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
Cape Wrath Trail: bog trotting to Sourlies
Blissful Hiker continues on Scotland's difficult Cape Wrath Trail realizing mileage means nothing when the vague trail is filled with bog, tussock, flood and rock.
In this episode:
- Rain s…
Cape Wrath Trail: rainbows & bothies
Blissful Hiker begins the Cape Wrath Trail in the Western Highlands of Scotland and learns that it's less hiking and more "bog trotting."
In this episode:
- The Cape Wrath Trail is unmarke…
Teton Crest Trail: Spearhead Peak
Blissful Hiker finishes the Teton Crest Trail mostly all alone overcoming any lingering doubt that she loves backpacking and will keep doing into old age.
In this episode:
- Blissful leave…
Teton Crest Trail: Avalanche Divide
Blissful Hiker takes a side-trip off the Teton Crest Trail to a remote lake that requires scrambling, and learns making the time to explore and open herself to surprises is breaking the…
Teton Crest Trail: Paintbrush Divide
Blissful Hiker goes on her first high-altitude hike since her rescue and shoots for an SKT* on the Teton Crest Trail.
*Slowest Known Time
In this episode:
- It's an easy-ish trail only 45 …
NCT: hiker as optimist
Blissful Hiker learns on the North Country Trail in Northern Wisconsin, that the very act of moving one foot in front of the other is automatically optimistic.
In this episode:
- On a visit…
SHT: healing the heart
Blissful Hiker walks like a thru-hiker again for just a few days on the Superior Hiking Trail, moving fast, smooth and far and connecting again with herself.
In this episode:
- It's a stee…
SHT: finding my footing
Blissful Hiker dips a toe back into backpacking for a few days on the Superior Hiking Trail in Northern Minnesota and discovers her bliss can still be found on the trail.
In this episod…
PCT: the start
Blissful Hiker spends time off-trail looking back at one of her favorite thru-hikes, the Pacific Crest Trail and learning about the meaning of grace.
In this episode:
- We're introduced to…
waiting
Blissful Hiker is moved by Simone Biles' decision to exit the Olympics and feels like it gives her permission to forgive herself for her own exit.
In this episode:
- Blissful is learning p…
off trail
Blissful Hiker wonders if the the trail itself ejected her this time.
In this episode:
- Blissful is "trail angeled" in Montana and rests up in a kind of half-way house for sick people wit…
CDT: Hiker Purgatory
Blissful Hiker is plucked off the Continental Divide Hike when her body goes into critical distress.
In this episode:
- Blissful begins The Bob section of the CDT in Montana (Bob Marshall W…
CDT: Glacier National Park
Blissful Hiker begins the Continental Divide Trail at Chief Mountain in Glacier National Park and gets a taste of everything – good and bad.
In this episode:
- Day one begins in a thunder…
CDT: the set up
Blissful Hiker receives a blessing before driving across three states to start the Continental Divide Trail.
In this episode:
- The drive takes her in an Enchanted Highway and into the des…
CDT prep: maps ‘n food
Blissful Hiker makes maps and food for the Continental Divide Hike.
In this episode:
- Blissful takes a GPS class with The Mountaineers and learns about the value of taking printed maps, n…
CDT prep: gear
Blissful Hiker organizes her gear for the Continental Divide Hike.
In this episode:
- Blissful is taking a new Gossamer Gear ultralight "Gorilla" pack and "The One" tent on this thru-hike…
CDT prep: logistics
Blissful Hiker discovers that planning only goes so far for her Continental Divide Hike but maybe that's a good thing.
In this episode:
- Blissful tackles the many pieces of logistics of…
CDT prep: getting in shape
Blissful Hiker shares her array of workouts to get fit for the Continental Divide Trail and much of it is not just walking.
In this episode:
- Blissful starts her day with a two-minute pl…
Te Araroa: the end of the Te Araroa
Blissful Hiker brings the story of the Te Araroa to a close so she can podcast from trail on the Continental Divide Trail, a 3,000-mile thru-hike on the Rockies.
In this episode:
- We hav…
Te Araroa: Lake Tekapo
Blissful Hiker says goodbye to her young friend Tomáš who helped her through the toughest parts of the trail, including reaching a summit above the highest point of the trail.
In this …