Dark Miles - If I Slow Down with Casey "Vegas" Huffman

Show Notes

Casey “Vegas the Pied Piper” Huffman thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2023 and the Pacific Crest Trail in 2025, and six weeks after telling Hiker Trash Radio that nothing would stop his 2027 Continental Divide Trail Triple Crown finish, an unclipped auto-belay in a Las Vegas climbing gym left him with two broken ankles and a shattered sense of self.

Drawing on three appearances across 18 months, this Dark Miles episode traces the full arc: the medicated childhood and the yes/no tattoos on his palms, the “letter from Hogwarts” at Annapolis Rock, the AT hike he privately treated as a Hail Mary, the winter in Florida where depression turned catatonic and his parents invoked the Baker Act, and the comeback that began with a slow walk through the Maryland section of the AT, the very place his story started. It ends with a finished Tahoe Rim Trail, a first 5K run an hour before our final interview, the Superior Hiking Trail this October, and the CDT in 2027.

If you’re struggling, you don’t have to do it alone. In the U.S., call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Follow Vegas on Instagram and YouTube at @vegasthepiedpiper. New episodes of Hiker Trash Radio drop weekly.  Find us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, or write to HikerTrashRadio@gmail.com.

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