Thru-Hiking for 30 Years, Working for ALDHA-West, Six Moon Designs, & FarOut, and Ridgerunning with a Dog with Whitney "Allgood" La Ruffa (BPR #312)
Release Date: 06/30/2025
8 Epic Shorter Thru-Hikes: the Long Trail, Teton Crest Trail, and More (BPR #339)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are talking “shorter” thru-hikes. We’re joined again by our guy, Michael Grizzly Ivey, to give you an overview of eight standout US thru-hikes that you can hike in four weeks or less. We cover the Long Trail, Teton Crest Trail, Superior HIking Trail, Timberline Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail, Foothills Trail, and Uinta Highline, give you the trail overviews, relative difficulty, resupply strategy, the best time to hike, which direction, travel logistics, permit requirements, resupply strategy,...
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Adventure Alan on High Routes, the Evolution of Ultralight, and Maintaining Health & Fitness (BPR #338)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are joined by Alan Dixon, better known in the backpacking world as Adventure Alan. Alan is a literal rocket scientist, a lifelong adventure junkie, and a foundational figure in the early days of ultralight backpacking, having co-founded Backpacking Light. Alan shares some jaw dropping stories from his many routes, including a near-death experience in the Tetons, his philosophy for developing routes—most notably his popular Wind River High Route, the South Sierra High Route, and the Escalante Overland Route. We dig into...
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Girl Stuff 4.0: Disordered Eating, Chronic Illness, PCOS, and Waxing (BPR #337)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek, I’m sitting this one out because it’s the fourth edition of Girl’s Stuff. Chaunce is joined by former guest Christine Reed and BPR first-timer Maggie Schoemann. The three cover hiking with a partner, where to get a vag wax on trail, birth control, weird body changes, including managing a beard on trail as a woman, eating disorders and how thru-hiking can trigger or resurface disordered eating (trigger warning), and much more. These are Chaunce’s notes, so I’m just going to assume they’re all accurate. We wrap...
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Jess "Stitches" Guo, the First Woman to Connect the CDT and GDT in a Calendar Year (BPR #336)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined by Jessica Guo known on trail as Stitches. This year, Stitches became the first woman on record to connect both the Continental Divide Trail and Great Divide Trail northbound in one calendar year. We talk all about this logistically and physically impressive feat, hiking through the Sierra during a record snow year, how she earned her trail name the hard way, her unconventional relationship with pain, how 10 her day silent meditations better prepare her for thru-hiking and gives us a sample 2...
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Walking the Length of the Americas: Culture Shocks, Risk Mitigation, and Her Security Dog with Lucy Barnard (BPR #335)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we’re joined by Lucy Barnard. Lucy, along with her pup Wombat, has walked from the southern tip of Argentina all the way through the Great Divide Trail in Canada, and she’ll be picking up the final leg of this monster journey — through northern Canada and into Alaska — later this winter. We get into what compelled Lucy to take on such an audacious mission, especially given that she had virtually zero long-distance hiking experience beforehand. She shares some truly wild stories from the trail, including being held at...
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A Marine Corps Veteran on Hiking to Heal from PTSD and Reclaim His Peace, ft. Gabe "Wing It" Vasquez (BPR #334)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we’re joined by Gabe Vasquez, known on trail as “Wing It.” Gabe is a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, long-distance kayaker and cyclist, and the first known Mexican-American to complete the Triple Crown. Gabe opens up about his time in the Marines and the challenges that followed- PTSD, becoming addicted to prescription meds to manage the PTSD in addition to anxiety and depression, losing friends to suicide after their service, and night terrors. In his efforts to heal, Gabe turned to...
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Wander Women Kristy and Annette on Retiring to Thru-Hike, RV, and Adventure Full-time (BPR #333)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we’re joined by Kristy and Annette Burns—better known as the Wander Women. About seven years ago, Kristy and Annette ditched the home with the white picket fence, retired, moved into an RV, and shifted their focus to a life centered on freedom and adventure. Since then, they’ve taken on the AT, PCT, CDT, Arizona Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail, the O Circuit, plus a slew of cycling and packrafting trips. We get into what it takes to keep your body ready for thru-hikes at retirement age, why downsizing has made them so much...
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Casey "Vegas" Huffman on His WILD Trail Name Origin Story, Reinventing Himself through Hiking, and an Expedition in Alaska (BPR #332)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined by Casey Huffman, known on trail as Vegas. Vegas has been mentioned a couple of times on this podcast in the past, as “the guy whose chest we signed” in 2023, and more recently, “the guy whose ass we signed”. As we learn in today’s episode, “signed ass guy” is also a real good hang. We chat about how Vegas’ mental health struggles ultimately lead him to the trail, how the hiking community and culture gave him the space to reinvent himself, and he shares quite possibly the...
