Big Podcast News, Swimming with Hippos, Peace Corps, and the GR20 with Becca "Little Bag" Beckham (BPR #356)
Release Date: 05/11/2026
Jolly Gear Sun Hoodie Review, Sounds that Trigger Happiness, and Water Filter Science
Backpacker Radio
Segments Sun Hoodie Review: Jolly Gear Trek Propaganda: by Katie Jackson QOTD: When was the last time you were in a tornado warning? Switchback Recap Triple Crown of sounds that trigger happiness Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy and . (and please leave us a review)! Find us on , , and . to get bonus content. Follow , , , and on Instagram. Follow , and on YouTube. Follow on Tik Tok. Our theme song is by . A super big thank you to our Bob Peoples Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex and Misty with NavigatorsCrafting, Alex Kindle, Andrew,...
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Losing 150 Lbs, An All-Time Poop Story, and Theater Hacks for Content Creators with Andrew Livingston aka Coach from Marion Outdoors (BPR #366)
Backpacker Radio
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Andrew Livingston, aka Coach from Marion Outdoors and host of the Chafed Outdoors podcast. In this one, Coach tells the story of losing 150 pounds his sophomore year of college largely thanks to hiking, details his background in theater, ballet, and tap dancing- and how that's helped him grow a massive following on Instagram and TikTok, the biggest challenges of running an outfitter, he gives us an all-timer poop story that ended with him naked in the woods covered in shit and...
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Chaunce's Live Podcast Sendoff in Denver (BPR #365)
Backpacker Radio
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we're live at the Skylark Lounge in Denver- and we are giving Chaunce a proper send off. For this one, we’re joined by Fireball, Elise, Sassafras, Jolly, and of course Jabba. This one is a grab bag of odd games, including the Newlywed Game, a Triple Crown of behind the scenes crisis-management stories, we play Two Lies and a Truth, and Jolly hosts a highly contentious "Judge Jolly" debate between Chaunce and Jabba. This one features some surprise cameos, tequila shots, and signature Chaunce...
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Epic Dreams, Chaunce's Last In-Studio Segments, Ways You'd Behave Differently without Ramifications, and Lots of Processing
Backpacker Radio
Hyperlite Mountain Gear: Use code “BPRADIO15” for 15% of Segments Epic Dreams Processing Trek Propaganda by Katie Jackson by Izzy Wagner QOTD: Would you rather A) every time you eat a particular meal, the rest of the world loses access to this meal for 24 hours, People know about this (may receive threats, but you are protected or B) anytime you use an air fryer or microwave, all others on earth become unusable until you finish using it (may receive threats, but you are protected)? Triple Crown of ways you’d behave differently if there were no ramifications Sun Hoodie...
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Getting Charged by a Moose, a Month of CDT Solitude, and Going Pro as a Hiking Photographer with Caleb "Meatball" Adcock (BPR #364)
Backpacker Radio
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Caleb "Meatball" Adcock, a professional photographer and thru-hiker who completed the AT last year and is currently midway through the CDT, doing it almost entirely alone. Caleb walks us through how he built a career shooting for brands like Hyperlite and Jetboil while thru-hiking, why authentic trail photography looks so different from what brands used to put out, getting Lyme disease on the AT and spending four days at the Yellow Deli, sleeping on a pool floaty for four days,...
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Nasty Celebrity Encounters, Triple Crown of Things You Can Live Without But Should Be Free, and Do You Face the Showerhead?
Backpacker Radio
Segments Nasty Celebrity Encounters Trek Propaganda: by Peg Leg QOTD: Do people face the shower head when they shower? Triple Crown of things you can easily live without, but nonetheless should be free for everyone Smitty’s Experience Being Navajo in the US Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy and . (and please leave us a review)! Find us on , , and . to get bonus content. Follow , , , and on Instagram. Follow , and on YouTube. Follow on Tik Tok. Our theme song is by . A super big thank you to our Bob Peoples Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex and...
