Hikes and Mics Podcast

Send us a text🌿 Season 12 Finale: One Year Later with Chickpea — Movement, Mindfulness & Coming Home 🥾✨For the Season 12 finale of Hikes & Mics, we welcome back Chickpea for a powerful, full-circle conversation—one year after her first appearance on the podcast. In that time, Chickpea has taken bold leaps off trail and in life, becoming a full-time traveler, backpacking and mindset mentor, yoga instructor for hikers, and writer, helping others take their first brave steps into the outdoors.We dive into a year shaped by long trails and inner work, from Scotland’s West Highland Way to Portugal’s stunning Rota Vicentina Fisherman’s Trail, and her return to the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington—including a deeply meaningful honeymoon hike through the Cascades and Olympic Coast. Chickpea opens up about redefining the idea of home, navigating the tension between constant movement and stillness, and how mindfulness on trail has become the foundation of both her personal life and coaching work.Along the way, we talk trail curiosities and joys—vino verde and gooseneck barnacles, honesty boxes, birdwatching discoveries, elopement magic, and why Oregon might be one of the PCT’s most underrated sections. The conversation closes with heartfelt encouragement for anyone sitting at a desk dreaming of adventure but doubting themselves—and a reminder that you don’t need to have everything figured out to begin.🎧 An inspiring send-off to Season 12, this episode is a love letter to curiosity, courage, and coming home to yourself—one step at a time.Episode Links:Chickpea on InstagramChickpea’s WebsiteThis episode was Produced by Jordyn Smith, follow her on Instagram @jordyn.journeysFollow us on Instagram, @Hikesandmics AllTrails+I'm excited to share that I’m now a Trailheads Ambassador for AllTrails+! If you love exploring the outdoors, AllTrails+ is your ultimate adventure companion. Get offline maps, real-time wrong-turn alerts, and trail previews to help you hike smarter and safer. Plus, with 3D maps and deeper trail insights, planning your next trek has never been easier. Try AllTrails+ free for 7 days, and when you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get 30% off your AllTrails+ membership! Sign up here: AllTrails+ (promo is only redeemable via web and not the app) Ursa Minor Outfitters - Inspired by the outdoors, Created by local artists Go check them at www.ursaminoroutfitters.com and don’t forget to enter the promo code HikesMics10 at checkout to receive 10% off your order.

Send us a text🎙️ The Trail Angel With a 7-Course WelcomeThis week we sit down with Ben — better known on trail as Paladin — whose story threads together the Appalachian Trail, the PCT, Trans-Catalina sunrises, and a whole lot of good humanity along the way.From childhood summers tracking animals on his grandfather’s farm to section-hiking the Smokies in college, his path into long-distance hiking runs deep. The AT became home. The PCT became a dream. And somewhere between snowfields and desert rain, a trail name was born from a Western theme song and a code of honor he still stands by.We talk about postholing misery, trail-family dynamics, the power of kindness from strangers, and how he now pays it forward with legendary Trail Magic — full resupplies, campfires, and multi-course meals for weary hikers.At the heart of it — legacy, connection, and the belief that moments shared outside can change us forever. 🌄Episode Links:Ben on InstagramTHRU-r on InstagramHartford County WoodshopThis episode was Produced by Jordyn Smith, follow her on Instagram @jordyn.journeysFollow us on Instagram, @Hikesandmics AllTrails+I'm excited to share that I’m now a Trailheads Ambassador for AllTrails+! If you love exploring the outdoors, AllTrails+ is your ultimate adventure companion. Get offline maps, real-time wrong-turn alerts, and trail previews to help you hike smarter and safer. Plus, with 3D maps and deeper trail insights, planning your next trek has never been easier. Try AllTrails+ free for 7 days, and when you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get 30% off your AllTrails+ membership! Sign up here: AllTrails+ (promo is only redeemable via web and not the app) Ursa Minor Outfitters - Inspired by the outdoors, Created by local artists Go check them at www.ursaminoroutfitters.com and don’t forget to enter the promo code HikesMics10 at checkout to receive 10% off your order.

