Dixie LIVE on the Continental Divide Trail

This is the quickest podcast I've ever released. Jessica got to end yesterday afternoon (October 3) and texted me this morning. I knew you'd want to hear from her so I've rushed the episode out. As you'll hear, she saved the danger until the end. Thanks so much for listening to the show; we've appreciated all the support. I will be catching up with her one more time at the end of November to do a review of her entire journey.  

With Canada only a couple of weeks away, Dixie is facing a race against the snow. It is starting to get colder and she is adjusting her gear to meet the changing weather. We caught up yesterday morning and she had made it to town for an urgent purchase. She'll explain it! She and Perk are together most of the time now as she faces her fear of Grizz Country, while she responds to her mom's Facebook post about taking the long road home.  

Jessica is now less than 300 miles from Canada and is moving well after her recent toe issues. However, she is about to enter 190 miles of wilderness, so she caught up with me yesterday to give an update. She has enjoyed the trip but is now ready to be home. She even had a unique hiking experience for her, with a snowy sunset to finish off a day's hiking.     

With Dixie back to full mobility after her toe op, she is making real progress towards the Canada border. For the first time, she looks as if she'll make it before October or, at worst, a few days into the month. Today, she talks about the impact of the three big trails on her psyche and how they stack up against one another.

The last time we caught up with Dixie, she had decided to get her ingrowing toenails cut out. This was clearly going to disrupt the progress she had been making, and I fully expected her mileage to drop precipitously. She told me that we'd try to speak straight after the operation and, when I didn't hear from her, I feared the worst.  But, being Dixie, she had responded to the advice by walking straight away. You just can't keep a good woman down. With the weather soon to deteriorate in Montana, she is now heading fast to Canada with a new determination to get there before the snow gets to her.

With her ingrowing toenails continuing to bother her, Dixie has made a decision to resolve the problem. This will slow her progress but she now has Kyle, Rogue, and Perk with her. Hopefully, the next few days will enable her to get back on track. She's into her last state, Montana, and is working out how to get to Canada before the bad weather engulfs her.  

With Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park now behind her, Dixie heads into Idaho with two very angry feet. We had a lot of trouble connecting to have a conversation but eventually managed to speak twice; once on the trail and once in a small town in Idaho. As always, she was able to project a positive image despite the pain.

Having spent a couple of weeks with a mini "tramily," Dixie finds herself alone once more, with each of her various hiking companions heading in different directions. I caught up with her this morning, not having heard from her since she had intended to set out with her brother, Dakota. As ever, plans are made to be broken. Despite her anxiety over Grizzly Country, she continues to head north, anticipating the return of Rogue and Kyle. 

Jessica, Kyle and her brother, Dakota, have been hiking together for a week, at a predictably slower pace but revelling in the diversity of the trail. They've experienced some glorious views and some horrendous hail. Dixie has also had to adapt her hike to accommodate her new companions.

This conversation was on Wednesday, August 1, so I apologize for not getting it to you earlier. Dixie has been joined by her brother and another familiar face. We got an excellent question from Shane Capps about hiker hunger, while there thoughts on what you can do when you hit the wall on the trail. Tough times come to us all, even Dixie, and she considers ways to make it better.

We've not spoken for over a week and Jessica has moved into Wyoming. With another desert to contend with, she is getting help with her hydration from truckers as they pass her by. She has also had a few wildlife encounters, one of the great joys of long-distance hiking. Yet she is getting ready for the prospect of grizzlies further north. Quite how she'll do when she tries to spray them with bear spray isn't something that she has quite worked out. I'm sure, though, that when the time comes she'll just take it in her stride.   

Another catch up on the trail, with Jessica taking a break and having cell service. This time, we didn't lose her towards the end as we did last time. We ranged from coffee pots to guns and even got in another thunderstorm story. Listener, Joe Hirsch even planted the thought of the 4600-mile North Country Trail in her mind, but it seems that she has her sights set on hiking in other countries.

This week, we were able to catch up when Jessica was actually hiking on the trail. She had a signal and, particularly because I wanted to know about her electrical storm experience, I immediately got on the phone. Then, once she had told her story, the interview took an unexpected turn.....   

It's been a few days since we spoke and Jessica is now almost due west of Denver. We learn about these small towns and what she does when she gets into town, as well as how much solitude she has been experiencing. We also learn about one of the very favorite parts of hiking for her. It wasn't what I was expecting. Finally, we hear of her future hiking plans and dreams.

We last night when Jessica was in town. Rogue was catching her and expected to get to town soon after we spoke. They will be hiking out together today. We had a long, wide-ranging conversation–both recorded and not recorded–that produced the best episode so far. We really hope that you enjoy it. 

Once again, we had to wait until Jessica was in town for our chat, so I caught up with her in Walmart, of all places. She is currently separated from both Perk and Rogue, though expects Rogue to catch her soon. We talk about healthy trail food–something of an oxymoron on a long-distance trail–hiking at elevation, and she even serves up a dollop of trail magic to us.

Happily, Jessica is back smiling once more and in Colorado. She's had to take another alternate route because of fires but is still, as she says, "connecting her footsteps." This week, she reflects upon the tough past few weeks and looks forward to meeting all sorts of wildlife further north. Please remember to send me questions you may have for her to [email protected] and I'll be happy to put them to her. 

While she was expecting to be able to get straight back into her hike, Dixie has found this week to be tough. Whether it is the elevation or the antibiotics still in her system, she has struggled and felt quite down. She is about to hit the San Juans in Colorado, so she'll need to bounce back as soon as she can. 

