blissful hiker ❤︎ inspiring you to hike your own hike

Blissful takes her first hike on a trail after surgery for breast cancer and decides she prefers to be described as a "thriver" – or even "aliver" – rather than survivor. It's a hot, humid summer day at Lebanon Hills, a region carved by glaciers with kettles and eskers, plus the singing of numerous birds. Blissful's surgeon tells her it's time to put on a backpack and get back on trail, even though she's isn't completely healed. Illness humbles us and teaches us about our vuln...

As Blissful heals from a bilateral mastectomy due to breast cancer, she reflects on the person she wants to be going forward. Blissful is incredibly lucky in only having to undergo a radical surgery to rid her body of cancer. Step by step walking through her neighborhood, she slowly recovers back to her hiker self. The American writer Joyce Carol Oates speaks of the moment we realize that loss is part of our experience. “When that starts to happen to you, it is quite stunning.”...

When Blissful is diagnosed with breast cancer, she undergoes a bilateral mastectomy to save her life and secure her future.A friend tells Blissful she has it easy because she has a partner in her husband Richard. Indeed, she is incredibly grateful to be part of a team because it's helped her navigate some very tough times in her life. Blissful's view of life is that it can be full of abundance and grace, but sometimes bad things just happen at no fault of our own. Kind of like ...

Blissful begins her cancer journey looking back at her life as a woman. Blissful spends the days before a bilateral mastectomy gathering together a team of supportive women who have been through the procedure.She also walks, hikes, bikes, swims, kayaks all in an effort to calm herself – or running away from panic. In looking forward to being flat-chested and "ultra-light", Blissful reminisces on becoming a woman from "sprouts" to a "mean girl" to a middle-aged woman saving her own l...

Blissful wraps up her hike of the Appalachian Trail in Maine to head home for cancer treatment. The two days between Monson and Caratunk are rain-free and magical with a winter wren, hermit thrush, northern parula plus warty frogs and a curious snake. It's two big mountains with views including Moxie Bald and Pleasant Pond with glorious views of humpy green forested peaks like emerging leviathan in an even more expansive sea of green.Camping is near a pond circled by summer homes an...

Blissful makes it out of the 100 Mile Wilderness and receives a call from her doctor calling her home to have a bilateral mastectomy.It's wet and muddy but mostly road out to Monson, Maine, the first town in ten days.She has to go home, but not immediately, and can head back on trail for at least a few more days. And it's perfect timing in sunny weather at last and a long reroute around flooded rivers. But it's a gorgeous hike through forest loud with birds and frogs. And it ta...

The trail is hard in rain, mud and cold, but Blissful gets the boost she needs from hiker and creature. It's mountainous now in the 100-mile Wilderness, revealing only misty views of distant lakes enveloped in thick forest. The "Sibs", two thru-hikers also from Minnesota, plus "Shoes," a barefoot hiker, meet her and offer encouragement.As does Fourth Mountain Bog, a stunning ecosystem crossed by boardwalk where a White Throated Sparrow greets her as well as giant. maroon-veined pit...

Blissful crosses a high, exposed peak in fog and rain then discovers she needs to go further than she thought. Hiking south on the Appalachian Trail, it's the first high mountains since Katahdin, but the weather is manageable. And there are small surprises like twisted and stunted "krumholz" trees, wildly fluorescent fungus and wildflowers heavily laden with damp. Even high up, the birds are loud including a new bird t Magnolia Warbler.When Blissful discovers she needs ...

Blissful creates an audio narrative as an Artist-in-Residence at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Upper Peninsula, Michigan. During her artistic residency, she immersed herself in the vividly sonorous landscape , collecting sound as she hiked. Birds, falls and the wind spoke to her about spring’s message – a message of renewal and rebirth.It's such a fleeting moment, one so transitory, we could almost miss if we’re not listening carefully. MUSIC: Poema del Pa...

Blissful makes her first dangerous ford over a swollen and dangerous river in flood from the non-stop rain. For a SOBO – or southbounder – on the Appalachian Trail, it's often wise to pay for delivery of a cache of food to break up the 10-day hike of the 100 Mile Wilderness. Right after the cache, the trail gets harder, steeply uphill into real mountains, plus river fords. With an unusual amount of rain, the rivers are in spate and dangerous.Blissful is alone...

When seeing two Pileated Woodpecker parents up close, Blissful learns that she is only passing through and to savor the moment while it lasts. It's an easy enough day on the Appalachian Trail (AT) though rainy without any views.Blissful stops at a lovely campground on the banks of Lower Jo-Mary Lake surrounded by pink Lady Slippers, as delicate as crepe. These first days walking south through Maine have been hard and Blissful feels like an amateur muddling through. While she li...

In constant rain and cold, Blissful learns the power in facing her negative feelings and using them to spur her to action rather than resignation. The trail has yet to get hard on the Appalachian Trail (AT) but the rain is drenching.Blissful can't stop in the cold and swarms of mosquitos even to eat, and is full of frustration but fellow hiker Ingrid catches up and gives her courage, suggesting they sleep inside the next shelter to stay dry. It's not far or difficult to the shelter ...