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Falling 35 Feet Free Soloing, Hiking the CT in 15 Days, and What It Means to Be Navajo in America with Jeremy "Smitty" Phoenix (BPR #363)
Backpacker Radio
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined by Jeremy Phoenix aka Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen, aka Javos, a Navajo-born, Amish-country-raised, REI-employed, grave-digging, Princeton-attending thru-hiker who completed the Colorado Trail in 15 days on his first ever backpacking trip and has been making up for lost time ever since. In this one, Smitty walks us through completing the 24-hour challenge three separate times on the PCT, a free solo fall from 35 feet- that he just kind of walked off, getting stalked by a mountain lion,...
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Tiger Facts, End of the Timberline Lodge Breakfast Buffet, and Poop, Pees, and Peen Talk
Backpacker Radio
Segments Tiger Facts Trek Propaganda: by James Townsend QOTD: Do poop pees count as full pees? Sun Hoodie Review: Fjällräven Abisko Wool Hoodie Triple Crown of words for penis Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy and . (and please leave us a review)! Find us on , , and . to get bonus content. Follow , , , and on Instagram. Follow , and on YouTube. Follow on Tik Tok. Our theme song is by . A super big thank you to our Bob Peoples Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex and Misty with NavigatorsCrafting, Alex Kindle, Andrew, Austen McDaniel, Bill...
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Stalked by a Mountain Lion, a 25-Foot Fall in the Sierra, and Canoeing 2,400 Miles Down the Mississippi with Matthew "Masochist" Hengst (BPR #362)
Backpacker Radio
In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Matthew Hengst, aka Masochist, an IT-professional-turned-full-time-adventurer who over the past eight-plus years has racked up 20,000 miles hiked, nearly 3,000 miles paddled, 2.5 million feet of elevation climbed, and somewhere north of 300 diving sessions across multiple continents. Masochist walks us through canoeing 2,400 miles down the Mississippi, the time he fell 25 feet in a remote part of the Sierra and laid there for 15 hours waiting for a helicopter, catching COVID...
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Lyme Disease Research Update, Raccoon vs. Goose, the Triple Crown of Girly Gear, and 2026 Hiking Gear Trends
Backpacker Radio
Segments Lyme Disease Update Trek Propaganda: by Livvy Weld QOTD: Would you rather have one raccoon know all your secrets and occasionally hint at them or one goose publicly overreact to everything you do? Stupid Thing of the Week Triple Crown of gear you can find that’s girly Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy and . (and please leave us a review)! Find us on , , and . to get bonus content. Follow , , , and on Instagram. Follow , and on YouTube. Follow on Tik Tok. Our theme song is by . A super big thank you to our Bob Peoples Award winner(s)...
info_outlineIn today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we sit down with Becca Beckham, trail name Little Bag, a Peace Corps veteran, thru-hiker and all around world traveler.
Becca has hiked the Long Trail and PCT, and last year tackled the Colorado Trail, the Tour du Mont Blanc, and the GR20 in Corsica. In this one, Becca shares what it’s like growing up in a military family bouncing across the country, to two years in Cameroon with the Peace Corps, to teaching English in France, to landing in the wonderful world of thru-hiking. She shares stories about floating a hippo-filled river in Central Africa, accidentally eating monkey, attending a rat festival, and what it's like to build community from scratch in a new place, over and over again. If you've ever wondered what it looks like to just keep saying yes, this is your episode.
We wrap the show with some very big and ungood news for the future of this podcast- hint it involves Chaunce- hint it’s probably what you think it is, hint we are all processing it together- hint it’s not related to health or anything serious on that level- but yes it’s sad and bad. We also share the tragic news about Ian MacLurg, a thru-hiker, Trek Blogger, and Trail Correspondent who recently passed away while hiking the PCT.
On a lighter note- we reveal details of a live podcast happening in Denver in late June, the triple crown of team sports, the funniest terms for boobs, and why Chaunce is looking at her phone all the time during the podcast.
Topo Athletic: Use code “TREK15TOPO” at topoathletic.com.
Gossamer Gear: Use code "BACKPACKERRADIO" for $20 off LT5 Trekking Poles at gossamergear.com.
OnX Backcountry: Through Memorial Day, use code “TREK70” for 70% off at onxmaps.com
Hyperlite Mountain Gear: Use code “BPRADIO15” for 15% of hyperlitemountaingear.com
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Interview with Becca “Little Bag” Beckham
Time stamps & Questions
00:05:40 - Reminders: Live podcast in Denver on June 26! Listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon and subscribe to The Trek's Youtube!