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Triple Crowning with a Trombone, Working as a Hiking Guide, and the South Dakota Centennial Trail with Amy "Slider" Hunsucker
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Amy Hunsucker. On trail, Amy is known as “Slider” because she hikes with a trombone- something she’s done for the entire triple crown. We of course learn all about this fun quirk, including which animals were most appreciative of her on-trail concerts, which parts of trail provided the best acoustics, the reactions she’d get from other hikers and the broader trail community, and her go-to on-trail trombone jams. Slider also gives us the low down on getting her sawyer...
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Triple Crowning with Stage 4 Cancer with Jeff "Long Strides" Vonvai (BPR #330)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we’re joined by Jeff Vonvai, known on trail as Long Strides. This conversation will put life’s problems into perspective—because for the past seven years, Long Strides has been thru-hiking with stage 4 colon cancer, despite being given just a 3–6 month prognosis. Jeff shares what it’s like to balance intense rounds of chemo and surgery between hikes, the challenges of rebuilding his trail legs each time he returns to the trail, and how cancer has transformed his outlook on life—saying he’s...
info_outlineIn today’s episode of Backpacker Radio, presented by The Trek, we’re joined by Whitney La Ruffa, better known in the world of backpacking as “Allgood.” Allgood is the former president of ALDHA-West, the current Chief Revenue Officer at FarOut, and a certified backpacking OG—his first thru-hike dates all the way back to the early ’90s (some of you weren’t even alive then… which is weird).
Since that first trek, Allgood has racked up an impressive list of trails, including the JMT, Wonderland Trail, Chinook Trail, Sierra High Route, PCT, CDT, and others. In this episode, we dive into stories from his countless miles on trail, his passion for backpacking food—he’s a bona fide backcountry chef, as evidenced by him freeze drying his own meals—and he spills the beans on some of his favorite trail-tested recipes.
We also chat about how a chance encounter on the AT led him to adopt his dog, Erwin, and how Erwin has deepened his love for dogs in general.
Beyond the trail, we get Allgood’s take on how backpacking has evolved since the 1990s, hear a heartfelt update on the health of former guest and beloved trail icon Renee "She-ra" Patrick, and unpack some of the recent bumps in the road for FarOut.
We wrap the show with how Damascus has bounced back in the wake of Hurricane Helene, if animals could talk, which species would be the most annoying, and the triple crown of states we'd draft in a civil war.
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Interview with Whitney “Allgood” La Ruffa
Time stamps & Questions
00:04:25 - Reminders: Listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon, hold the Trek’s tent for us, apply to blog for the Trek!
00:11:00 - Introducing Allgood
00:15:52 - How has the world of thru-hiking changed from the early 90’s to now?
00:21:05 - Do you have any strong stances in which you’re a curmudgeon?
00:28:35 - Do you think there are more entitled hikers today?
00:36:05 - Tell us about your dog
00:43:00 - What’s the key to maintaining a dog’s longevity?
00:46:30 - Do you have a strong opinion about fresh/refrigerated dog food?
00:47:30 - Tell us about ridgerunning with Erwin
00:50:13 - Did you do any thru-hiking between 1996 and 2011?
00:52:45 - Tell us about the Chinook Trail
00:54:40 - Have you picked up any parallel hobbies?
00:56:55 - What meals do you make on trail?
00:59:20 - Discussion about dehydrating and freeze-drying food
01:02:40 - Do you have a go-to dehydrated recipe?
01:04:00 - Is there an easy way to tell if meat is fatty?
01:07:20 - Is gear a passionate subject for you?
01:10:05 - What’s the latest with She-Ra?
01:12:30 - How’d you get involved with ALDHA-West?
01:16:40 - How much time did you put in weekly while you were president?
01:19:35 - How’d you get connected with Six Moon Designs?
01:21:10 - What does the typical person not know about the cottage gear industry?
01:24:35 - What’s the next step for FarOut?
01:28:30 - Is there anything cool you’ve learned about FarOut since working there?
01:32:27 - How will FarOut address some of the other beef people have had with the app?
01:35:40 - Where can people keep up with you?
Segments
Trek Propaganda: “We’re Back!” 8 Months After Hurricane Helene Devastation, Damascus Shines in Trail Days 2025 by Kelly Floro
QOTD: If animals could talk, which species would be the most annoying?
Triple Crown of states you would draft in the next civil war
Mail Bag
5 Star Review
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