Blissful is ill-prepared for the constant damp, but discovering an inner fierceness to solve her problems and keep moving ahead. The summer of 2023 on the Appalachian Trail (AT) is the wettest in memory.But this one day in Northern Maine is thankfully dry with big wind off Rainbow Lake where Blissful is able to dry out her gear. It's all easy trail lined with wildflowers from one shelter at Hurd Brook to the next at Rainbow Stream with a delightful site right above falls through a g...

Blissful leaves Baxter State Park to enter the 100-mile Wilderness, learning that "everything changes" including the weather.Blissful is waiting a pathology report from breast surgery, unsure if she will get the all-clear or have to manage a cancer diagnosis.Her surgeon encourages just to start hiking while she waits and here she is. Lured into the lovely idyllic summer weather at the start of hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) Blissful gives away her plastic waterproof backpack lin...

Blissful decides to put her feet on the Appalachian Trail, beginning from the north on Mount Katahdin in Maine. Those in the know will laugh when the Appalachian Trail (AT) is described as a "footpath" as it's more a rock climbing challenge.And it's tough to get to the start, 100 miles from any airport, then a 4,000-foot climb in five miles up to the summit and Mile 0.The weather calls for unseasonably hot weather, over 90 degrees, so it's a very early start. Planning two nights of...

The Blissful Hiker learns that hiking all alone on the Te Araroa and managing her nervousness about what's to come is worth it, since she enjoys her own company the most. In this episode: Blissful walks the Timber Trail in the spectacular Pureora Forest in the North Island of New Zealand, native bush saved by "tree sitters" and easy walking on old logging tramways. Crossing spectacular swing bridges over deep gorges and walking through deep canyons cut deeply in the hills ...

The Blissful Hiker visits a very special island national park, Isle Royale, a boreal forest and Canadian Shield "balds" wonderland in the far Northwest corner of Lake Superior that moose and wolves call home. In this episode:A weather delay sets Blissful up for a magical hike off her itinerary to Hugginin Bay.Her hike takes her past an embarrassment of thimbleberries and blueberries. Some-thing(one) protects her from a hike-stopping injury.She sees beaver, loons, red squirrels, a bl...

Blissful shares insights about setting flexible goals."Summit Fever" is one of the consequences of setting one single big goal and can cause us to fail every day, sometimes with tragic consequences. Rather than goals, setting systems can work in our favor because they are bite-sized goals more easily achieved.Systems allow us to succeed more often.And, allow us to change our minds and still succeed. MUSIC: Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute ...

Blissful Hiker is honored to have been named an "Artist in Residence" by the Friends of the Porkies and will live in a remote cabin this spring to create audio narrative essays in Upper Peninsula Michigan in the Porcupine Mountains. In this episode, she revisits her fall backpack trip when she fell in love with the "Porkies." Awakening to a spectacular sunrise on Lake of the Clouds, Blissful walks into a the magical and primeval hemlock forest. She meets the Big Ca...

Blissful Hiker is honored to have been named an "Artist in Residence" by the Friends of the Porkies and will live in a remote cabin this spring to create audio narrative essays in Upper Peninsula Michigan in the Porcupine Mountains. In this episode, she revisits her fall backpack trip when she fell in love with the "Porkies." In this episode: Blissful visits this magical place, a wilderness state park of 35,000 acres of primary stand hemlock amidst a massive volcanic uplift ab...

This week, Blissful Hiker completes the list of ten lessons from the trail that are helping her now.In this episode:7) :38 Everything changes “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”8) 1:50 You will never pass this way again "Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip."9) 3:26 Let go and forgive "Forgiveness is the economy of the heart… forgi...

This week, Blissful Hiker shares some lessons from the trail that are helping her now.In this episode::38 Let the day unfold “I think that’s what I love about my life. There’s no maniacal master plan. It’s just unfolding before me.”3:02 Trail Angels exist "That’s what I consider true generosity: You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing." 5:10 The point of a thru hike is not to triumph "The goal of life … is not happiness, peace, or fulfillment, but ali...

This week, Blissful Hiker shares some lessons from the trail that are helping her now. In this episode:1:30 Take Risks “The most hopeful thing you are doing is taking these months to repair your body for the next hikes.” 3:42 Stay in the Present Moment Experience fully what each day brings, the surprises and tiny victories. 6:12 Practice Patience "Life is already too short to waste on speed." MUSIC: Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala and Milongs sin palabras by Asto...

One year ago Blissful Hiker set her feet on the Arizona Trail and planned to return to walk the final 100 miles, but an injury interrupted the trip. In this episode:This time of year is called "Lent" and is all about waiting and preparing, as well as contemplating the brevity of our lives.An injury is like that, a close up look at vulnerability. Learning to manage the frustration teaches us how to embrace our lives. A long walk – and the weak place of injury – helps bring the hiker ...

Regret can actually act as the motivating fuel to push us towards our goals.Phrases like "no regrets!" are helpful in keeping us focussed on the future and not on mistakes from the past.And yet, looking with openness at what we regret from the past can help us build up the courage we need in our present to take risks. And then we are better able to choose what matters most projecting the idea of regret into the future. See a picture from Blissful's past. Listen to t...

Blissful Hiker shares the reasons she hikes alone, to get grounded, to engage more deeply with the world around me and to do so at my own pace.Being alone in nature has been practiced by all civilizations to build self-reliance and connect with the spirit.As Emily Dickinson said, "The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience." But that does not mean that you shouldn't prepare by taking the Ten Essentials including telling someone where you're going, and whe...