00:08:17 - Chaunce's Big News
00:23:11 - Introducing Becca “Little Bag” Beckham
00:24:41 - How did you get into backpacking?
00:25:59 - What was it like growing up in a military family?
00:29:57 - What was it like making friends when moving to a new school every few years?
00:32:35 - Alabama snakes tangent
00:35:16 - How did you get from Peace Corps to the Long Trail?
00:39:08 - What brought you to the Peace Corps?
00:44:15 - What was your day-to-day life like integrating into the community in Cameroon?
00:51:30 - What kind of work were you doing in Cameroon?
00:53:27 - What is bush meat, and what was the wildlife like in Cameroon?
00:57:49 - Did you float a hippo-filled river in Cameroon?
01:03:30 - Do you feel like the Peace Corps prepared you for thru-hiking?
01:06:48 - Have you always been this adventurous?
01:08:23 - Has living a non-traditional lifestyle made it harder to find love?
01:17:15 - How did you come to the decision not to have kids?
01:20:14 - What were your biggest gear fails on the Long Trail?
01:21:25 - What did you learn from the PCT shakedown?
01:28:28 - What was the mud situation like on the Long Trail in a wet year?
01:33:02 - What happened in the gap between the Long Trail and the PCT?
01:39:54 - Did you get norovirus at Crater Lake on the PCT?
01:42:47 - What happened when you discovered you were allergic to Leukotape on the PCT?
01:51:41 - What was your best campsite on the PCT?
01:52:55 - How did you transition back to AmeriCorps after the PCT?
01:54:31 - What is the difference between AmeriCorps and Peace Corps?
02:00:56 - What was it like living in a 15-passenger van with your AmeriCorps team?
02:05:14 - What was it like doing a site visit inside an Idaho prison?
02:13:17 - What was it like installing wildlife-friendly fencing on a Montana ranch?
02:14:58 - How did the government cuts to AmeriCorps affect you personally?
02:20:27 - How did losing your job lead to an epic year of hiking?
02:21:54 - What was it like hiking the Colorado Trail?
02:27:43 - What was hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc like?
02:37:15 - Is the GR20 the hardest hike in Europe?
02:44:25 - Tell us about the pigs tearing a hole in your tent
02:51:18 - Peak Performance Question: What’s your top performance enhancing or backpacking hack?
Segments
Trek Propaganda:
- Thru-Hiker Who Died on PCT Was Trek Blogger by Kelly Floro
- The Dark Side of Trail Magic: The Negative Experiences Hikers Rarely Talk About by Peg Leg
QOTD: What’s the best/funniest word for boobs?
Triple Crown of (team) sports
Mail Bag
5 Star Review
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A super big thank you to our Chuck Norris Award winner(s) from Patreon: Alex and Misty with NavigatorsCrafting, Alex Kindle, Andrew, Austen McDaniel, Bill Jensen, Brad & Blair Thirteen Adventures, Bret Mullins aka Cruizy, Bryan Alsop, Carl Lobstah Houde, Christopher Marshburn, Clint Sitler, Coach from Marion Outdoors, Eric Casper, Erik Hofmann, Ethan Harwell, Gillian Daniels, Greg Knight, Greg Martin, Griffin Haywood, Hailey Buckingham, Jackson Storm, JaredNotFromSubway, Jason Kiser, Jason “The Snail” Snailer, Luke Netjes, Matty in AZ, Patrick Cianciolo, Randy Sutherland, Rebecca Brave, Rural Juror, Sawyer Products, The Saint Louis Shaman, Timothy Hahn, Tracy ‘Trigger’ Fawns
A big thank you to our Cinnamon Connection Champions from Patreon: Bells, Benjy Lowry, Bonnie Ackerman, Brett Vandiver, Chris Pyle, Dakota J, David Neal, Dcnerdlet, Denise Krekeler, Jack Greene, Jeanie, Jeanne Latshaw, Lloyd Harris, Merle Watkins, Peter, Quenten Jones, Ruth S, Salt Stain, Sloan Alberhasky, and Tyler Powers.