Explore every episode of blissful hiker ❤︎ inspiring you to hike your own hike
Dive into the complete episode list for blissful hiker ❤︎ inspiring you to hike your own hike. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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 for an ideal camp spot on a peninsula jutting into the sky just before the sky turns orange, darkness falling and her first night filled with stars.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 pools for water collection.
Above man-made Parker Lake, she camps all alone without a tent under the stars, owls singing her to sleep.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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.
She gets bit by an ant and develops a red, hot rash on the back of her thigh, then accepts a ride on the rocky road from a rancher, who helps her up the mountain.
A jeep train comes through and gives her another ride - maybe in all, it totals one mile, but takes her past the worst of slippery rock.
Over a saddle below Mount Wrightson, she enters a beautiful new world of tall ponderosa pine and rolling hills where she finds a magical campsite on a sky island on top of a sky island.
MUSIC:Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 alone.
At the very end, it's an act of faith to find a tiny flat spot at a pass, just big enough for her sleeping pad and bag, where she's sung to sleep by a whippoorwill.
MUSIC:Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 offering a beer.
At Colossal Cave, another angel offers a bike so she can retrieve her package high up on a cliff and even provides tent stakes after she loses her own.
MUSIC:Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 up over 4,000 feet to her goal of Manning Camp.
The trail leaves the cacti behind and opens into a kind of high altitude bowl, that feels aerie and vulnerable.
Trail workers are making spectacular rock stairs to prevent erosion and suggest she camp at Grass Shack instead.
It's still a long way up, and a site under oak trees right next to a babbling brook is the clincher, camping with her new friends.
MUSIC:Quena by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 the knees.
But the views are vast to mountains and desert, but is so disorienting, it feels like flying.
From a pool, the trail pushes through cattle country up and down to a high point between the Rincon and Santa Catalina Mountains, with an almost full moon where she sets her cowgirl camp.
MUSIC:Con la chola y el changuito by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 over a pass down to Molina Campground where she takes water and leftover hiker food left in a designated locker by the road.
And also takes a hitch, only a short two miles but enough to change the entire day.
A perfect day on switchbacks sidling deep canyon walls down to a deep river lined with fluorescent green trees.
Again, it's a night out again sleeping in a sandy wash like a cowgirl.
MUSIC:Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 skipping.
It's not like she won't return to walk the desert and cross the Gila River, but time is limited and she decides to pick up the trail in Superior.
And it's stunning with wild flowers andstreamsin the foothills of the Superstition Mountains and she feels revived.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 underground, then reappearing just in time for to drink as she gets thirsty.
No more trail after that, as Blissful follows a rocky road so angled, it would make a roller coaster blush.
But that gets her to the highway and finally, Roosevelt Lake Marina, her resupply package waiting for her, and a small square of astroturf for the alicoop.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 below.
All alone except for two tourists and one backpacker coming the other way, she sidles the peaks on a balcony walk finding a perfect flat spot under one lone Ponderosa Pine in snow.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 on what looks like luxurious grass, but turns out to have sharp points that cut into her mattress.
It's a short, but circuitous, walk up and over the canyon towards the road where she quickly catches a hitch to Payson, where Margaret just happens to be at the right place at the right time to snag her a new mattress.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala and Pastorale Calchaqui by Hector Gallac as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 head net) is required for the swarming gnats.
One special spot is Chilson Spring, fresh water collected by a pipe into a metal box.
The campsite is just a wide spot on the trail near Hopi Spring with a view of a stunning sunset over all the mountains already climbed.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 she meets Dennis and Frauke again.
Uphill, they discuss what makes them happy – so many things, like friends, flowers, water, views and being strong.
They camp near each other under a velvet sky of diamond-like stars.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 lovely canyon to a flat walk through deep water and mud, a miserable messy walk to a quiet spot under pines, after a bit of trail magic.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 ability to stay present.
And at the end of the day, she's surprised by a lovely trail taking her to a triple waterfall at twin streams where she sets her tent to a frog chorus.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 walk fast.
A wrong turn is easily fixed and then the two part, where Blissful gets a good meal at Mormon Lake.
Camping is at a bend in a stream, where all feels right alone with just owls, ducks and frogs.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 fairytale mountain comes into view covered in snow, or are those clouds?
Distracted, Blissful misses that the snow has disappeared and that means no water for drinking.
But she's saved twice with a wee puddle and a flooded river.
Finally views appear, the large white tubes of the Lowell Observatory’s Navy Precision Optical Interferometer and a camper offers not only a beer, but advice on a perfect campsite.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 she needs is a change of clothes and a means to wash her gear in a town where she's a stranger.
So, it's up to her to manage the nightmare.
Most of this is done by walking on long, hot urban roads, including a visit to the doctor for four different medicines to control the infected bites.
It leaves her unbearably lonely.
But help comes in the end - with food and a meal – and after three tough days, she heads back to trail.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 "Wildlife Waterer" provides clean, clear water
Blissful longs to slow down, but still walks a big 21-mile day looking for a camp spot, holding out for a spectacular one with stone benches.
Once crawling in, she discovers to her delight that her gear is completely bug free.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 itinerary on the Kaibab Trail to Cottonwoods Campground is considered "aggressive" because she's all alone.
The path appears to hang in midair as it finally meets the Colorado River, then up to a site she shares with lovely AZT hikers.
The next morning is the opposite – finally alone entirely up to the cold and snowy North Rim, through a tight opening with only the song of a canyon wren.
After such beauty, the road is a let down and she accepts a hitch back to trail and a night in a muddy meadow.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
After a night in the "cowpie" field – flat and squishy – Blissful sleeps well under moon shadows.
It's easy walking towards Vermillion Cliffswhere 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 to the end.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 your pictures straight in your mind and know what is out there in the woods, country, mountains, etc? 13:49 – No experience with long distance hiking. How did you prepare, to be sure you will make it?
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 when to expect you to return.
I have added professional speaker to my "bag of tricks." If you'd like me to speak to your group, contact me!