Blissful answers burning backpacking questions in the first round of "Ask Me Anything." In this episode:1:26 – How do you secure your bag when checking it at the airport?3:06 – Do you pack hiking poles on international trips or buy when you get there?6:20 – How do you choose when to use rubber tips on your trekking poles?8:36 – How do you take care of contact lenses on trail?10:25 – How do you know so many bird names, plant names and tree names as you hike?11:50 – How do you keep all you...

Blissful meets the Southern Terminus of the AZT just as a windstorm picks up on the Utah/Arizona border.In this episode:After a night in the "cowpie" field – flat and squishy – Blissful sleeps well under moon shadows. It's easy walking towards Vermillion Cliffs where she meets a couple of hikers who give her sage advice about making intentional decisions and looking for people who communicate with her in her emotional language. Angry clouds build as a sandstorm builds and she races ...

Blissful has one of the most extraordinary experiences of her hiking life – walking into and out of the Grand Canyon.In this episode:With a snowstorm coming and temperatures dropping into the teens, Blissful decides to catch a ride and skip ahead.It's just more ponderosa pine forest and straight to the national park permit office.It's down hill, but steep and hard walking all in direct sun through layer-upon-layer of bright reds and oranges through tourists and rim-to-rim runners. Her it...

It's a long, undulating and dusty trail through more ponderosa pine where Blissful finally gets her first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. In this episode:Blissful wakes up 100% free of bug bites and happily puts all that awfulness behind her.It's up and down, but she sings as she walks recalling all the steps it took to keep moving ahead on trail.Horses, fellow backpackers and incredible trail angels make the day one of the very best.As does seeing the astonishing beauty of the Grand Canyon...

The son of a friend of an acquaintance helps ground Blissful and on her way continuing north towards the Grand Canyon, putting the bed bug nightmare in the rearview mirror. In this episode:Sam drives Blissful past the "Arizona Snow Bowl" still deep in snow, to meet dry trail on a high plateau.All alone, it's easy hiking, but dry and windy like Mongolia as Humphrey's Peak – the fairytale mountain – recedes. It's all large ranches today but too early for animals outside.Though a "Wild...

Blissful is covered in itchy, oozing, painful bites and realizes her gear is infested by bedbugs picked up on her last zero at the motel. In this episode:It's a short walk under the interstate and along the "Urban Trail" to Flagstaff with views of snow-frosted Humphrey's Peak. In town, once people see the swollen bites on her face, she's shunned. After sending an all-call to trail angels and the hikers on the AZT, it only brings shaming and useless links to websites when all sh...

Unbeknownst to him, a camper becomes trail angel and helps Blissful find a perfect campsite after a long day of relentless forest and a glimpse of a fairytale mountain.In this episode:The ponderosa pine forest of the Mogollon Rim goes on though signs appear to describe life of lumberjacks from the past, burning 9,000 calories per day and working for food.Blissful is losing weight herself and hungry all the time.She's mostly alone all day except for meeting Waldo with his tiny pack. A fai...

Blissful wakes to a soaking wet tent, gets lost and walks through deep snow and mud, but trail-angel beer and a lovely hiking partner make it a joy. In this episode:It's a new day, a better one, where Blissful can place her feet in someone's else's posthole through deep drifts. Walking with Joey, they come to a road where a trail angel offers a few beers to quench the constant thru-hiker thirst and Joey philosophizes on how we're always in the right spot at the right time, so why wa...

Blissful becomes so frustrated trying to walk through the deep, sticky mud, she creates a game to keep moving forward – and is rewarded with a surprise..In this episode:Blissful walks on a frustrating trail of mud making high-heels of her shoes and clinging to her walking sticks. Panicky and frustrated, Blissful realizes anyone can do anything for one hour, so she sets her timer to sixty minutes as a kind of game, a challenge to to focus her walk.It gives her power, patience and the abil...

Blissful climbs up the Mogollon Rim and it’s filled with pines, snow, and melting snow.In this episode:Blissful is reminded that if you sleep right next to a river, your tent will be soaking wet.It's an easy rise through deeply shaded Ponderosa Pine next to the rushing East Verde River, the same one crossed in the deserty Mazatzals. After a rocky rise, the Mogollon Rim is revealed, frozen footprints through snowy drifts lead the way across icy streams. Soon, it's up and out of this ...

After Blissful takes a forced break due to snowy weather, it's a sparkly day of gorgeous skies and sticky mud. In this episode:Blissful rides with a trail angel and three hikers to the Early Bird Cafe where someone pays for her breakfast. Her second hitch moves on before the door is closed, but gets her to the Highline Trail in Ponderosa Pine.The air is clear and fresh, sparkling with big clouds creating shadows on the vast forest-covered mountains. The mud gives way to pine ne...

Blissful discovers more rocks than she thought possible on the Arizona Trail.In this episode:It's a beautiful morning with an orange sky, but straight up to weird skull-looking limestone, then pumice. The trail is hard and repetitive, not steep, just rocky and relentless.The trail is remote and feels lonely, harder than walking alone before. Making things more difficult are the slippery basketball-sized rocks on a road – and a young, fast hiker.But Frauke and Dennis hike with her up...

