EPISODE · Jul 1, 2026 · 39 MIN
The Four Corners Loop - Kevin Koski (Part I)
from Hiker Trash Radio · host Bleav + Doc
About the Guest Kevin Koski — trail name The Animal — is a CDT (2004) and PCT (2014) veteran, a nuclear engineer for the U.S. Navy, and the creator of the Four Corners Loop (FCL), an approximately 2,400-mile, self-designed circular route connecting wild public lands across New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. He has logged over 11,000 miles of trail in Washington State alone and is a volunteer with Olympic Mountain Rescue. He retires from the Navy next February and plans to hike the Arizona Trail as a retirement gift to himself. What's Covered in Part 1 The Trail Name The Trailblazers Toolkit — Two Strange Addictions The Hiking Poll — Score: 23 A Career Nobody Expected Links & Resources Four Corners Loop Trail Association: https://www.fclta.org Connect with Hiker Trash Radio Email: mailto:[email protected] Social: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok — search Hiker Trash Radio. Part 2 drops in 10 minutes. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it takes 60 seconds and makes a real difference. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
What this episode covers
Kevin Koski looked at a topographical map of the United States, noticed a giant circle nobody had ever officially hiked, and decided the correct response was to spend three years building an 800-mile-diameter loop and then walk all 2,400 miles of it himself. This is either the most American thing we've ever heard or a cry for help, and honestly the line may not exist. In Part 1, the man they call The Animal explains how he got that name (it involves outrunning loose rock, not aggression), why he was still using 7.5-minute series paper maps and a VHS tape well into his hiking career, and why his two most essential pieces of gear are an eighth-inch ice maker tube from the hardware store and an item called an Azz Blaster that he refuses to Google twice. Also: a Hiking Poll score so good he's still bragging about it, and a professional reveal that earns him a first in podcast history — he is, as far as we know, the only nuclear engineer who has ever sat in this chair. Part 2 drops in 10 minutes.
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The Four Corners Loop - Kevin Koski (Part I)
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