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
One year agoBlissful 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 closer to the spirit, letting go of control and worry and trusting in the "peace that transcends all understanding."
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala and Milongs sin palabras by Astor Pizzolla as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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… forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits."
10) 5:41 You are stronger than you think you are "If I waited for perfection, I’d never write a word."
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala and Milongs sin palabras by Astor Pizzolla as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 above Lake Superior.
Her first day is along the escarpment above Lake of the Clouds to her stunning campsite with a large rock apron looking out to the astounding view.
Birds and a wolf celebrate the setting sun and the stars coming out.
As she crawls into her tent, an acorn bombardment spooks her reminding her that this is indeed a wilderness.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 Carp River and enchanted by its silvery cascades on volcanic rock.
A short walk along Lake Superior and she's back in forest following another river, the Little Carp where she camps next to a pool reflecting gold and red fall colors.
The next day she climbs to the high point at Summit Peak, then down to gorgeous Mirror Lake and finally a private site on a beaver pond filled with nature's sound including chipmunks, owls, beaver and a howling wolf.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 camping at Katahdin Stream Campground, Blissful walks steeply up to spectacular views before hitting boulders requiring crawling, pressing, pulling and squeezing with only a few iron ladders to help.
The tableland is easy walking, but exposed and hot with no wind and swarms of flies.
At the top, Blissful meets a cohort of thru-hikers and carefully returns right before a loud thunder clap.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 liner to pack her gear in compression sacks that fail completely.
The walk out of Baxter State Park is flat and easy, the trail lined with wildflowers and filled with bird song.
At Abol Bridge, she meets other hikers and they look back at Katahdin as the air turns black, lightnings strikes the summit and it begins pouring rain.
Maine rain is different in humid, saturated air and she's almost immediately soaked through.
At the warning sign, three miles ahead of the first shelter at Hurd Brook, it begins to hail.
She sets her tent with new friends who offer dry clothes and to share their tent if she gets too cold, but somehow she sleeps well through the night in a lumpy and clammy down quilt.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
New friends of fellow hikers give Blissful courage and she makes it to the next site now with dried out gear – only to survive yet another night of soaking rain.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 at Nahmakanta Stream and she grabs a corner spot.
Wet and cold, she is reminded of the book Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales where he says, "“Stop denying and begin surviving. You don’t have to be elite or perfect, just get on with it and do the next right thing.”
And this is exactly what she does, focusing her negative emotions to doing the next right thing - to stay as dry and warm as possible, and to keep moving ahead.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 licks her wounds, two woodpeckers poke out of a snag, chittering to each other and seemingly planning who will head out for food and how will stay with the young; it's magical.
The lesson that "we're only passing through" is made apparent as is that she will never pass this way again.
And this realization makes her feel gratitude for being invited into this wild world.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 and carefully crosses the Pleasant River – less pleasant, but doable especially with affixed ropes, yet there's no information on whether the ropes are safe.
A Winter Wren congratulates her on a successful cross, and encourages a climb to Logan Brook right below White Cap Mountain, where a shelter awaits.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 to go further than expected, crossing a river and steeply up, she goes for it.
The "Sibs" – a pair of siblings also from Minnesota – give her courage as well as spotting her first Red Spotted Newt as orange as a gummy.
The river crossing is easy and the uphills go one and on finally ending in a rock fall to climb up Chairback Mountain to a shelter shared with a barefoot thru-hiker named 'Shoes.'
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 pitcher plants.
It's too hard to get to the planned shelter so she and Shoes stay next to Long Pond Stream.
They are rudely awakened by hikers late at night who warn them not to try to cross and instead offer directions for the reroute.
Blissful is grateful for all that happened today, even the rude hikers who ensure she doesn't get in trouble in teh flooded stream.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 takes her to lovely Moxie Bald Pond where the forest creatures enchant her even when distressed by her cancer diagnosis and the fact that she'll have to go home.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 and loud pontoon boats, only a few miles out of Caratunk.
Blissful meets a cancer survivor finishing the Appalachian Trail and is empowered by her healing and moxie to get right back on trail.
Then she heads home for a new and scary adventure.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 life.
MUSIC:Suite by Ernst Krenek and Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavinoas played by Alison Young, flute
WhenBlissful 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 the children's book, Good Luck, Bad Luck, we shouldn't blame ourselves when life throws us a curveball – no, the universe is not sending us a "message," rather it's a chance for us to grow and stretch when we learn how to face difficulty.
Bad Luck came to Blissful with a diagnosis of cancer, but good luck was that it was caught quickly, so there's no need for chemotherapy – a moment of grace.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala,Suite by Ernst Krenek and Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavinoas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.
AsBlissful 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.”
Being out of control with illness is falling-to-the-knees humbling for Blissful and it's a challenge to stay positive and "bad ass."
But she's inspired by the late actor Julian Sands who spoke of climbing summits as "not so much a celebration of oneself, but the eradication of one’s self-consciousness. And so on these walks you lose yourself, you become a vessel of energy in harmony, hopefully with your environment.”
What a way to live!
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.
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 vulnerability and ultimate decline, and yet it opens us up to discover our superpowers, like moving forward to see what's next.
It's the price we pay for being alive, but it offers us a chance to appreciate what we have even more.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.
Blissful is given the "all clear" by her surgeon and gets ready to step into the rest of her life.
Surgery for breast cancer has completely changed Blissful's body, but has given her a new power of bravery and knowing herself better.
One friend calls her a "sur-thriver" facing down the situation directly, and trying to do what St. Paul said, to "rejoice always and not worry about anything."
Time is running out but wouldn't it be cool to live fully, audaciously, without fear – and with joy – even in an uncertain world?
Next week, Blissful heads back to trail in Arizona to finish a portion she had to skip when walking two years ago.
MUSIC:Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.
Have you been wanting to do something a little wild and out-of-your-comfort-zone but were afraid to take the first step?
When it comes to dreams, don't let them become a broken record of something you'll do "someday."