Blissful works here way through the Mazatzals, overwhelmed by the enormous, staggering and disorienting size and remoteness. In this episode:Things begin on the aptly named Rocky Ridge opening to huge views that overwhelm, even causing a bit a panic. There's plenty of water and plenty of steep ups and downs to Bull Frog Ridge. Blissful makes the mistake of skipping water at Brush Spring and it's an endless, steep climb mostly down to the East Verde River, a glorious oasis where...

Blissful hikes mostly alone in the Mazatzals with huge distances between water sources and is treated to a glorious sunset from my tent. In this episode:Blissful hikes in stunning and steep mountains of sandstone from the period known as the Great Unconformity, a gap of missing geologic time. Steep walking takes hikers from one exceptional water source to the next. The views are superb into dark red rock and land slips of baseball-sized boulders. All day, a "bug burka" (a mesh ...

Blissful heads up to the beautiful Mazatzal Mountains filled with flowers, birds, streams and amazing views. In this episode:Margaret of the trail magic new sleeping mat drives Blissful to the trail head. More magic happens immediately when Joey walks by just as Blissful gets lost.It's a race against bad weather on the way to walk 70 miles to Pine, Arizona.The trail is easy from one beautiful stream to the next, amazingly clear and delicious in the dry desert. It's the first ni...

After Blissful punctures her sleeping pad, she meets a trail angel who manifests her own magic and gets her replacementIn this episode:It's an extraordinary night on the edge of a ridge in the Four Peaks Wilderness with wind like a jet engine in the towering pine above her tent. After gorgeous streams, the trail meets a road, dull and long. A trail heads steeply down on rocks into a canyon along Boulder Creek where the frogs sing a chorus. Blissful makes the mistake of camping ...

Blissful climbs steeply up into the Four Peaks Wilderness, where she camps right on the edge of a cliff. In this episode:After sleeping on a wee bit of astroturf at Roosevelt Lake Marina next to the highway, Blissful hitches to the Vineyard Trail. The wide open trail climbs up past Saguaro and myriad wildflowers, including thousands of Mexican Poppies. Water sources are far apart on the Mills Ridge Trail requiring big ascents with stunning views of the lake over 3,000 feet bel...

It's rough trail for Blissful as she works her way towards Roosevelt Lake mostly on rocky road, far harder going down than up. In this episode:From a camp above Walnut Spring in the Superstition Mountains, it's slippery and steep 1,000 feet straight down and 1,000 feet straight back up. The views are towards ancient seabeds, lifted up as mesas, the trail covered with lupine and prickly-pear cactus.Then the trail crosses a dry wash over and over, Cottonwood Creek disappearing undergr...

Blissful sees her first cactus bloom and has a magical day of steep climbs and a little bit of thunder and rain. In this episode:After a brilliant night camped by a stream, Blissful sees her first bloom on a cane cholla. When she reaches a road, a couple of ATVers offer a beer at 9 a.m. It's a nice group of thru-hikers including "Clothesline" and "John the Baptist" plus a German couple, plus other backpackers. The Superstition Wilderness winds through Rogers Canyon filled ...

Blissful meets a trail angel (who never knew he was a trail angel) and he advances her past the low desert to big mountains.In this episode:It's a very hard day up and down on rocky trail in hot sun with no water over Oracle Ridge with Holly Hobbit.When they reach American Flag Ranch, she's exhausted and has nowhere to stay in town.At the post office picking up a resupply, Blissful meets Hector willing to take her in for the night and help her prepare for the next section, which she ends up s...

Blissful bumps into Holly "Hobbit" who steps right into the trail behind her for the steepest of all sky islands. In this episode:We're warned that we'll need to use our hands on the exposed rock up Mount Lemmon.It's hard but fun with a companion, exactly the same age and speed, who talks non-stop.The views to the desert are glorious, but nothing compared to the hoodoo forest of wind and water-worn rock in fanciful shapes. Streams abound, cool and fresh before it's deep in forest t...

Blissful heads into stunning Sycamore Canyon, where the mountains seems to part and reveal the final sky island. In this episode:Blissful awakens as the moon sets, sleeping out in the open between two mountain ranges – the Rincon and Santa Catalina. It's a winding trail, up and down and after such a long and hard day before, she's tired and her heart skips a beat before beating hard and fast. Blissful handles her SVT with a rest and a beta blocker, then heads steeply up and ove...

Blissful climbs up and over the glorious sky island Mica Mountain, finding the descent far more difficult than the ascent. In this episode:It was a great decision to stop early in cool oak forest right next to a stream at Grass Shack, but it leaves a long up of 3,500 feet in four miles. Manning Camp is lovely under towering ponderosa pine, but cold still in snow. Plenty of water lulls Blissful into not collecting enough for the hot, rocky and slippery descent which is hard on t...

Blissful is fueled by trail angels to climb steeply up into Saguaro National Park. In this episode:In only a few miles in the early morning cool, Blissful arrives at Magic Camp for a full breakfast on their very last day helping AZT hikers. She joins Jeff and "King Arthur" into beautiful Saguaro National Park, where the cacti crack her up in odd shaped and human-like poses. There's still good water in pools and babbling brooks, but she needs to "camel up" for a very steep climb...

