The Camino de Costa Rica with Maytal "Carrot Top" Agasi (BPR #301)
Release Date: 04/14/2025
Jeff Oliver aka IBTAT on Sober Triple Crowning, The Scottish National Trail, and Kungsleden Trail (BPR #323)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek brought to you by LMNT, we’re joined by Jeff Oliver, better known on trail and online as IBTAT. In addition to building a large following on YouTube and Instagram, IBTAT will be a familiar voice to long-time Backpacker Radio listeners, as he was part of our first season of Trail Correspondents. We dive into IBTAT’s story, including his journey to 12 years of sobriety — going from drinking two fifths of liquor a day to cutting alcohol cold turkey overnight, and the dangerous side effects that followed. We also cover his more...
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Liz "Handstand" Kidder: Scary Moments in the Sierra, Skydiving Near Miss, and Donating a Kidney (BPR #322)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by social media and YouTube sensation, Liz “Handstand” Kidder. Liz is a thru-hiker, vlogger, dreadlock artist, former skydiving fanatic, and a handstand-expert. Liz gives us her full story, including the events that lead to her becoming sober in 2014, how she nearly died in a horrifying skydive gone wrong, how the internet got way too much into her biz almost immediately into her thru-hiking journey, the time she donated a kidney, and we make her choose which trail reigns supreme...
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Dan Durston 2.0: Durston Gear's Cult Following, Gear Innovations, and Design Philosophy (BPR #321)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined once again by Dan Durston. Dan is the man behind Durston Gear, a backpacking gear brand that has exploded in popularity amongst long-distance backpackers over the last handful of years. Dan gives us the rundown on how his business and life have changed since he was last on the show, when another company was exclusively selling his designs via a third-party manufacturer, including taking a second mortgage out on his house, quitting his job as a biologist, and going all in on slinging...
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The Wonderland Trail with Sassafras: Permits, Campsites, and Gear (BPR #320)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are chatting all things Wonderland Trail. The Trek’s very own Jess Stone is fresh off her thru-hike of this near-100 mile lap around Mt. Rainier in Washington, and gives us a detailed breakdown of her journey and the trail at large. We cover the ideal number of days to do this hike, the standout campsites, wildlife, the permitting process, and the best games to play on trail with your hiking buddies to pass the time such as eating rocks. We wrap the show with a couple of new opportunities to...
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Top National Park After Dark Stories: Night of the Grizzlies, Grandma Gatewood, and Cocaine Bear (BPR #319)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined by Danielle and Cassie, the hosts of the popular podcast, National Park After Dark. In this episode, Chaunce gets the lowdown on some of the most outrageous stories from the our beloved national parks, including the infamous cocaine bear, tuberculosis huts in Mammoth Cave National Park, the tragic tale of Ishi, the last Yahi, who emerged from Lassen Park in the early 19th century, and the night there were two separate fatal grizzly attacks in Glacier National Park. We wrap the show with an...
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Quitting a Thru-Hike, Living Nomadically, and Working as a Chef with Juliette "Scorpion Queen" Kerven (BPR #318)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we’re joined by Juliette Kerven, known on trail as Scorpion Queen. Juliette is a Michelin-trained chef, former yacht crew member, full-time nomad, and a thru-hiker of both the PCT and AT, and we caught her during her CDT thru-hike attempt for this conversation. This is a solo interview led by Chaunce, and it ventures into some uncharted emotional terrain for this podcast as Scorpion Queen openly wrestles with whether or not to continue her hike, and she ultimately comes to a decision...
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The Pinhoti Trail with Nathan "Switchback" Wright (BPR #317)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined by Nathan Wright, known on trail as Switchback. Nathan is an ambassador for the Pinhoti Trail and Alabama trails more broadly, wearing almost too many hats to count. He is the co-founder of the Pinhoti Outdoor Center - a hostel he runs with his wife, President of the Alabama Hiking Trail Society, Vice President of the Alabama Pinhoti Trail Association, Chairman of the Board of the Pinhoti Experience Foundation, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Alabama Trails Commission. In this...
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The Northern Colorado Trail with Kevin "Sunshine" Silvernale (BPR #316)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Kevin “Sunshine” Silvernale. Originally a commercial pilot from Seattle, Kevin thru-hiked the PCT in 2016 and immediately fell in love with the Hiker Trash lifestyle. That passion led him to put his flying career on hold to hike the AT, Colorado Trail, much of the CDT, and most recently, to begin creating a brand-new long trail route, the Northern Colorado Trail. We chat about his life as a pilot, including when Chaunce coaxed him into sharing a story about how he joined...
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Impacts of Climate Change on the Colorado Trail with Triple Crowner and Scientist Karl Ford (BPR #315)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined by Karl Ford. Karl is a retired environmental scientist, conservationist, and author of Triple Crown Hiking Adventures and The Colorado Trail in Crisis: A Naturalist's Field Report on Climate Change in Mountain Ecosystems. In this conversation, we dive into Karl’s experiences hiking the Triple Crown, his perspective on the current state of conservation and what the future may hold, and how climate change is already impacting our beloved long trails, with a special focus on the Colorado...
