blissful hiker ❤︎ inspiring you to hike your own hike
Long-distance backpacker Alison "Blissful Hiker" Young has walked over 13,000 miles on six continents including New Zealand's Te Araroa, Europe's Pyrenean Haute Route, Africa's Drakensberg Traverse and the Pacific Crest Trail in the United States.
In a series of personal essays coupled with found sound, this podcast explores her journey of self-discovery as a middle-aged titanium-reinforced cancer thriver, sharing the sometimes unglamorous but vital truth about empowerment, inspiring others to blaze their own trails in this journey we call life.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 14 minutes
- Episodes
- 150
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
yes, regrets!
Regret can actually act as the motivating fuel to push us towards our goals.
- Phrases like "no regrets!" are helpful in keeping us focussed on the future and not on mistakes from the past…
why do I hike alone?
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 b…
Ask Me Anything! Volume 1
Blissful answers burning backpacking questions in the first round of "Ask Me Anything."
In this episode:
1:26 – How do you secure your bag when checking it at the airport?
3:06 – Do you p…
Arizona Trail: The Finish Line
Blissful meets the Southern Terminus of the AZT just as a windstorm picks up on the Utah/Arizona border.
In this episode:
- After a night in the "cowpie" field – flat and squishy – Blissful…
Arizona Trail: The Grand Canyon
Blissful has one of the most extraordinary experiences of her hiking life – walking into and out of the Grand Canyon.
In this episode:
- With a snowstorm coming and temperatures dropping in…
Arizona Trail: glimpses of the Grand
It's a long, undulating and dusty trail through more ponderosa pine where Blissful finally gets her first glimpse of the Grand Canyon.
In this episode:
- Blissful wakes up 100% free of bug…
Arizona Trail: back on trail
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 epis…
Arizona Trail: bedbug infestation
Blissful is covered in itchy, oozing, painful bites and realizes her gear is infested by bedbugs picked up on her last zero at the motel.
In this episode:
- It's a short walk under the int…
Arizona Trail: fairytale mountain, fairytale day
Unbeknownst to him, a camper becomes trail angel and helps Blissful find a perfect campsite after a long day of relentless forest and a glimpse of a fairytale mountain.
In this episode:
- T…
Arizona Trail: Mormon Lake
Arizona Trail: Game Player
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 o…
Arizona Trail: The Mogollon Rim
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 so…
Arizona Trail: mud, mud, mud
After Blissful takes a forced break due to snowy weather, it's a sparkly day of gorgeous skies and sticky mud.
In this episode:
- Blissful rides with a trail angel and three hikers to the …
Arizona Trail: rocks, rocks, rocks
Blissful discovers more rocks than she thought possible on the Arizona Trail.
In this episode:
- It's a beautiful morning with an orange sky, but straight up to weird skull-looking limeston…
Arizona Trail: what is happiness?
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 …
Arizona Trail: The Great Unconformity
Arizona Trail: The Mazatzals
Blissful heads up to the beautiful Mazatzal Mountains filled with flowers, birds, streams and amazing views.
In this episode:
- Margaret of the trail magic new sleeping mat drives Blissful…
Arizona Trail: trail magic Arizona-style
After Blissful punctures her sleeping pad, she meets a trail angel who manifests her own magic and gets her replacement
In this episode:
- It's an extraordinary night on the edge of a ridge…
Arizona Trail: Four Peaks Wilderness
Blissful climbs steeply up into the Four Peaks Wilderness, where she camps right on the edge of a cliff.
In this episode:
- After sleeping on a wee bit of astroturf at Roosevelt Lake Mari…
Arizona Trail: Rocky Road to Roosevelt Lake
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 Sup…