forward! Kia kaha, friends, and happy trails!