In this episode, Blissful shares three reasons why we fail to act and keep our dreams to ourselves –
rules
fear
shame
Take your dreams for a spin, even if you fail spectacularly. Your future self will thank you because, afterall, we tend not to regret the things we did do but the things we didn't do.
Blissful will give her first TEDx talk this October in Manchester, New Hampshire! The subject is "Stepping into the Unknown." Get tickets here.
MUSIC:Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.
On the Teton Crest Trail in Wyoming, Blissful decides to go for an "SKT" (Slowest Known Time) and surprises abound.
1. John Muir (and Henry David Thoreau) hated the word "hike" and preferred to saunter, entering beautiful natural places with reverence.
2. Physiologists tell us that walking at a turtle's pace releases endocannabinoids a kind of "persistence high" that elicits a state of euphoria.
3. But most important, going slow and leaving plenty of time allows us to simply exist and enjoy – explore off-trail, enjoy sights like a bull moose, pikas, and wildflowers, and nab the best campsites!
Blissful will give her first TEDx talk this October in Manchester, New Hampshire! The subject is "Stepping into the Unknown." Get tickets here. Use coupon code "WILD" for a discount!
MUSIC:Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.
This was especially important when she needed to face down an irrational fear of falling out of her kayak and being upside down in the water.
Here are some of those skills:
Positive Learning Environment.
Encourage Risk Taking.
Provide Feedback and Guidance
Promote a Growth Mindset
Just wanting to get better and do something out of our comfort zone isn't enough. Sometimes we need guide who possessed strong leadership and teaching skills.
Blissful will give her first TEDx talk this October in Manchester, New Hampshire! The subject is "Stepping into the Unknown." Get tickets here. Use coupon code "WILD" for a discount!
MUSIC:Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design and was founded in 1984 to showcase the "most interesting people on earth and let them communicate their passion."
The tagline is "ideas worth spreading."
The talks are short (under 18 minutes) and all memorized, given on a red dot of a carpet in front of a live audience, filmed for later broadcast.
I was recommended for this particular organization, but needed to apply and convince those in charge that I was the best person to share this idea.
Blissful's talk is about resilience in spite of life's inexplicable randomness. You'll come along with her on trail as she lets go of her flute career and meets another Blissful Hiker named Beethoven.
MUSIC:Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano.
The Blissful Hiker sells her flute to make the dream of walking a long-distance thru-hike a reality before it's too late and arthritis takes over her body.
In this episode:
Meet ex-professional flutist and voracious hiker, the Blissful Hiker.
With arthritis taking over her body, time was running out.
But once she voiced her dream to walk a long trail, the universe conspired to make it happen.
And letting go of her professional flute, brought her one step closer to New Zealand’s long pathway, the Te Araroa.
MUSIC: The music in this episode is Argentine composer Angel Lasala’s Poema del Pastor Coyaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
The Show: My name is alison young and I am the Blissful Hiker. Walking was always my solace, the place I found peace, got centered and came up with creative ideas. My earliest memory is of looking down at my feet as they took me from our house in New York up a winding sidewalk to the back door of the church where my father was the minister. I had places to go! Up there was nursery school.
I had a long, hard, fraught but ultimately deeply satisfying and successful career as a professional flutist that took me all over the world, until one day in my mid-thirties when I couldn’t move my fingers. It seems I had developed a neurological condition, dystonia, and it ended my career.
I played with great orchestras, made recordings, toured, taught, but much of what I did in my life was unrelated to making music. I had this kind of part-time gig as a hiker and when I traveled, I’d fit in some walking like in Japan, China, Pakistan, Switzerland, Argentina, and of course all over the United States. Blissful Hiker’s little motto of “walking the world” is kind of spot on.
When radio took over my life, I would work weekends to stockpile a few priceless extra days to take even more adventurous hikes, which only whet my appetite for more – and longer – hikes. I wanted to see what it felt like to walk far, a thru-hike of thousands of miles, something verging on a lifestyle.
But I kept that dream a secret for a long time – though time was running out – dystonia screwed up my hands so I couldn’t play the flute at a high professional level and now, I was developing arthritis in my feet. Would I also lose the ability to walk?
How lovely it is to dream while you are awake. Anybody can dream while they're asleep, but you need to dream all the time, and say our dreams out loud, and believe in them. –Andre Agazzi
It’s kind of woowoo, but I have had the experience where when I voice something I want, things begin to change, like the universe is conspiring to make things happen.
And then there was that flute sale. It turned out one of my adult students wanted to buy it. When we got to the moment I put the flute in her hands, she she presented me with her first student flute from grade school, a little silver-plated jobbie with a sweet sparkly tone. “Let’s make a trade,” she said. “This flute for a flute lesson.”
The Blissful Hiker realizes there's no "there" to get to, learning to live in the moment, face vulnerability straight on – while at the same time, opening herself up to "the ecstatic experience."
In this episode:
The Blissful Hiker sorts out the myriad details before departing on the 3,000 kilometer Te Araroa.
She learns she can only plan so much before needing to make peace with not knowing how the story will unfold.
She also learns to be present and ‘hold her soul ajar to welcome the ecstatic experience.’
She shares the first words she learns in Maori, ones that mean ‘hello,’ but also, ‘be well,’ ‘be safe,’ ‘be filled with gratitude.'
kia ora:Māori greeting, literally "be well!"
MUSIC: Erik Satie, Gymnopedie No. 1; Kevin MacLeod, Apero Hour; Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 1 (used by permission)
The Show: John Kaag writes in his book, Hiking with Nietzsche, that the great philosopher wants us to be wanderers, but not as a traveler to a final destination, for this destination does not exist.
If you arrive at a final destination, it’s a sign that you’ve set your sights too low. On a long walk who we are is about recovering from who we think we are.
Backpacking is about coming to grips with this projection requiring me to live in the moment, face my vulnerability straight on – while at the same time, opening myself up, like the words of Emily Dickinson, The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.
