Broken Laces: a Hiker's Podcast

We had such a good time drafting national parks last year (Episode 17), we had to do it again. This time, we're drafting hiking trails, on a 50 mile budget. Jeremy Jones (see Episode 1) and my brother Jeff Smith (see Episode 17) join me for four rounds of drafting our favorite hikes. Well, we included a bonus round too! Each person had 50 miles to spend (where we counted trail mile

Rowan Smith, the founder of Summit Strength, is one of the world’s only specialist hiking coaches. With over 10 years of experience as a Personal Trainer, Rowan coaches hikers from across the globe, creating 100% tailored coaching. He targets individual’s physical and mental strength, with clients fulfilling bucket list adventures such as Everest Base Camp, Kilimanjaro, the Pac

Jessie is the US Program Manager for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation initiative (Y2Y), whose mission is to connect and protect habitat across 2,000 miles (3,200 km) and inspire others to engage in similar work. Jessie’s conservation experience and academic background integrate forest ecology, biodiversity, species conservation, and climate change into collaborative projects

In Season 2, I detailed my hike of the 220+ miles of the John Muir trail. This season, I'm excited to share my most recent hike of the Collegiate Loop, a 160 mile loop (obviously) that is part of the much longer, 500 mile long Colorado Trail. In this episode, I share the route details (miles, elevation, clockwise/counterclockwise), how to plan your hike (resupplies, research resour

Snake River Brewery's Luke Bauer joins the podcast to talk about a hodgepodge of his favorite things, including craft beer, Wyoming hikes, and packrafting. Luke has worked in the craft beer industry 12+ years, as well as several years in the outdoors industry, specifically with the American Alpine Club and recently, the American Packrafting Association. Luke is a climber, paddler,

Eli Bernstein joins the podcast to talk (nerd out) about backpacking gear. In the conversation, we chat about Backpacker Magazine, how he ended up there, how they review and test gear, and general tips for consumers when picking gear. Eli has worked as Backpacker's gear editor for four years. He spends most of his time trying to hike, ski, and climb in scenic places with as few peo

Teresa Martinez joins the podcast to talk about the Continental Divide Trail and how towns across the 3,000+ mile trail are building communities around stewardship and education. For much of her 30 year professional career, Teresa has worked throughout our entire National Trails System. From 1987-2007 she worked for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, from 2007 to 2012 she worked fo

Listen to the 4+ minute unscripted (in that I didn't spend too much time on it -- full time job getting in the way) intro to Season 3, including BRIEF intros to our season 3 guests. Guests featured in the preview have been recorded already, so there likely will be a few more surprises along the way! Like it, sign up for more here

Barney Mann (trail name, Scout) joins the podcast to talk about his upcoming book (released August 1st), Journey's North. In Journeys North, Scout details the journey of a half-dozen hikers--including Barney and his wife, Sandy-- as they trod north, slowly forming relationships and revealing their deepest secrets and aspirations. They face a once-in-a-generation drought and early s

We're having a draft! What park should go #1? What park is a sneaky steal in the 5th round? What park doesn't get drafted and makes you scream at us?