Wards Adventure Travel Research & Trip Journal

Once again, we stand over our maps in the map room and continue developing our trail plan. This is a good episode, with lots of factual details, such as trail huts, camp stores, and mileage in between.

We talk about Giardia and Cryptosporidium, etc., during the first 15 minutes of this podcast. The remaining time we spend talking about the new gear we’ve purchased and gear we still think we need. The previous week we drank water from the cattle pond, and since cattle host all sorts of nasty protozoa, bacteria, and … Continue reading »

I’ll add show notes later…

I’ll probably have this episode transcribed. It’s loaded with factual information. Buy the Appalachian Trail Guide to Shenandoah National Park (with side trails) from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

I might add a detailed description later…

Another outdoor episode! We enjoyed ourselves immensely, tramping six miles (once again) into the back-country, heading west toward two ponds under the sun, our packs fully loaded and Nature’s offering flawless. We are lucky where we walk–true, but a scratch on the surface of the world; to us it is everything. Our whole of it. … Continue reading »

I am simply amazed by this episode! Why? Because I just listened to the entire hour, and no episode so far has seemed to flow by faster. I would never have imagined that random bits and pieces of talk could move along so quickly and so interestingly. There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of … Continue reading »

We broke this episode into two halves. First, we talked about hiking, riding motorcycles, and pitching tarp tents. Then we paused the recording and went outside to test our ideas. When we came back in, we had new insights for the research journal, especially on how not to succeed in building a tarp shelter. This … Continue reading »

In this episode, we spread our AT maps on a table and discuss elevations, contours, trail features, huts, shelters, cabins, distances, fire roads, water sources, and so on. My map is produced by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC.net). Dad’s map is the A.T. Guide by David “AWOL” Miller (theATguide.com). Both of these guides prove … Continue reading »

Hands down, my favorite podcast episode so far! We loaded our packs with 15 lbs of gear and journeyed out along Hog Barn Road toward West Pond. The weather and temperature were perfect! 46 degrees. Young Jack came along, as well as our two dogs, Woof and Fonz. After about 3 miles, we rested beside … Continue reading »

Dad got a pack! We had a great time inspecting it during this podcast episode. Make: Gregory Model: Baltero 65 Color: Prussian Blue Size: Medium Capacity: 67 Liters (3,966 Cubic Inches) Weight: 5 lbs, 10 oz He explains that he chose the blue only because he knew my pack was grey, and getting them confused … Continue reading »

In episode 004, dad and I discuss the following list of AT videos, which we gathered and watched in an effort to combat our total ignorance about what’s involved with hiking the Appalachian Trail. I posted my list in real-time (as I found them), and asked dad to email me his list for posting as … Continue reading »

Dad and I start this podcast episode (#003) with a bit of off-topic rambling about various subjects we find amusing and chat-worthy. Then, at marker 22, we get to the meat of episode, specifically how best to avoid black bear attacks on the AT–what to do, what not to do, and so on. Mostly imaginings … Continue reading »

In our 2nd episode, dad and I talk about a variety of topics, including Rafting the Middle Fork River in Idaho (which starts at 35 minutes into the podcast). We begin the episode by patting ourselves on the back thoroughly regarding the overwhelming success of last week’s launch–lots of positive feedback from listeners, enthusiastic approval … Continue reading »

This episode (ABOVE) is an hour discourse between me and dad about the new podcast. When I walked into his cabin Monday morning with two microphones and a field recorder, he had no idea what I had in mind. But our first show turned out better than I could have hoped, which proves a truism … Continue reading »