The Blissful Hiker flies to New Zealand, drives to the Meeting Place of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean at Cape Reinga and within 36 hours, she begins to walk the Te Araroa towards Bluff.
In this episode:
The Blissful Hiker has her first encounter with authentic Kiwi "trail angel" hospitality.
She's taken up the winding, roller-coaster roads of Northland to Cape Reinga.
She learns security is just an illusion and we have to take risks to truly live.
She immediately begins hiking and just as immediately takes a wrong turn.
Rain, hail, hot sun, tides and the constant sound of waves are her companions for the first 100 kilometers.
MUSIC: The Horizon from Owhiro Bay by Gareth Farr (used by permission) The Pee Rag by Stacia Bennett
The Show:
I found out what a pee rag is right around the same time I met Irene on Facebook. She’s a Kiwi from Hamilton, planning to walk the TA in sections. She planned to start from Cape Reinga on October 29, my start date.
I fly over puffy clouds above crystalline bays abutting sandy beaches fed by winding streams and estuaries. Hilly bright green pastures and dark bush see rain falling in the distance, and the ocean beyond that to infinity. If all goes as planned, to walk back to Auckland, will take me a month.
I’m out of my comfort zone, having reckoned with what really matters in my life and putting to the test risking security for something intangible. Helen Keller wrote “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” Security is an illusion. You have to risk a bit of adventure to really live.
This part of the country is called Northland or the far, far, north. The sky clears above a wide track through flax and yucca, azure waves in long rows crashing beneath us as we rise up on high cliffs. We spot our first trail sign, a plastic orange triangle nailed onto a wooden post. It leads us away from the beach up onto a sandy bluff dotted with bright yellow lupine.
“I sure hope we’re not lost,” Irene says, just as I realize, we most surely are.
Irene and I were never really lost, just misguided.
Oyster Catchers peep at us as we pass, their eyes looking askance. Sponges, jellyfish and small piles of broken shells fan out at the water’s edge. It all seems a bit unreal, the route taking us under the curve of a rainbow towards another squall line and tonight’s destination.
The Te Araroa – or long pathway – dispenses with formalities, taking the Blissful Hiker onto an exposed start of drenching squalls, inconvenient tides and a never-ending roar of the waves.
In this episode:
The Blissful Hiker starts walking the Ninety Mile Beach, a long strip of sand that will take three days to complete, a baptism by fire for causing injury, boredom and many hikers to quit the Te Araroa.
She learns that thru-hiking is a lesson in patience.
Her tent, the alicoop, crashes down in the ferocious wind, but the TA goddess stops the rain, and she reorients it under a blanket of stars.
On the final day, the wind changes, coming directly in her face, but she rises to the challenge, met in Ahipara by a new friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend.
MUSIC: Pastorale Calchaqui by Hector Gallac as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
The Te Araroa – or long pathway – dispenses with formalities, taking any hiker who dares onto an exposed start of drenching squalls, inconvenient tides and a never-ending roar of sound that begins as a curious lullaby, but in time, crescendos to a scream.
Fortunately, I’ve been warned about the beach, mostly told not to underestimate how difficult it is even though a simple point A to point B, on flat ground. Even young and healthy hikers manage to injure themselves with painful tendonitis, shin splints or shred their tender city-feet in a mass of blisters. Total exposure to the elements of wind, rain, and sun, no water and loud monotony make this one of the most difficult starts of any thru-hike in the world. It’s a baptism by fire – or more accurately, water.
Beautiful, lovingly built stairs with rubber grips take us steeply down through the bush. Little did I know this would be one of only a handful of well-built and maintained portions of the 3,000 kilometer trail.
It looks like it was my turn for my tent – the alicoop – to crash down on me. It’s no one’s fault, really, certainly not the gear, just that I set behind a wind screen that only protected me for the half of the night before the wind changed directions.
To survive today’s, I make a plan to divide it into thirds. I’ll use each 10k section to consider some ‘deep thoughts.’
1. What causes a person to make the decision to walk for five months?
2. Why does said person need a plan to get through a particularly long, hard day?
3. What must it feel like to be free, like one of these wild horses?
In no time, the wind picks up to dry me off. But this time, it’s straight in my face. At Ahipara, Peter treats me like his own daughter, looking at me with concern when he remarks that I have sand on my cheeks and in the corners of my eyes.
Joining me for a glass of wine he wonders if it would be considered cheating to skip the long, dangerous road walk to Kaitaia and allow him to drive me to the next section.
Slogging through epic mud in the New Zealand bush, the Blissful Hiker learns about plunging straight through difficult passages, never making assumptions and always looking for the beauty around her.
In this episode:
On only day 5, the Blissful Hiker cheats and allows her friend of a friend of a friend Peter to drive her past the road walk section.
She enters real New Zealand bush, the Raetea Forest, which begins easily, but then plunges her straight into epic mud.
She hears the R2D2 squawk song of a Tui for the first time
She gets lost for a moment, but soon finds a wide grassy part of the trail to set her tent.
She learns about plunging straight through difficult passages, never making assumptions and always looking for the beauty around her.
MUSIC: Impresiones de la Puna by Alberto Ginastera as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
Does it count if cheating wasn’t my idea? Peter wonders if I’d “betray the mission” by having him drive me to the next town because the Te Araroa Trust had to divert the trail due to Kauri dieback.
The Ninety Mile Beach felt deserted, remote and lonely, and it’s not an understatement to say I feel culture shock pulling into the massive parking lot of an equally massive box store called Pak’nSav to pick up a few items for the coming days.
We bump and lurch up the Takahue Saddle Road to the Mangamuka Route. The air is cool and fresh, the smell so different now – sweetly pungent, earthy and moist.
But then he points to my left, to a tiny opening in the thick foliage. That’s the way? In there? It’s a trail about a meter wide aggressively cutting up the mountain now; straight up. The mud is thick and sticky, wet and slippery. Roots crisscross the path and I learn quickly not to try and balance on them as a means to avoid the mud, because they’re worse than the mud, greasy and unstable.
