EPISODE · Aug 1, 2026 · 32 MIN
Trail Stories - The Old World with SlowFoot
from Hiker Trash Radio · host Bleav + Doc
About the Guest Dave — trail name SlowFoot — is a three-time Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, seven-time Long Trail thru-hiker (including three winter traversals), and among the first to complete both the Eastern Continental Trail and the International Appalachian Trail. He has logged over 30,000 miles across 30 years of hiking in the Eastern United States. A former Forest Service trail crew supervisor, caretaker at Upper Goose Pond Cabin, and wilderness EMT, he holds a master's degree in forestry from the University of Vermont and has worked for AMC, ATC, Forest Service, and the Green Mountain Club. He is the co-founder of Mountain Blaze Arts, a family gear company he runs with his wife from their home just outside the Hundred Mile Wilderness in Maine. Episode Highlights Named by Earl Shaffer The CCC Grandfather The Old Pack Weight Baltimore Jack — The Founder of Modern Trail Culture The ECT and the IAT 2013 — The Last One What He Misses Trail Wisdom — Take It Slow Links & Resources Mountain Blaze Arts — Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mountainblazearts Mountain Blaze Arts — Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheMountainBlaze Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA): https://www.aldha.org Appalachian Trail Conservancy: https://www.appalachiantrail.org Green Mountain Club: https://www.greenmountainclub.org International Appalachian Trail: https://www.internationalat.org Eastern Continental Trail: https://www.easterntrail.org Connect with Hiker Trash Radio Email: mailto:[email protected] Social: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok — search Hiker Trash Radio. The full interview with SlowFoot drops Wednesday in two parts. 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.
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What this episode covers
In 1996, Dave was hiking the Appalachian Trail when Earl Shaffer — the man who made the first recorded thru-hike in 1948 — came up behind him, noted that he moved at his pace, and named him SlowFoot on the spot. They became close friends for years afterward. That is the caliber of credential this guest carries, and he carries it without fanfare, the same way he carries his 50-pound pack: because that's just what he does, and he doesn't see a reason to do it differently. With 30,000 miles across 30 years, three AT thru-hikes, seven Long Trail traversals including three in winter, and among the first completions of both the Eastern Continental Trail and the International Appalachian Trail, Dave is a living archive of a world most hikers will never know — the pre-internet, pre-trail-magic, carry-ten-days-of-food-or-starve version of American long-distance hiking. This episode covers the culture Baltimore Jack built, the campfire nights that no longer happen, and the moment in 2013 when a man stood on the roof of a shelter screaming at his wife on his cell phone and Dave decided he was done. He misses the people most of all. He knows where most of them are now. The full interview with SlowFoot drops Wednesday in two parts on the Hiker Trash Radio feed.
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Trail Stories - The Old World with SlowFoot
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