Zach Hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc and Chaunce Got Married! (BPR #327)

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined by me. Because I hiked Tour du Mont Blanc. We go through all the nitty gritty details of my trip, including how I decided on going with a self-guided tour (aka staying in hotels instead of camping), the differences across the French, Italian, and Swiss portions of the trail, the best towns, the landscape highlights, the crowds, the food, how my knees asked for a divorce from my body, and everything else. But wait, there's more. Chaunce is fresh off her wedding and honeymoon, she gives us the full scoop of her month of nuptials and romance. We wrap the show maturely by covering how many poops in a day is too many poops, my business pitch for selling farts online, the triple crown of wedding traditions, I share some new gear that I got to test on TMB, and listeners share their top TMB tips- including how I did it all wrong. LMNT: Get a free sample pack with any order at drinklmnt.com/trek. Gossamer Gear: Use code "LT520" for 20% off LT5 Trekking Poles at gossamergear.com.  Ombraz: Send a DM on Instagram or to [email protected] for $30 off at ombraz.com. [divider] Interview with Zach! Time stamps & Questions 00:04:55 - Apply to blog for the Trek, apply to be a Trail Correspondent, and listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon! 00:13:05 - Introducing Zach 00:13:45 - Trail difficulty 00:16:40 - Tour du Mont Blanc Fast Facts 00:17:40 - What prep work did you have to do for the hike? 00:20:00 - More discussion about the self-guided hike option 00:22:30 - How much does the self-guided hike option cost? 00:26:30 - How did you pack and what bag did you bring? 00:30:50 - What was in your pack? 00:33:20 - Did you carry food in your pack? 00:35:00 - Discussion about the navigation app issue 00:39:30 - Discussion about daily pace and difficulty 00:42:30 - Discussion about crowding on the trail 00:47:20 - Journeying to the trail 00:51:00 - Day 1 00:57:20 - What makes this mountain range different from others? 01:01:00 - Day 2 01:08:40 - Day 3 01:22:50 - Day 4 01:36:10 - Day 5 01:51:30 - What wildlife did you see? 02:01:40 - Were you ready to be done by the last day? 02:02:50 - What were the top 3 towns to zero in? 02:05:30 - Zach got recognized! 02:07:30 - Would you have done the trail in a different direction? 02:12:00 - Closing thoughts 02:14:30 - Would you have trained differently? 02:15:15 - Wedding recap 02:26:30 - Honeymoon recap Segments QOTD:  How many poops in a day is too many?  Triple Crown of wedding traditions One-Minute Gear Reviews Listener Voicemail Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy @my_boy_pauly/ and his coffee. Sign up for the Trek's newsletter Leave us a voicemail! Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)!  Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. Advertise on Backpacker Radio Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow Backpacker Radio, The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube. Follow Backpacker Radio on Tik Tok.  Our theme song is Walking Slow by Animal Years. A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex and Misty with NavigatorsCrafting, Alex Kindle, Andrew, Austen McDaniel, Bill Jensen, Brad & Blair Thirteen Adventures, Bryan Alsop, Carl Houde, Christopher Marshburn, Clint Sitler, Coach from Marion Outdoors, Eric Casper, Erik Hofmann, Ethan Harwell, Gillian Daniels, Greg Knight, Greg Martin, Griffin Haywood, Hailey Buckingham, Jason Kiser, Krystyn Bell, Matt from Gilbert, AZ, Patrick Cianciolo, Rebecca Brave, Rural Juror, Sawyer Products, SPAM, The Saint Louis Shaman, Timothy Hahn, Tracy 'Trigger' Fawns A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Bells, Benjy Lowry, Bonnie Ackerman, Brett Vandiver, Chris Pyle, David, David Neal, Dcnerdlet, Denise Krekeler, Greg Floravanti "Lumberjack", Jack Greene, Jeanie, Jeanne Latshaw, Luke Netjes, Merle Watkins, Peter, Quenten Jones, Ruth S, Salt Stain, and Spencer Hinson.