Irene and I are quiet in our thoughts and then she says, “A tui!” I hear a few bell-like sounds amidst clicks, cackles, creaks, groans and wheezes more like R2D2 than any bird I’d ever heard. I learn later tuis can sound like two birds because of their bifurcated sound-producing organ called a syrinx.
The afternoon gives way and the light begins to change, warming to a deep orange the tall Rimu covered in Dr. Seussian epicytes and long, black tendrilly, supplejack. A wooden sign points to Makene Road one way and TA SOBO (or southbound) the other with the encouraging words, “Only 2,850 kilometers to go!”
What about this day, I think. What has it taught me? To just plow through the tough stuff and not care if you get dirty. To never assume and to look and listen for all the beauty around you, even if you’re tired and uncertain you’ll find a flat place to camp.
That’s the wonder of hiking, that you really, truly have to let go – of expectations, of being hard on yourself, of having to do things in the right way because sometimes the day just gets away from you and you have to improvise.
It's not until the end of the day when the Blissful Hiker enters a magical forest preserve of towering Cathedral-sized Kauri does she realize here is precisely where she needs to be in this moment.
In this episode:
The Blissful Hiker awakens to a cacophonous symphony of birdsong, puts on her muddy socks and shoes and walks right back into soul-sucking mud.
A walk across a farm and road walk take her to a hamburger.
A rainy night at Apple Dam teaches her how to pack up a damp campsite.
Trail angels and curious sites keep her company on an easy walk.
A sidetrip to see magnificent Kauri remind her that she is exactly where she needs to be – walking the Te Araroa.
MUSIC: Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
A symphony of birdsong awakens me in the Raetea Forest, a cushion of grass my mattress and just enough water left for breakfast. My shoes and socks are caked with the stuff and I’m putting off placing my feet in them for as long as possible. Out of the forest, through a farm, then onto road. This is one of the major complaints about the Te Araroa.
It’s really not that bad as the road slowly climbs up, the Mangamuka Dairy right at the top of this hill. Apple Dam Camp is another wide grassy spot in the bush and it rained all night long. Waking up in rain is absolutely depleting. Ask any thru-hiker and they will likely tell you that it’s not the rain itself that’s the problem – it’s packing in rain.
I pass pastel colored bee boxes in uneven stacks, buzzing workers swarming the white flowered manuka nearby. A slow moving vehicle crawls closer and two hunters lean out to ensure I take the right turn at the next fork. Even though it’s midday, I pose my standard question, “Do you have a beer you could sell me?”
Only moments to the end, I break off from the rest and take a detour to Manginangina. This moment here, right now is magic, holy, like walking into a cathedral. Muir Woods of Australasia.
Aside from needing to find water and places to camp, the “getting there” aspect was pretty much absent. My walking became an act for its own sake. The continuous, rhythmic perambulation, and my own company and observations, brought me to the present moment of my feet very simply walking on this earth.
And you know what? That’s precisely why I came here.
A selfie reveals a face battered by a week of long distance backpacking and the Blissful Hiker considers her mortality and how to keep her hike – and her life – from being a bore.
In this episode:
The Blissful Hiker considers her mortality after taking a selfie of her backpack-beaten face then seeing a row of wild boar carcasses.
She considers how carefully chosen gear protects her body, and how a change of attitude keeps a thru-hike – and life too –from becoming a bore.
She starts to miss mud on an "easy tramping track" through sheep poo, and is warned to be careful what you wish for.
She helps rescue an orphaned duckling before the day ends with a swim under waterfalls chased by a cold beer.
If ever there was a metaphor to illustrate the importance of the journey over the destination, it is life itself. For everyone who departs from birth is destined for death, so the journey IS life. Savor it! – Michele Jennae
MUSIC: Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
A risky kayak portion of the Te Araroa up the Waikare Inlet in the Bay of Islands leaves the Blissful Hiker wondering if, in the words of James Agee, kindness watches for her.
In this episode:
The Blissful Hiker takes her first "zero" day – walking no miles – in Kaeo and tries green-lipped mussels and Whangaroa oysters for the first time.
She gets care for her infected pink eye picked up on "Conjunctivitis Coast," the Ninety Mile Beach in straight line winds.
Nervous on her first day hiking alone, she immediately loses her trail notes.
In Pahia, she rents a kayak and paddles with four hikers who take off, leaving her behind and bereft.
A night of star-filled wonder and new creatures humming and buzzing in the bush remind her she came here to challenge herself and that includes being vulnerable to fear and rejection.
Sure on this shining night Of starmade shadows round, Kindness must watch for me This side the ground. –James Agee
MUSIC: Suite by Ernst Krenek as played by Alison Young, flute and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic and Charles Johnson available on iTunes
She swims in a refreshing pool with a friend and feels baptized in its refreshing coolness.
She doesn't skip the road and ends up in splendid Helena Bay, where two local trail angels take her in.
The walk gets much harder on "advanced tramping track" through the Morepork and Onekainga tracks.
She camps with another fellow hiker next to the Whananaki estuary and falls asleep knowing she will never pass this way again, so best to stay alert, present and fully alive where she is.
MUSIC: Introduccion y Allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
The Blissful Hiker is tripped by a branch, rolling her ankle and falling down hard. But miraculously, she can still walk and is offered many chances to start over on this hike, move on and forgive.
In this episode:
The day starts crossing the longest footbridge in the Southern Hemisphere over the Whananaki Estuary.
A local moves her along, as does a big black cow.
At Tane Moana, she sees a massive kauri and then wipes out and sprains her ankle.
A trail angel named Cheryl gives her ice, arnica and an Ace bandage.
Estuaries, beaches and bush take her finally to Tidesong, where she sees the "kayak boys" and a second chance to forgive and let go.
MUSIC: Movin' On by Rhonda Larson as played by Alison Young.
The Blissful Hiker learns that her subconscious needed this journey of thousands of steps on the Te Araroa as well as important lessons about taking measured leaps of faith and letting go of the need to control to allow the trail itself to provide.