As Blissful crosses the desert between mountain ranges, she's cared for by five trail angels. In this episode:After her amazing cowgirl camp looking out to the next mountain range, Blissful walks on winding bike trails meeting lots of happy bikers in long rows. It's hot and water is limited beginning with "The Lake" where she's serenaded by hundreds of birds. She picks up two liters of water at a designated locker, but not enough, though she's saved by a biker and some walkers ...

Fueled by trail angel goodies, Blissful hikes to a spectacular cowgirl site looking towards her next climb in high mountains above the desert.In this episode:Blissful starts her day at her own private sky island looking at huge mountains.The day's hike is long, up and down, but easy and she moves while she can in good weather and on strong legs. A trail angel leaves several coolers filled with candy, fruit, cheese and beer! Along the way, she meets a few hikers but mostly walks alon...

An exhausted and sore Blissful Hiker takes a "nero" in Patagonia, then changes her rules on accepting rides on the trail. In this episode:Blissful awakes form cowgirl camping only seven hilly miles outside Patagonia, where she takes her first half-day off called a "nero" since it's not a full day like a "zero" and sleeps in a cozy bed. It's a long road out of town that starts on black top, that turns to dirt and finally boulder-filled straight up into the Santa Rita Mountains....

Blissful Hiker hikes from cowgirl camp to cowgirl camp in the Canelo Hills on the Arizona Trail. In this episode:Blissful awakes to mourning doves and begins Passage Two of the AZT on a roller coaster of hills, finally running into other hikers.Happily she didn't camp near the creek that feeds Parker Lake because it's always colder in canyons near water. It's easy walking even a long way between water sources with beautiful views of hills and mountains like waves in the distance.&nb...

Blissful Hiker encounters icy snow on the Huachuca Mountains of the Arizona Trail, then sleeps out under the stars in the high desert. In this episode:Blissful climbs nearly 4,000 feet over Miller Peak and carefully crosses a sharp ridge with a steep fall line. At Bathtub Spring (literally a bathtub) she collects water and eats lunch in the sun. It's more up and down, before finally steeply down Sunnyside Canyon following a horse poop path through a riverbed with good poo...

Blissful begins the Arizona Trail which starts backwards, heading south for three very steep miles to the Mexican Border. In this episode:Blissful flies to Tucson, takes a shuttle, hitches a ride then starts the Arizona Trail immediately taking a wrong turn to a view.On the right trail, it's a slippery path of ball-bearing stones to a remnant of border wall like a shark fin against a destroyed landscape. Heading back up, she's cheered on by tourists and given beta by another hiker ...

Blissful Hiker prepares to hike the Arizona Trail and realizes the solo walk aligns with the season of Lent. In this episode:Blissful prepares for the hike organizing gear, making food, sending resupply and studying maps. Fortunately, the trail to the southern terminus at the Mexican border has been reopened just in time after being closed to build the wall. Lent means spring, a time of waiting and hoping. The trail happens on the "shoulder season" while spring unfolds.&n...

Even though Blissful Hiker has to modify her thru-hike of the Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland due to wild weather, she makes it to the lonely lighthouse over trackless moorland.In this episode:Blissful and her hiking partner pack for extra nights and give the last section to Sandwood Bay and the lighthouse at Cape Wrath a try, with three dangerous river crossings in between.It's tough walking on boggy, peaty moorland, but they decide to skip the first bothy and head on in big wind and rain, only...

Blissful Hiker lingers for an entire day at one of the most glorious bothies at Glencoul on the Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland. In this episode:The trail is easy along Loch Glenhue on the Duke of Wellington's estate and it's all in bright sunshine. Blissful passes a stalker in tweeds, horses and large mussel farms. The first bothy is empty, but they continue over a boggy head in rain again to one of the most brilliant views yet looking steeply down to Glencoul, set on a peninsula...

Blissful Hiker takes two out-and-backs from Oykel Bridge on the Cape Wrath Trail and learns that hiking in rain can still be soulful in fall colors. In this episode:It's rainy and bleak out to Knockdamph Bothy where Blissful meets the trail she walked to Glenn Douchery the previous day.The bothy is spooky and run-down, plus someone's already there, so they head back to Duag Bridge or "Schoolhouse" bothy, light and airy, cozy and, most important, empty. The following day is and easy ...

Blissful Hiker hikes the Cape Wrath Trail and learns to accept everything that's thrown at her including rain and bog, but also selfish hikers. In this episode:Blissful walks in easy trail paved with stone to lovely Coire Fionnaraich bothy and enjoys the afternoon out of the rain with a misty view down the glen.Several hikers visit, but she has the night to herself until two loud hikers arrive, loud partiers until well after 2:00 am.Feeling some schadenfreude when the morning is po...

Blissful Hiker hikes the Cape Wrath Trail in a kind "sampler, platter" managing to fit in a hike to stunning Maol Bhuide.In this episode:Blissful and her companion give the trail one more try in sections and drive from Fort William up to Strathcarron and begin a bog trot in brilliant sunshine to Maol Bhuide (pronounced mee-OWL VOO-tee)They share it with two young men and decide to stay an entire day to explore the remote highlands surrounded by massive Munros. The day is clear with...

