The Northern Colorado Trail with Kevin "Sunshine" Silvernale (BPR #316)
Release Date: 07/28/2025
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...
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Musings on AI, Bikepacking, Past Girlfriends, Horse Facts, and Living Forever with Kenneth "Moron" Pararo (BPR #329)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are joined by Kenneth Pararo, known on trail as Moron. This is a podcast we’ve been wanting to make happen for several years now, and let me tell you, it does not disappoint. Moron is a thru-hiker, long-distance cyclist, philosopher, hopeless romantic, futurist, and most importantly, just a real solid hang. We learn about why he’s all in on AI- as evidenced by him riding cross country rocking his Meta AI glasses, why he quit is corporate tech job to more permanently pursue adventure and experience, how he completed...
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The First Female Hotshot Firefighters, Culture in the 1980s, and the Bigfoot Trail with Mary "Fireweed" Kwart (BPR #328)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, and brought to you by Topo Athletic, we’re joined by Mary “Fireweed” Kwart. Fireweed is a thru-hiker, a Deadhead, and a pioneering figure in wildland firefighting with a career spanning more than 30 years. We dive into the challenges of being one of the first women to join the elite Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots, the culture shock of entering a male-dominated field, and some of the most memorable stories from her decades on the fire line. Fireweed also reflects on how long-distance hiking has evolved since the 1970s,...
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Zach Hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc and Chaunce Got Married! (BPR #327)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined by me. Because I hiked Tour du Mont Blanc. We go through all the nitty gritty details of my trip, including how I decided on going with a self-guided tour (aka staying in hotels instead of camping), the differences across the French, Italian, and Swiss portions of the trail, the best towns, the landscape highlights, the crowds, the food, how my knees asked for a divorce from my body, and everything else. But wait, there’s more. Chaunce is fresh off her wedding and honeymoon, she gives us the...
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Thru-Hiking 11,000+ Miles Together with Chris and Sara, aka Endless and QB (BPR #326)
Backpacker Radio
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Vancouver Island Trails, PCT Pie Record, and Canadian Culture with Spencer "Boiler" Dunn (BPR #325)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are joined by Spencer “Boiler” Dunn. Boiler, is a self-described “pro-yapper”, improv leader, former employee of Parks Canada, pie enthusiast, and of course, a backpacker. Spencer takes us through his long trail adventures across Canada, including the Bruce Trail, West Coast Trail, North Coast Trail, and Nootka Island Trail—journeys that brought him face-to-face with some incredible wildlife, from bears to whales to the elusive sea wolf. We also dive into his recent hike on the PCT—how he broke the...
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Fighting a Grizzly Bear and Leaving the Mormon Church with Wesley "Megaman" Tils (BPR #324)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Wesley Tils, known on trail as Megaman. Buckle in because oh boy does Megaman have an origin story. After growing up in the Mormon church, leaving the church to become a pro boxer, quitting boxing to give the church another shot and going on a missionary trip as his trial of faith, and ultimately leaving the church for good during this missionary trip, escaping onto the PCT with several church members essentially chasing him in pursuit, Megaman’s path to thru-hiking was not...
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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...
info_outlineIn 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 the mile high club, and how thru-hiking ultimately pulled him away from aviation.
We go deep into the Northern Colorado Trail (or the NoCo Trail as he calls it), a 300-mile route he’s developing, covering what goes into designing and rerouting a trail, working with public lands agencies, the best time of year to hike it, standout sections (including a hair-raising traverse of the Devil’s Causeway), the wildlife, its growing popularity, resupply and town stops, how to access both terminuses, what he envisions for the trail’s future- and much more.
We wrap the show with the sad news of the drowning death of a 2025 Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, Chaunce talks in depth about how she’s pooing liquid, the triple crown of bodies of water, Chaunce’s car getting broken into of the week, how I voluntarily stepped into a patch of poison ivy, and the best listener email of all time.
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Interview with Kevin “Sunshine” Silvernale
- Northern Colorado Trail Website
- Northern Colorado Trail Instagram
- Kevin's Instagram
- Kevin's Blog
- Kevin's Youtube
Time stamps & Questions
00:05:16 - Reminders: Sign up for the Trek’s newsletter, apply to blog for the Trek and listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon!
00:08:22 - Introducing Sunshine
00:09:30 - Tell us about being a commercial pilot
00:12:55 - Are you part of the mile high club?
00:14:08 - What are some quirks of pilot culture?
00:15:55 - What’s a go-to pilot movie?
00:18:05 - How accurate are flight simulators?
00:18:55 - What would you tell someone about the safety of flying?
00:25:36 - On average, how many hours per week would a commercial pilot fly?
00:26:40 - How did the PCT fall on your radar?
00:29:27 - Was there anything acutely dissatisfying about working as a pilot?
00:32:00 - What is a pilot lounge like?
00:33:30 - When you’re hiking, do you track planes you see overhead?
00:34:50 - Any standout moments from the PCT?
00:40:20 - What’d you do after the PCT?
00:41:25 - What was your impression of the AT after doing the PCT first?
00:43:55 - Were you able to enjoy the CDT given how isolated it is?
00:45:50 - When did the NoCo Trail idea come to you?
00:47:15 - Tell us the basics of the NoCo Trail
00:52:24 - How much of the trail is on roads?
00:54:30 - How do you get permission to hike across private land?
00:56:30 - How would you recommend section hiking the trail?
01:00:05 - What would a typical day of hiking look like?
01:01:27 - What are the highlights of the trail?
01:04:30 - How many people have hiked this trail?
01:07:00 - Did the route change as you thru-hiked it?
01:10:40 - Which alternate would you want to become the de facto trail?
01:11:50 - Are there 14ers along the way?
01:13:08 - What’s the water situation like along the trail?
01:16:42 - Would you recommend this as a first thru-hike?
01:18:10 - What’s the process of creating waypoints for navigation?
01:19:47 - What’s the camping situation like?
01:21:00 - How did you store your food?
01:22:30 - Which direction is best?
01:24:25 - Would you ever want this trail to connect to the Colorado Trail?
01:26:00 - How do you decide on a priority structure for continuing to develop the trail?
01:29:25 - Peak Performance Question: What is your top performance-enhancing or backpacking hack?
Segments
Trek Propaganda: Appalachian Trail Thru Hiker Drowns in Virginia by Katie Jackson
QOTD: How many days until my bowels remember what a solid is?
Car Getting Broken Into of the Week
Triple Crown of bodies of water
Mail Bag
5 Star Review
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