The San Diego Trans County Trail with Jabba, Jolly, Zach, and Jess (BPR #347)
Release Date: 03/02/2026
9 Tips for Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2026 (BPR #348)
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The San Diego Trans County Trail with Jabba, Jolly, Zach, and Jess (BPR #347)
Backpacker Radio
In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, myself, along with Jabba, Jolly, and Jess are giving you a rundown of our recent hike of the San Diego Trans County Trail. And this one is about as long as the trail itself, as we give a detailed daily overview of our hike, including the standout LOL stories, the biggest challenges associated with this trail - namely the amount of private land the route takes you though, the highlights- including some gorgeous desert terrain, an epic western terminus, and how our torrid hiking pace and some...
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8 Epic Shorter Thru-Hikes: the Long Trail, Teton Crest Trail, and More (BPR #339)
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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,...
info_outlineIn today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, myself, along with Jabba, Jolly, and Jess are giving you a rundown of our recent hike of the San Diego Trans County Trail. And this one is about as long as the trail itself, as we give a detailed daily overview of our hike, including the standout LOL stories, the biggest challenges associated with this trail - namely the amount of private land the route takes you though, the highlights- including some gorgeous desert terrain, an epic western terminus, and how our torrid hiking pace and some mismanaged fueling lead to the on-trail demise of our beloved Sassafras. Buckle in.
We wrap the show with the triple crown of jobs if money weren’t an issue and whether a 30-second random drop in the ocean every day for 5 years is worth a $100 million.
Topo Athletic: Use code “TREKWINTER15” at topoathletic.com.
Mountainsmith: Use code “TAKEAHIKE” for 20% off at mountainsmith.com.
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Interview with Jabba, Jolly, and Jess
Time stamps & Questions
00:05:35 - Reminders: Apply to vlog or blog for the Trek, subscribe to The Trek's Youtube, and listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon!
00:12:42 - Introducing the SDTCT hikers
00:13:40 - Why wasn’t Chaunce invited?
00:16:14 - How did you choose to hike this trail?
00:19:00 - What are the fast stats of the SDTCT?
00:30:00 - Discussion about the water cache situation
00:36:05 - How do you get to and from the trail?
00:40:40 - What’s the ideal season to hike this trail?
00:42:30 - SDTCT Day 1
00:54:14 - How do you handle navigation on this trail?
01:00:20 - What were the vibes at the end of day 1?
01:03:26 - How did Jess get so many blisters?
01:10:00 - Guess the Day 1 elevation
01:14:30 - SDTCT Day 2
01:44:30 - SDTCT Day 3
01:52:40 - Jolly’s rash
01:56:10 - Zach’s most difficult stretch of the trail
02:05:00 - Second half of day 3
02:09:00 - The end of day 3
02:17:00 - SDTCT Day 4
02:20:00 - Discussion about the cold and hand warmers
02:25:40 - Day 4 elevation guesses
02:26:30 - Jess’s demise
02:39:40 - Zach’s perspective of Jess’s demise
02:45:25 - Night 4
02:55:00 - Chaunce’s patent pending
02:56:16 - The end of day 4
03:03:52 - SDTCT Day 5
03:11:00 - Discussion about ticks
03:12:45 - Ramona Creek Trailhead
03:19:00 - SDTCT Day 6
03:36:50 - Discussion about the private land portions of the trail
03:50:40 - SDTCT Day 7
03:54:45 - Debate about publicizing the SDTCT
04:01:25 - Discussion about the final 40 miles of the trail
Segments
QOTD: $100 million but you have to survive 30 seconds in the ocean every day
Triple Crown of jobs if money wasn’t an issue
Mail Bag
5 Star Review
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