Blissful Hiker is forced by torrential rain to quit the Cape Wrath Trail but makes the most of it by bagging the highest mountain in the UK. In this episode:Blissful and her companions are soaked through when they reach the cafe at Kinloch Hourn, finding it closed when it was supposed to be open and camping in puddly grass.The next section is high, exposed and has two dangerous river crossings – worse so in spate, or flood – and so they hitch a ride out. Taking a bus back to the sta...

Blissful Hiker continues on the Cape Wrath Trail having the adventure of her life in Scotland's last wilderness, Knoydart. In this episode:Rain thrashes the bothy an integral part now of this hike.The walk in Knoydart begins on seaweed, over a muddy head and straight into bog where Blissful experiences another episode of SVT (Supraventricular tachycardia) and takes a beta blocker before heading on. It's a complex maze of boulder climbing next to a raging river then straight up to a ...

Blissful Hiker continues on Scotland's difficult Cape Wrath Trail realizing mileage means nothing when the vague trail is filled with bog, tussock, flood and rock.In this episode:Rain sounds worse on the metal roof of Corryhully bothy, but how nice it is to be packing up inside where it's dry and one can stand. It's relatively easy walking up to the bealach where a gate sits all by itself sans any fence, but then straight into hard-to-walk bog and steep rock. It's important to cross...

Blissful Hiker begins the Cape Wrath Trail in the Western Highlands of Scotland and learns that it's less hiking and more "bog trotting."In this episode:The Cape Wrath Trail is unmarked and requires a high degree of navigational skill as well as self-sufficiency, with unbridged river crossings that offer challenge when in spate (flood).They arrange a private ferry ride across Lake Linnhe, then walk easily up Cona Glen next to shaggy Highland cows and ancient Caledonian pines.The first b...

Blissful Hiker finishes the Teton Crest Trail mostly all alone overcoming any lingering doubt that she loves backpacking and will keep doing into old age. In this episode:Blissful leaves her spectacular site on a granite slab in Alaska Basin and head up on Sheep's Steps to a wide plateau and towards Death Canyon Shelf, with a spectacular view, sadly obscured by smoke. She heeds advice to fill up on water before entering a dry area where she takes a side trip up Spearhead Peak, a scr...

Blissful Hiker takes a side-trip off the Teton Crest Trail to a remote lake that requires scrambling, and learns making the time to explore and open herself to surprises is breaking the spell of thru-hiking anxiety. In this episode:The smoke moves in, but it's still gorgeous down then back up Cascade Canyon on superb trail packed with other hikers.At the junction, she feels trepidation heading out alone, but the trail provides a friend to accompany her into Avalanche Divide. It's a scram...

Blissful Hiker goes on her first high-altitude hike since her rescue and shoots for an SKT* on the Teton Crest Trail. *Slowest Known TimeIn this episode:It's an easy-ish trail only 45 miles or so of jagged peaks, crystalline lakes and spectacular passes all in wilderness. She goes in the opposite direction of most, hitting huge climbs of 3,000 feet right from the start up Paintbrush Canyon. Everyone she meets is happy and renews her love of hiking and hikers, even a group of partie...

Blissful Hiker learns on the North Country Trail in Northern Wisconsin, that the very act of moving one foot in front of the other is automatically optimistic.In this episode:On a visit to old friends, Blissful takes a long walk in the Chequamegon National Forest on the longest national scenic trail in the United States, the NCT at 4,700 miles. It's easy walking, but long in deep and dark forest, almost like being indoors. In the Porcupine Wilderness, she passes lakes and crosses a ...

Blissful Hiker walks like a thru-hiker again for just a few days on the Superior Hiking Trail, moving fast, smooth and far and connecting again with herself. In this episode:It's a steep trail up to rocky "balds" with views, though all in mist this morning. She learns that other hikers too find some people too loud and unfriendly, though the trail feels all hers today as she flies fast through forest, eating many handfuls of raspberries in peak.She begins to talk to herself, ruminating o...

Blissful Hiker dips a toe back into backpacking for a few days on the Superior Hiking Trail in Northern Minnesota and discovers her bliss can still be found on the trail. In this episode:Feeling a bit like Simone Biles on the beam, she simplifies things, going back to the basics on an easy trail, close to home and roads and for a manageable distance. The SHT marches up Minnesota's North Shore of Lake Superior on the edge of the boreal forest on some of the oldest rock in the world of rhy...

Blissful Hiker spends time off-trail looking back at one of her favorite thru-hikes, the Pacific Crest Trail and learning about the meaning of grace. In this episode:We're introduced to trail angels Kurt and Holly in Bellingham, Washington and learns about the value of paying it forward. She rides up to Hart's Pass with thirty other hikers and finds their reasons for being there are varied, but always full of hope and joy. The start is actually 31 miles short of the Canadian Border,...

Blissful Hiker is moved by Simone Biles' decision to exit the Olympics and feels like it gives her permission to forgive herself for her own exit. In this episode:Blissful is learning patience while she waits for a diagnosis on her heart and hopefully a path forward.Acceptance that she's fragile and that "the mental is not there" is part of healing.She also learns that pushing hard is not healthy, even when pressured to do so mostly by herself She visits one of her favorite local parks, ...

Blissful Hiker wonders if the the trail itself ejected her this time. In this episode:Blissful is "trail angeled" in Montana and rests up in a kind of half-way house for sick people with nowhere to go. She wants to keep walking, but only gets sicker. Her supporters in a Zoom meeting convince her to take the Empire Builder train across the prairie to her home in Saint Paul and she discovers that it's delightfully interesting. She sees a cardiologist who fits her with a heart mon...

