Thru hiker and professional guide Liz "Night Owl" Pfeifer joins Doc in the studio to talk trail and guiding. Settle in and buckle up as Night Owl discusses her 2025 AT thru hike and starting her own guiding business, Trail Dog and Company. Along the way, she shares her thoughts on her superpowers, fanny packs, the Virginia Blues, pack mentality, getting gritty, ugly crying, fancy brunch spots, hiker trash showers, the Six Pack Family, Poet and Hippy Chick, sprained ankles, norovirus, suspected creepers, and the value of new material. Epic. (This is Part I. Be sure to listen to Part II.)

Show Notes

Doc hosts Liz “Night Owl” Pfeifer, an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker and owner/lead guide of Trail Dog and Company. Liz shares the shift from hiking for herself to motivating clients, her strengths (bad-weather resilience, animal connection) and a key weakness learned from pushing miles and spraining an ankle in the 100-Mile Wilderness. She highlights her go-to gear (a Hyperlite Versa fanny pack), guiding on the AT and in Yellowstone, safety tips like keeping three rocks by the tent, and how she left corporate sales to pursue guiding and community on trail.


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