In this episode:
Blissful is awakened in Ruakaka by a bird with a microphone, then heads back on the beach.
She meets interesting characters at Dragonspell who tell her how important it is to take the long walk, and that the trail will provide.
The resident kiwi sings to her before a long day of road walking.
Just when she loses hope, she's back at the beach and surfers convince her to camp in the dunes, permission given by the residents.
MUSIC: Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
The Blissful Hiker wakes up on Pakiri Beach and heads right back into muddy bush where she meets two young people, then two more, who give her some very good advice.
In this episode:
Blissful heads into the bush for a few days and is now an expert at slogging through epic mud.
She instructs two slower hikers to just walk through it, and is invited to go first.
They camp together and offer Blissful a beer at the end of a hard day.
Breakfast is at the Dome Cafe where two more join in, also wise for their years, telling Blissful not to worry about anything and take each day as it comes.
They all meet up again at the Puhoi Pub where Blissful gets a well-deserved room fro the night.
MUSIC: Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
The Blissful Hiker times the tides to kayak down the Puhoi River, rock hop then cross an estuary before walking down the North Shore to Auckland. Her young friend, Lydie, teaches her about the infinity loop and the circle inside it that represents our grounded selves.
In this episode:
Blissful is invited to stay as long as she likes at the Puhoi Pub and Hotel, then joins her young European friends to paddle down the river toward the coast.
The ranger invites them to camp on his lawn in Wenderholm.
A rock hop and a long road walk takes Blissful to Stillwater where another lawn camp is offered.
Another estuary with a deep river cross takes Blissful to the North Shore with on and off rain all the way to Devenport where the ferry shows up just as she walks down the pier.
MUSIC: Suite Argentina: Malambo by Horacio Salgán as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
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 black fox and several moose, including one giant bull with a huge rack.
She enjoys two beautiful sunsets on the Big Lake, including at enchanted Rainbow Cove, a beach of water-worn stones.
MUSIC: Over Wild Solitude by Katherine Bergmanas played by the St. Olaf Norseman Band (used by permission)
The Blissful Hiker continues her magical thru-hike of the very special island national park, Isle Royale. She discovers that the animal she would most want to be in another life is the busy beaver, a creature with the grit to swim fifteen miles to make this eden its home.
In this episode:
Feldtmann Tower is shrouded in mist and there are no views whatsoever, but other surprises await including thousands of spider webs glistening in tiny droplets of dew.
Seven Sandhill Cranes lift as one as Blissful arrives
She spends the her first night in one of the historic shelters built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and laughs at the historic graffiti.
Her hike towards the Greenstone Ridge is a New Zealand flashback of mud and water, but soon heads high onto easy track.
The sky clears, but there are no views from the highest point, Mount Desor.
At Lake Desor, Blissful enjoys loons and a private, sandy beach looking right to the sunset.
MUSIC: Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasala as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
The Blissful Hiker meets trail angels who share food, beer and good advice, learning to be flexible at times and not hold too tightly to plans, because sometimes that can lead to a dangerous situation.
In this episode:
The trail is a Monty Python "Knights who say 'Ni.'"
Blissful crosses huge beaver dams, one with a sinking plank she just has to test, dumping right into the murky water.
At Todd Harbor, fisherman share dinner and laughs, looking out for her safety.
She meets trail angels at Todd Harbor.
Technical scuba divers arrive and give her good advice as the loons wail and beavers cannonball.
MUSIC: Surveyors - Eagle Flies Away for horn and mixed media by Eric McIntyre(used by permission)
CONTEST! Enter to win three pairs of Balega Socks, the best blister-resist, non-slouching, foot-massaging socks for the long haul!
The Blissful Hiker is reminded that backpacking is her favorite activity because she is at her most mindful and feels closest to the Goddess, a spirit guiding her to see the beauty in all things, even rain and leeches!
In this episode:
Blissful wakes up on her final morning on the island at Lane Cove, the wind up and wonders if her plane will be delayed.
She crosses a narrow bridge with a bee hive below.
A moose crashes through the forest when she arrives and a black fox leads her up to the ridge and fabulous views of Canada.
The trail is easy going to Rock Harbor and eventually departs, seeing the humpy green backbone of the island rising right out of the big lake and so grateful for all she saw.
MUSIC: Surveyors - Eagle Flies Away for horn and mixed media by Eric McIntyre(used by permission)
The Blissful Hiker learns that not knowing what comes next in our lives can be difficult to handle and nearly intolerable. The power is in choosing between accepting limited circumstances with grace.
In this episode:
Blissful learns her arthritis has progressed the point where she'll need to have both hips replaced, but that doesn't stop her from hiking one more short thru-hike at peak autumn colors.
The Kekekabic is part of the North Country Trail and is the most remote and rugged trails in Minnesota running through boreal forest and the Boundary Waters.
She takes two big falls, not hurting herself, but realizing her body is breaking down and gets "kekked" (lost) accidentally walking down two portages instead of on the main trail.
Rain comes and goes the entire way, but crossing the incredible architecture of beaver dams, and witnessing a stunning moonrise make up for it.
MUSIC: Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
The Blissful Hiker is back on New Zealand's Te Araroa thru-hike, "slackpacking" through Auckland then celebrating Thanksgiving with her Kiwi hosts, discovering she has a lot to be grateful for.
In this episode:
"Slackpacking" means hiking on a thru-hike with only what's needed for the day, leaving overnight gear at a friend's where the hiker sleeps.
Blissful hikes in rain and sunshine through parks, up blown out volcanoes, into museums and along busy roads.
She learns about another hiker dying on the trail and considers how easy it is to make a dumb decision, wondering if risking everything to come on this hike was a good one.
And at a Thanksgiving meal she realizes she feels gratitude for her decision, dumb or not.
MUSIC: Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
The Blissful Hiker is back on New Zealand's Te Araroa walking through the Waikato Region in the center of the North Island. She learns to face her fear – as well as ambivalence and irritation – and muscle through the bad parts so she can be open to surprise.