With Dixie's stay at home reaching two weeks, Steve spoke with her this morning to establish when she might be back on the trail. The timing could not have been better. Not only was she in New Mexico, but she was about to hit the trail once more. However, as always, Dixie wanted to fill in a few details of what had been a very difficult–and painful–return home to Alabama. 

While she was hoping to be back on the trail by this time, Dixie's journey has been interrupted by an extended stay at home due to a medical situation. She's happy to be there but itching to get back. When we hear from her next, she will be. 

With her sister's graduation coming up, Dixie left the trail this week. I caught up with her at Dallas Airport, between stops and already worn down by the transport system. She reflected upon her journey so far, comparing the desert on the CDT with the desert on the PCT. Of course, she is still buzzed by her mountain lion moment and even contemplating seeing a grizzly further north. You can't keep this girl down!!  

Dixie is past the 700-mile mark and will be leaving the trail for a week to attend her sister's graduation back home. We caught up today and, without any warning, Dixie told me of her dramatic encounter with REAL wildlife.  

Another five or six days between conversations, I managed to catch up with Jessica earlier today on Mother's Day. These are the days that make her miss her family, and I had been concerned that her blue mood of last week may still be there. But she was back to her bright self and on track once more. The Three Amigos had split up for a few days and Jessica took the time for some much-needed self-reflection. We discussed how distracting the various extraneous things to her hike (videos, this podcast, Facebook etc.) could be, yet, typically, she finds benefits from them. Thanks to those of you who ask questions. Please send more to [email protected]

We've been out of touch with Jessica for about a week. The spotty cell service has mitigated against us talking on a sufficiently clear line. Eventually, last evening, we spoke. Right from the start, she didn't sound her normal self, with the long miles on highways and gravel roads taking their toll. She was also tired after the team's first thirty-mile day. Her spirit resurfaced as we spoke and she seemed back to herself towards the end. This is what long-distance hiking can do to you. Sometimes, it just wears you down and you have to put your feet up and recover. A few blisters and a sore back in the mix don't help a great deal either.

Got a text from Jessica today and caught up with her at over 8,000 feet where she had a decent phone signal. Plenty of sound effects in this one, with the click of her poles and her footsteps clearly audible.

We had a few connections issues last evening but eventually managed to speak. Dixie is nearly 200 miles into the hike and seems to be enjoying herself. With water no longer an issue–50 river crossings took care of that–she is starting to really enjoy herself. Unfortunately, she lost touch with Perk for several hours and she talks about how that came about and how it impacted her. We had questions from a listener, Rachel Engen and we'd love to hear some from you. Just email me at [email protected] and I'll get your questions to Dixie the next time we speak.  

We caught up again this morning, this time from Silver City. Dixie shares her water-gathering habits and her first 20+ mile day. She announces the date of the first video from the trail release and does her bit for conservation. As always, she is chatty and engaging, despite an unrelenting wind in the desert. She's already over 160 miles into the trail. 

I caught up with Dixie in the same place as before, Lordsburg, NM. She had returned to the trail by shuttle and hiked back into the same town. She's already getting into her stride and experiencing the desolate (her word) landscape. The three of them have already encountered what Dixie referred to as a Dust Devil. Let's hope that they were able to capture it on film.

We caught up in town where Dixie and the team had shuttled to after three days on the trail. Somebody's been "doo-doohing like a goose," which is apparently a quaint southern term! 

I happened to be speaking with Dixie last night and we recorded a few thoughts that she had before starting out in the next couple of days. We ranged from Ibuprofen to water caching, then Perk's toileting habits to a few last minute nerves. As always, Dixie is charming, disarming and funny.

Steve caught up with Dixie the day before she set off for New Mexico. She was in that "I'm not quite there yet" mode, yet with Perk in her home, she is already drifting into those camp rituals. They'll be picking up Aaron and, as Perk has a friend with him, their "tramily" of four is already set. If you've enjoyed the show so far and would like to join Dixie on her journey, we hope to be recording a couple of times each week and publishing virtually straight away. This show is ONLY going to be available on HikingRadioNetwork.com, a new site that will be open on Sunday, April 1. There will be three free shows as well as Dixie's paid show. Scroll down to Dixie's show, click on the "Listen to Dixie" button, and you'll reach a page to sign up for the show through Paypal. You DO NEED a Paypal account and can pay with your credit card. Once you've signed up, you'll just have to log in when a new episode is available. I will be emailing you when I publish a new episode, so it will be ready for you when you log in. If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected]     

Dixie and Steve discuss her upcoming hike, with her final gear choices and who she's going to miss most of all!! Perk will be driving down from New York to collect Dixie and they will head for the New Mexico border during this last week of March. She tells us that Aaron, her video editor will also be coming along for the hike. Remember, this is the second of three FREE episodes, intended to give you a flavor of the show. Once you've heard all three–and if you want to subscribe to the show–head on over to the homepage of  HikingRadioNetwork.com where, from Sunday, April 1, you'll see Dixie's show. Click on the "Listen to Dixie" button and you'll be directed to the signup page. We hope to see you there. 

Jessica "Dixie" Mills is a couple of weeks away from her attempt on the  Continental Divide Trail. This is the third leg of the Triple Crown. The podcast will be following Dixie as she prepares to leave home, reflecting upon the past few years, during which she has established herself through her videos and personality as a force to be reckoned with. Here, Dixie and Steve chat about the adventure and what she is expecting in those early days. Don't forget to subscribe to the show on HikingRadioNetwork.com from April 1. It will not be available anywhere else.