Blissful Hiker is plucked off the Continental Divide Hike when her body goes into critical distress.In this episode:Blissful begins The Bob section of the CDT in Montana (Bob Marshall Wilderness) and is inundated with countless blowdowns to cross.She discovers things aren't really working out with her companions, so tries to makes the best of hiking alone in bear country even though she has to leave at dawn to make miles.She meets horseback riders who take her across a ford.The flowers, the v...

Blissful Hiker begins the Continental Divide Trail at Chief Mountain in Glacier National Park and gets a taste of everything – good and bad. In this episode:Day one begins in a thunderstorm..Mosquitos attack in squadrons.The trail is tough with four passes and a mountain to climb.Montana is experiencing a heat wave.Numerous river and snow crossings make for pruny and painful feet.She makes it through, still smiling and ready for the next, more remote, section. .MUSIC: Introduccion ...

Blissful Hiker receives a blessing before driving across three states to start the Continental Divide Trail. In this episode:The drive takes her in an Enchanted Highway and into the desolate but lovely Theodore Roosevelt National Park.She meets her two companions and stuffs gear in every available space.She accepts the trail is still a nascent idea, and to use the gospel lessons to put her trust in a higher power and enjoy each moment.Their fourth companion snags hard-to-get permits, and...

Blissful Hiker makes maps and food for the Continental Divide Hike.In this episode:Blissful takes a GPS class with The Mountaineers and learns about the value of taking printed maps, navigational work flow, situational awareness and the ethic of self- reliance. She also learns how to create a route using CalTopo, export it to Gaia GPS on her phone and then follow it with a compass, which empowers her and gives her more confidence. Using recipes from Backcountry ...

Blissful Hiker organizes her gear for the Continental Divide Hike. In this episode:Blissful is taking a new Gossamer Gear ultralight "Gorilla" pack and "The One" tent on this thru-hike.Also an Ursack XL Major to keep grizzlies from nosing into her food which was a compromise to get the bigger bag at 15 liters but not critter impermeable.New aluminum LEKI Cross Trail trekking poles will hold her upright as well as her tent.Really special on trail are merino tops from Ibex - two hoodies o...

Blissful Hiker discovers that planning only goes so far for her Continental Divide Hike but maybe that's a good thing. In this episode:Blissful tackles the many pieces of logistics of the CDT by starting with day one – when is the best date and how does she get a permit.With this flurry of detail, she recalls learning from another thru-hiker and "Trail magician" named Broken Toe that not planning too much is sometimes a better way to "make the step you’re taking right now, the priority...

Blissful Hiker shares her array of workouts to get fit for the Continental Divide Trail and much of it is not just walking. In this episode:Blissful starts her day with a two-minute plank – probably the best overall daily exercise for a hiker because it strengthens the core, increases balance and powers the body for all other athletic activity. Practicing Hot Yoga got Blissful through her hip recovery and she finds it powerful for learning to focus and getting "juice" flowing...

Blissful Hiker brings the story of the Te Araroa to a close so she can podcast from trail on the Continental Divide Trail, a 3,000-mile thru-hike on the Rockies. In this episode:We have a new name for the podcast: Blissful Hiker, Walking the World. It's all about clarifying who Blissful is, what she's doing and to keep things consistent. Blissful closes the story of the Te Araroa with audio piece she made on trail about Kiwi Hut Culture and –A man picking her up at a "Hazard Z...

Blissful Hiker says goodbye to her young friend Tomáš who helped her through the toughest parts of the trail, including reaching a summit above the highest point of the trail. In this episode:Blissful continues her journey of the Te Araroa, reaching Stag Saddle and Beuzenberg Peak in New Zealand's Southern Alps, looking towards Mount Cook and the astonishing turquoise of Lake Tekapo. It's tussock, mud, rocks and stream-as-trail to a magical hollow next to a babbling brook with a ma...

Blissful Hiker discovers hope because repair happens simultaneously with her trailside breakdown. In this episode:Blissful continues her journey of the Te Araroa, crossing the gigantic braided Rangitata River in New Zealand's Southern Alps. Before crossing, she joins her young Czech friend Tom on a side-trip to Mount Sunday known as Elorus in The Lord of the Rings, a magnificent bump surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The river bed is six miles wide of rocks, fast-moving rivers, t...

Blissful Hiker learns that worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength. In this episode:Blissful continues her journey of the Te Araroa, walking south in the South Island of New Zealand between the Rakaia and Rangitata Rivers, both "Hazard Zones." From the A-frame Hut, Blissful heads up this "Lord of the Rings" landscape with a trail-as-river to Clent Hills Saddle and down to the Lake Heron Basin, where mysterious clouds look like parade ball...

Blissful Hiker is astonished when she lets the day take care of itself, miracles occur. In this episode:Blissful continues her journey of the Te Araroa, walking south in the South Island of New Zealand. After Hamilton "Hilton" Hut it's rocky and tussock-covered terraces as well as numerous crossings in the knee-high rapids of the Harper River on a hot day.At the campsite she breaks down in tears not able to set her tent, the Alicoop in the hard ground.The next day is all on r...