Send us a text🎙️ The Artist Who Climbs Into Her Own Paintings 🏔️This week we sit down with Erin — Central Washington hiker, contemporary landscape artist, and the creative force behind Nuwave Gallery — whose journey blends trail time, faith, and art in a way that feels both grounded and expansive.She shares how hiking pulled her away from the computer and into a decade-long art career, how plein-air painting taught her to embrace imperfection, and how moving from Seattle to Ellensburg opened up a softer, quieter kind of beauty in the hills around Manastash Ridge. 🎨🏔️We dive into her evolving style (including her signature “breaking the borders” technique), painting snowboards back to life, teaching watercolor + alcohol ink classes, and her upcoming 2026 group trip through Yosemite, Big Sur, and Three Rivers.At the heart of it all — a deep love for nature, creative flow, and the belief that the outdoors has something to teach us every time we show up. ✨Episode Links:📸 Erin on Instagram🌐 Erin’s Website🖼 Nuwave Galley Website✈️ Explore with Erin📖 Mountain Proverbs: Art & Wisdom for the Adventurer’s SoulThis episode was Produced by Jordyn Smith, follow her on Instagram @jordyn.journeysFollow us on Instagram, @Hikesandmics AllTrails+I'm excited to share that I’m now a Trailheads Ambassador for AllTrails+! If you love exploring the outdoors, AllTrails+ is your ultimate adventure companion. Get offline maps, real-time wrong-turn alerts, and trail previews to help you hike smarter and safer. Plus, with 3D maps and deeper trail insights, planning your next trek has never been easier. Try AllTrails+ free for 7 days, and when you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get 30% off your AllTrails+ membership! Sign up here: AllTrails+ (promo is only redeemable via web and not the app) Ursa Minor Outfitters - Inspired by the outdoors, Created by local artists Go check them at www.ursaminoroutfitters.com and don’t forget to enter the promo code HikesMics10 at checkout to receive 10% off your order.

Send us a textThis week on Hikes & Mics, we caught up with a familiar face: John Mark, last on the show back in 2023 — and a LOT has happened since then. Over the past two years, he’s shifted careers from college professor to full-time court interpreter, giving him the flexibility to chase waterfalls, wander ridgelines, and sneak in micro-adventures between jobs. He’s camped nearly every month for two years straight, endured freezing nights in Savage Gulf, refined his pack system down to a science, and discovered a deep love for the wild pockets of Bankhead National Forest. We talked about the 2024 solar eclipse, wildlife encounters from timber rattlers to raccoons with a sweet tooth. From cold-weather resilience to the magic of chasing new waterfalls, John Mark reminds us that the outdoors has endless lessons waiting for us — if we make the space for them.Episode Links:John Mark on InstagramJohn Mark on FacebookThis episode was Produced by Jordyn Smith, follow her on Instagram @jordyn.journeysFollow us on Instagram, @Hikesandmics AllTrails+I'm excited to share that I’m now a Trailheads Ambassador for AllTrails+! If you love exploring the outdoors, AllTrails+ is your ultimate adventure companion. Get offline maps, real-time wrong-turn alerts, and trail previews to help you hike smarter and safer. Plus, with 3D maps and deeper trail insights, planning your next trek has never been easier. Try AllTrails+ free for 7 days, and when you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get 30% off your AllTrails+ membership! Sign up here: AllTrails+ (promo is only redeemable via web and not the app) Ursa Minor Outfitters - Inspired by the outdoors, Created by local artists Go check them at www.ursaminoroutfitters.com and don’t forget to enter the promo code HikesMics10 at checkout to receive 10% off your order.

Send us a text🎙️ A Life Built on Adventure, Partnership & Big PeaksThis week we sit down with Amy — phys-ed teacher, adventurer, and newly crowned Adirondack 46er — whose journey through all 50 states, 52 national parks, and decades of road trips has become a lifelong mission to explore the outdoors.  She shares how a chance reconnection with her now-husband sparked 26 years of adventure, how Mount Marcy in winter lit the fire, and how every summit has taught her something about perseverance, presence, and letting go. 🌄  We dive into her favorite national parks, hiking abroad in the Lake District and Scotland, feeding Highland cows, tackling the Turkey Grand Slam, and her next big goal: the Northeast 115. At the heart of it all — a deep love for growth, challenge, and the magic of time spent in nature. ✨Episode Links:Amy on InstagramExplore With Amy - WattpadThis episode was Produced by Jordyn Smith, follow her on Instagram @jordyn.journeysFollow us on Instagram, @Hikesandmics AllTrails+I'm excited to share that I’m now a Trailheads Ambassador for AllTrails+! If you love exploring the outdoors, AllTrails+ is your ultimate adventure companion. Get offline maps, real-time wrong-turn alerts, and trail previews to help you hike smarter and safer. Plus, with 3D maps and deeper trail insights, planning your next trek has never been easier. Try AllTrails+ free for 7 days, and when you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get 30% off your AllTrails+ membership! Sign up here: AllTrails+ (promo is only redeemable via web and not the app) Ursa Minor Outfitters - Inspired by the outdoors, Created by local artists Go check them at www.ursaminoroutfitters.com and don’t forget to enter the promo code HikesMics10 at checkout to receive 10% off your order.