In this episode:
Blissful skips a trail detour and starts her hike in muddy wetlands and electric-fenced pastureland.
She arranges for a whole group to camp at Cathy's Pies and learns that whatever answers she's looking for on the trail, is likely already inside her.
Her hiking friends share many of her same feelings about the trail and remind her this is all building "character."
Once she moves past fear and gets her rhythm, she camps alone high up in the Hakarimata Range with an incredible sunset and a morepork (owl) for company.
MUSIC: Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
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Blissful walks over slippery roots and deep pools of mud to reach the Hakarimata Trig before running down hundreds of stairs.
It's an easy walk to Hamilton where Blissful meets Irene, her partner from the first days of the Te Araroa, then another easy walk to Whatawhata, where she uses up all the good weather and faces a big challenge in rain.
It's a long walk over farmland and up on the Kapamahunga Range, then on to the giant extinct volcano, Mount Pirongia.
In a storm, friends from around the world await at the Pahautea Hut on the summit, and she learns that she "actuates" her hike - and life - in every decision she makes.
MUSIC Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano available on iTunes
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The Blissful Hiker descends Mount Pirongia on the Te Araroa in a driving rain on an infamously muddy, root-filled trail and works her way to Waitomo, shown generous Kiwi hospitality all along the way.
In this episode:
Blissful joins eight Te Araroa hikers in a storm for the descent of Mount Pirongia, the highest point in the Waikato region of New Zealand, happy to be sharing the difficulty of deep mud, a trail-as-river and slippery roots.
Trail angels invite her to use their shower and laundry, and – after asking nicely – invite four solo women to stay inside out of the elements.
The next day is wet and muddy across sheep pastures and bush, but when she gets lost, it leads to an easy crossing of the rain-swollen Moakurarua Stream.
The Hamilton Tomo Caving Club invite her to use their group hut facilities before she takes in the famous Waitomo Caves to see glowworms like constellations on the limestone walls.
While she understands that generosity can be its own reward, that doesn't explain the tremendous kindness she's benefited from and she leaves a nice koha (or donation) for the trail angels she's met.
MUSIC Introduccion y allegro by Carlos Guastavino, Suite Argentina by Horacio Salgán and Soliloquy by Bernard Rogers as played by Alison Young, flute. available on iTunes
The Blissful Hiker learns that she actually misses the muddy, barely-there trail of New Zealand's "advanced tramping" and longs for the allure of the unknown.
In this episode:
Blissful walks from Marianne and Allan's farm toward the Pureora Forest, all on road but happy to walk every step of the Te Araroa.
She meets other thru-hikers at the Ngaherenga campsite, all having skipped the last sections and call Blissful a "purist."
Blissful enters the Pureora Forest on the Timber Trail, a wide shared mountain biking trail, but longs for the side side trails back into the bush to the Bog Inn and Pureora's summit, where she spies volcanic Mount Ruapehu.
She crosses two enormous suspension bridges and camps by a Harrisons Creek, where a hunter shows up with a deer, sharing the tenderest morsels.
MUSIC: The music in this episode is Argentine composer Angel Lasala’s Poema del Pastor Coyaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 Trailin 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 take her to Piropiro Flats, where a trail angel gives her two cheap beers for brunch.
At Waione Stream, she spies bikers wading in the rapids below, joining them for one of the best swims of her hike, cold but refreshing.
Camping is at No. 10 Camp, though Chloe can't stand Blissful's blissful singing, so she sets her tent at a distance.
Along the way, Blissful passes the 1,000 kilometer mark, 1/3 of the hike completed.
The final day takes Blissful across the Mangakotukutuku Bridge and meets the engineering marvel of the Ongarue Spiral, two trestles above a tunnel.
Finally, she's finishes at a campsite shared with dozens of hikers who she can't connect with so decides being alone, is just fine.
MUSIC: The music in this episode is Argentine composer Angel Lasala’s Poema del Pastor Coyaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
The Blissful Hiker struggles with being a beginner at thru-hiking as she walks New Zealand's Te Araroa, but realizes that every step she takes brings her one step closer to being an expert.
In this episode:
Blissful leaves Ongarue in the North Island of New Zealand and walks toward Taumarunui, where she'll plan her canoe trip down the Whanganui River.
She meets a Maori who shares sweet coffee and his philosophy, a mixture of matriarchal wisdom and Christianity and it tells her to "ask the mother for help."
In town, the trail provides when she meets up with four hikers she likes who invite her to join them for the canoe trip after four days walking.
It's an easy hike on country roads to the Whakapapa Riverwhere she spies two rare whio – or blue ducks – in the rapids, a good omen.
The hike is along a mountain bike trail called the 42 Traverse, a sanctuary for kiwi and rare carnivorous plants.
The trail cuts off for the Waione/Cokers Track, a muddy, deeply rutted trail where she meets a trapper who takes her on the ride of her life through bush on a 4X4.
MUSIC: The music in this episode is Argentine composer Angel Lasala’s Poema del Pastor Coyaand Carlos Guastavino's Allegroas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
The Blissful Hiker is gifted with good weather while walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing on the Te Araroa, but it takes a fellow hiker to slow her down and help her enjoy the spectacular surroundings.
In this episode:
Blissful leaves Te Porere Redoubt for the Tongariro crossing with four hiker friends in the middle of the night and is heartened when she sees stars, a good omen for decent weather ahead.
Tussocky hillsides dotted with mountain daisies take her up to steaming calderas spewing sulfuric smells, ancient craters crumbling into malevolent jaws and lakes of a wondrous chalky green.
As if like magic, her friend Tom meets her and slows her down to savor the entire day before they camp together below the Devils Staircase in the Mangatepopo Valley.
On her birthday, the day opens clear with a glorious view of Ruapehu all the way to Whakipapa where the trail goes from good to awful just as the promised storms follow her all the way to National Park.
MUSIC:Impresiones de la Puna by Carlos Gaustavinoas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
The Blissful Hiker learns how to be brave and keep the faith from a novice hiker friend who jumped on the Te Araroa before she was totally ready.