Blissful Hiker's friend from Day 1 falls and dislocates her shoulder and another tramper needs rescuing, and she decides to take things slow so as not to fall – and to not rush to the end. In this episode:Blissful leaves Goat Pass for Arthur's Pass on the Te Araroa with Alessio and Tomaš in rain, with more on the way. Alessio tells her he didn't "sign up" to guide a middle-aged tramper, but she realizes what other people think of her is none of her business. A friend-of-a-frie...

Blissful Hiker learns a new skill crossing rivers in cold and dangerous rapids and falls in the South Island of New Zealand. In this episode:Blissful is on day 89 of the Te Araroa, New Zealand's "long pathway" developing a new skill of crossing dangerous rivers, but with a little help from friends, Alessio and Tomaš. Her first challenge out of Hurunui Hut No. 3 is to cross the small side stream called Cameron on a 3-wire bridge, not offering any room for error. Up an ove...

Blissful Hiker finds she is like a river, following a path and forging a new way. It may be hard work, but it's in her natureIn this episode:Blissful walks out of Nelson Lakes National Park on the Te Araroa stopping in Boyle Village to pick up her resupply, staying only long enough for a snack since the rain is coming and it's better to move on before the rivers rise and become impassable. Alessio and Tomaš join her as she enters Canterbury and heads to Hope Halfway Shelter right before ...

Blissful Hiker discovers the difference between loneliness and solitude, appreciating the camaraderie crossing a difficult mountain pass.In this episode:Blissful joins six determined friends to cross Waiua Pass in high winds and squalls on the Te Araroa. It's not so bad up and down around Lake Constance then up again on loose scree over the pass with a tricky downclimb on a crumbling cliff into a wonderland of mountains and waterfalls in Nelson Lakes National Park, the view coming in and...

Blissful Hiker learns what she plans to do with her one wild and precious life by heading into the mountains when weather moves in. In this episode:Blissful is told by the experts at DOC to keep moving up into the mountains since the bad weather is not a storm but more "squally showers" and very big wind.She gets a late start as she heads into Nelson Lakes National Park around Lake Rotoiti thinking of poet Mary Oliver who died the day before and asked in her most famous poem, Tell me, what is...

Blissful Hiker discovers that if you have the energy, the daylight and the weather is good, you should always try to get some distance while the getting’s good. In this episode:Blissful is up before dawn and has Purple Top in the Richmond Range of the Te Araroa all to herself. Then she dives back into a deep valley to walk up the Wairoa River, sidling its steep, crumbly banks and using the water itself as a trail.The next day is in a transformed environment of the Red Hills, magnes...

Blissful Hiker discovers that having her ego tweaked just a little by a braggart can be a good thing, because it helps her decide what matters and what doesn't. In this episode:The day starts with a rainbow, feathery falls and then a steep climb into the stunning Richmond Range on New Zealand's long walk, the Te Araroa. At Slaty Hut, she meets a young thru-hiker who brags about his speed, his distance and his light gear much to her annoyance. She "interviews" him and discovers...

Blissful Hiker learns about the Maori legend of the sandfly, created to remind us that this Garden of Eden is something ephemeral, and one we can only pass through. In this episode:Blissful finishes her glorious walk of the Queen Charlotte Track visiting Havelock for a pot of mussels then camping on a trail angel's lawn. The walk continues to the unbelievably crystal clear emerald green Pelorus River. It's a glorious path through magical forests of beech and moss, a hobbit habitat.&...

Blissful Hiker takes a chance stealth camping at a lookout and shares spectacular views with one cheeky weka. In this episode:Blissful leaves Wellington and the North Island behind on the Te Araroa when she takes the ferry across the Cook Strait to Picton and then a mail boat to the Queen Charlotte Track at Ship Cove. She moves fast to Camp Madsen, harvesting mussels on the beach and awakened by the loud screeching of a weka, a "faux-kiwi."It's an easy track with views...

Blissful Hiker is snubbed by a young hiker causing her to question friendships and her solo walk as she finishes the North Island with the help from, yes, friends. In this episode:Blissful is dropped off where she left off on the Te Araroa in Paekakariki after a zero day with her trail angel family, Rob and George.It begins on the spectacular Escarpment Track past the beach at Plimmerton, along the Ara Harakeke Cycle Way, then through a noisy mall before she sets her tent, the alic...

Blissful Hiker watches the sunrise from the summit of Mount Taranaki on the first day of the year and learns that getting to the top is optional, while getting down is mandatory. In this episode:Blissful leaves Paekakariki in pouring rain to head off-trail for a side-trip to climb the stratovolcano, Taranaki, an almost cliché of a cone-shaped, snow-capped mountain. To see the sunrise, she needs to climb in the dark and is treated to a rising moon amidst a sky full of stars, including the...

The Blissful Hiker meets an English ex-pat in the Tararuas named Julian and they bond like war-buddies, but are unsure they'll connect again. In this episode:Blissful bonds with an ex-pat named Julian when they leave Waitewaewae Hut in the Tarauas sidling the Otaki River on a nasty, muddy, and root-filled trail . It's hard to say goodbye, she walks alone the rest of the way over Mount Pukeatua, down a steep area of clear-cut, then on road to trail angel – and Julian's fr...