HTR Trail Correspondent Austen Goring stepped onto the PCT at Campo with a plan, a heavy pack, and every intention of walking to Canada. Seven days and 76 miles later, something went wrong — and nobody's entirely sure what. His left ankle swelled to the size of a small planet, X-rays came back clean, and the desert offered no explanations. On his last night on trail, coyotes were circling camp. By morning, one of his shoes was gone. The trail, it seems, wanted to make sure he got the message.

Show Notes

Our 2026 Pacific Crest Trail correspondent Austen Goring made it 76 miles before a mysterious ankle injury forced him off the trail. In this episode, Doc sits down with Austen to talk about what happened out there — the physical toll of a desert that doesn't negotiate, the emotional weight of stepping off a dream, and the strange, coyote-adjacent ending to his first attempt at the PCT.


In this episode:



  • The lead-up to the trail — gear prep, resupply boxes, and that last restaurant dinner

  • Life in the desert: solo hiking, deep thoughts, and an urgent craving for fruit

  • How the ankle injury developed — and why Austen kept going anyway

  • The decision to step off trail, and the guilt that came with it

  • A missing shoe, a suspected coyote, and one very clear sign from the universe

  • What Austen would do differently — and why 2027 is already on the radar


Mentioned in this episode:



  • Chris "Winslow Walks" Anderson, former HTR guest

  • FarOut app

  • Kennedy Meadows

  • Julian, CA


Sponsors: Six Moon Designs | Triple Crown Coffee | Off the Trail Recreation | Hilltop Packs | Vera Watches | Far Out | Garage Grown Gear | Jolly Gear


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