In this episode:
Blissful leaves the Tongariro National Park on the Tupapakurua Falls Track,a "balcony walk" with views out to Mount Taranaki rising above the horizon like Shangri-La on a brilliantly clear day.
She camps with her friends at the Katieke War Monument to those who died in World War I and they enjoy a spectacular sunset.
She learns that even though the day started off badly, a thru-hike allows you to literally walk away to something better.
It's a road walk to Whakahoro, but lovely next to the Retaruke River.
At the camp spot, Eline arrives – a Dutch woman backpacking for the very first time – and teaches Blissful to trust herself.
MUSIC:Poema del Pastor Coya by Angel Lasalaas played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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The Blissful Hiker begins the section of the Te Araroa on the Whanganui River, a body of water precious and deeply spiritual to the Maori.
In this episode:
Blissful begins paddling the Whanganui with her partner Andrew as captain, a young American exactly thirty years younger, who takes charge of steering.
After a quick lesson, they're off mostly on placid water reflecting the clouds and cliffs dotted with waterfalls.
At the John Coull Hut, she camps outside and watches rare pekapeka, short-tailed bats, the only endemic mammals to New Zealand.
They take a break from paddling to visit the Bridge to Nowhere, built with high hopes o bring prosperity to the region, though no roads were ever built to it.
The seven-year-old daughter, Maddy, welcomes them to Tieke Kainga, as the kaikaranga or caller in a powhiri to the Maori community, then gives her a pakohe , a healping stone, which Blissful carries on every hike thereafter.
MUSIC:Impresiones de la Puna by Alberto Ginastera as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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The Blissful Hiker continues the section of the Te Araroa on the Whanganui River, learning that aiming your canoe – and life – straight into the V of rapids can give you a renewed sense of power and agency.
In this episode:
Blissful heads into the rapids on the Whanganui and her partner Andrew teaches her to ignore her intuition and head straight into the bubbling caldron – and never stop paddling.
They lean in, knees against the gunwales, thwacking and bumping through as the water drenches them in a kind of baptism.
Andrew empties 26 gallons of water, then another 15 in the next set, but they never tip.
They stay all alone at the the quirky Flying Fox Retreat with some loud birds.
There's no more rapids and it's a long, soggy day to Hipango Park where they camp high up on a bluff.
Blissful realizes she may never see Andrew again after this shared journey, but thinks if this lovely partner can show up out of nowhere, so can others.
MUSIC:Impresiones de la Puna by Alberto Ginastera as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
The Blissful Hiker completes the "thru-canoe" section of the Te Araroa on the Whanganui River, and meets "Guardian" Trail Angels before she returns to the Tasman Sea.
In this episode:
Blissful and her paddle partner Andrew leave Hipango Park for one final day on the winding chocolate-colored Whanganui River toward the Holiday Park and a short walk to town.
On her own, Blissful heads to meet a trail angel named George who offers a room for the night. His partner Rob shares a whakatau, a Maori greeting.
After a big Kiwi-style English braeakfast, George starts the trail with Blissful. It's road-walk all the way to Koitiataand there'sno such thing as "share the road" in New Zealand.
She picks up a lolly cake at Turakina Antiques and is invited by a trail angel for a snack and conversation before meeting the Tasman Sea again after 50 days of walking.
The sunset is glorious and Blissful has it all to herself, but knows she is not entirely alone because people are looking out for her.
MUSIC:Impresiones de la Puna by Alberto Ginastera as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
On day 59 of hiking the Te Araroa, the Blissful Hiker gets in touch with her inner brave spirit and gets more comfortable hiking her own hike.
In this episode:
Blissful leaves the Tasman Sea on concrete-hard black sand of Koitiata Beach and meets a Kiwi section-hiker who tells her the uneven and difficult trail standard is part of the challenge.
The Blissful Hiker takes a calculated risk to cross the glorious, but dangerous, Tararua Range all alone, the most difficult section of the Te Araroa so far, taking advantage of a weather window.
In this episode:
Blissful is told at Makahika Outddoor Pursuit Centre to keep moving to get through the high, exposed Tararuas, since it will be calm and clear for two days.
It's steep and muddy straight uphill to the Te Matawai Hut, but she skips it as advised and moves on all alone on top of the world atop lonely ridge tops shrouded in mist.
After several gloomy but mystical goblin forests, and the summit of Pukematawai, she arrives at Dracophyllum Hut, and watched a glorious sunset.
Stopped momentarily by tachycardia, she finally climbs to the summit of Mount Crawford, the highest point on the trail in this range.
It's a long, muddy descent to the Waitewaewae Hut, where Blissful meets hiker friends and is grateful for a day that felt like flying on clouds.
MUSIC:Impresiones de la Puna by Alberto Ginastera andPastorale Calchaqui by Hector Gallac as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 Julianwhen they leave Waitewaewae Hutin 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 friend – Carol's house in Waikanae.
Even after dinner, beer and a hot tub, the rain destroys her spirit and Carol's boyfriend Brent restores it with a couple of sandwiches – and coming to accept that rain – and mud and difficult trail – is all part of this thru-hike.
It's easy walking on estuary and beach to Paikakariki where Julian texts and invites her to climb a mountain with him the next day to welcome the new year.
MUSIC:Impresiones de la Puna by Alberto Ginastera as played by Alison Young, flute and Vicki Seldon, piano
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 Magellan Cloud and Southern Cross.
It's easy walking through broken pumice but she's warned not to loiter because of avalanches, thenit's stairs over the worst of the eroded mountain, followed by a scramble on scree, one-foot up and a half-foot back.
The crater is permanently covered in icy snow, and she climbs up on the rocky edge to watch the sun rise in glowing orange.
The descent is difficult on ball-bearing stones and in the heat, but she times it perfectly before the clouds return.
MUSIC:Soliloquy by Bernard Rogers and Suite by Ernst Krenek as played by Alison Young
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