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Fascinating Colorado Outdoor Recreation Stories with OutThere Colorado's Spencer McKee (BPR #314)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Spencer McKee, the Director of Content and Operations for OutThere Colorado. If you’ve been to Colorado and have Instagram, you’ve likely already come across Spencer’s videos - he’s mastered the art of packaging interesting Colorado news stories, culture, and fun facts into short form video content through OutThere’s social media channels. Spencer shares some of his favorite standout outdoor rec stories from the great state of Colorado with us, including what's underneath...
info_outlineIn today’s episode of Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we’re joined by Maytal Agasi, known on trail as Carrot Top. In this episode, we learn how a road trip in a mid-size SUV with her two brothers sparked Carrot Top’s entry into the world of thru-hiking. She shares how she benefitted massively from both solo and group thru-hikes. We chat about her time on the JMT, Colorado Trail, and PCT, and we take a deeper dive into her most recent trek on the Camino de Costa Rica, covering standout cultural elements, landscape highlights, the incredibly muggy weather, rich wildlife (including venomous snakes and sloths), managing language barriers, unique logistical challenges, and more.
A quick note: I made a big time dumb guy mistake. About 30 minutes into the interview, I realized our audio recorder wasn’t rolling. The first 36 minutes of the interview have lower audio quality than usual. That portion still offers important context about Maytal’s journey into the outdoors, but if it’s too distracting, the audio quality improves at the 36-minute mark of the interview.
Trigger warning: This interview includes discussion of suicide. If this is a sensitive topic for you, we recommend skipping ahead to the point where the audio improves—again 36 minutes into the interview.
We wrap the show with another clue about our super secret special guest for the upcoming live podcast in Austin, what ridiculous outfit we’d hike in forever, the Triple Crown of Colorado stereotypes, and a disturbing story of an international hiker who was detained, deported, and banned from the U.S. on her way to hike the Arizona Trail.
Topo Athletic: Use code “TREKWINTER15” at topoathletic.com.
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Vaer Watches: Check out Vaer Watches at vaerwatches.com.
AG1: Get your free $79 gift at drinkag1.com/backpacker.
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Interview with Maytal “Carrottop” Agasi
Time stamps & Questions
00:06:10 - Reminders: Sign up for the Trek’s newsletter, join us for our live show in Austin, listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon, and apply to blog for the Trek!
00:10:00 - Audio note
00:12:10 - Introducing Maytal
00:15:30 - How did you get your trail name?
00:16:05 - What does a garden educator do?
00:17:24 - What is the best plant?
00:19:40 - How did you get into hiking?
00:21:23 - Why don’t you fight with your siblings?
00:24:00 - Discussion about Maytal’s roadtrip
00:25:23 - Are your parents hippie-adjacent?
00:27:08 - What’s your favorite on-trail meal to make?
00:30:50 - Do you taste the meals before dehydrating them?
00:32:44 - How did you decide to hike the JMT?
00:34:10 - What happened to your dad?
00:38:30 - How do you process things as well as enjoy the trail while hiking?
00:40:50 - Was it intimidating to hike mostly solo on your first hike?
00:46:17 - Are there any fats that are safe to dehydrate?
00:46:55 - Did you know right away you wanted to do more hikes?
00:49:45 - Have you butt heads with anyone on trail?
00:52:00 - How did you get your gear dialed in for the JMT?
00:55:00 - Discussion about stool sample tests
00:57:45 - Were you happy to hike the CT with a friend or did you ever want space?
01:00:50 - What did you like about Salida?
01:03:03 - When did you decide to hike the PCT?
01:05:30 - Tell us about almost falling off a mountain
01:10:35 - What was it like to go through the Sierra twice?
01:12:45 - How did you learn about the Camino de Costa Rica?
01:15:57 - Are guides required?
01:16:50 - How long is the trail and what is the mileage like each day?
01:20:30 - Do you pay the host families?
01:23:40 - How did you communicate that you were vegetarian?
01:24:50 - Did you have cell service?
01:26:00 - Do you know how many people have hiked this trail?
01:28:30 - What was the weather like?
01:30:25 - What were the landscape highlights of the trail?
01:38:00 - Discussion about wildlife
01:41:05 - Were there other opportunities to eat in town?
01:42:12 - What are the biggest cultural differences?
01:45:55 - What would you like to relay to the listeners of Backpacker Radio?
01:47:38 - Peak Performance Question: What is your top performance-enhancing or backpacking hack?
Segments
Trek Propaganda
- 20 Trek Bloggers You Should Be Following in 2025 by Jess
- A German Thru-Hiker Has Been Detained, Deported, and Banned From the US Without a Hearing: Here’s What You Need To Know by Caitlin Hardee
QOTD: If you could only hike in one ridiculous outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Triple Crown of Colorado stereotypes
Thing of the Week
Mail Bag
5 Star Review
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