Carry the Damn First Aid Kit - Dave, aka Slowfoot (Part II)

In Part 2, Dave's background comes into full focus: an inner-city kid from just outside Boston who read a book about walking in high school, went to an ALDHA gathering in his early 20s, and never really came back. His grandfather helped cut the last section of the AT as a teenager with the CCC. Dave eventually took over as head of trails for the Forest Service, caretaker at Upper Goose Pond Cabin for 20 years, and wilderness EMT who watched the rescue numbers climb decade by decade. He also walked from Key West, Florida to the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec — nearly 5,900 miles, among the first to complete the Eastern Continental Trail and International Appalachian Trail. His take on what hikers today are missing is direct: learn to use a compass, take a zero in the woods instead of in town, stop following everybody else, and remember that the gear doesn't make the hike. The mentality does. He also tells you why his last thru-hike was in 2013, what ended it, and what he misses most about the old days.

If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, start there — it dropped 10 minutes ago.