In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Claire "Marmot" Dumont, a mapmaker, writer at The Trek, and thru-hiker who has completed the AT, Mountains to Sea Trail, Oregon Coast Trail, JMT, and more. In this one, Marmot walks us through what it's like to spend three months on trail with your dad, how a Fulbright fellowship brought her to Jordan to research land ethics and outdoor recreation, and what happened when COVID shut down the borders and kicked her off the Jordan Trail mid-hike. She also shares the story of assisting a rescue on Mount Washington and hitching out to town in the ambulance, what it meant to find a queer trail family on the AT and how she thinks about femininity and queer identity in spaces that have traditionally skewed pretty dude-bro, and why she will never apologize for hiking in a dress with an AeroPress in her pack. We wrap the show with a new YouTube channel from The Trek, some kick ass trail days we'll be hosting, how a billionaire game developer has been buying up thousands of acres of wilderness in North Carolina, asking whether we'd rather be able to thrive off of 4 hours of sleep, or have the full month of September off each year, the triple crown of BBQ foods, why Chaunce now likes inflatable sleeping pads, we reignite the gas station bathroom debate, and we opine on whether a listener should hike the AT as a flip flop or NOBO. [divider] LISTEN Download this episode. [divider] Topo Athletic: Use code "TREK15TOPO" at topoathletic.com. Gossamer Gear: Use code "backpackerradio" for 20% off LT5 Trekking Poles at gossamergear.com. Hyperlite Mountain Gear: Use code "BPRADIO15" for 15% of hyperlitemountaingear.com [divider] Interview with Claire "Marmot" Dumont Claire's Instagram Claire's Trek Author Page Time stamps & Questions 00:05:35 - Reminders: Subscribe to The Trek's Youtube and listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon! 00:11:45 - Introducing Marmot 00:14:04 - How did you get into backpacking? 00:18:15 - What is the Manaslu Circuit? 00:20:30 - How did you find the gap year program? 00:22:40 - What did you do after the gap year? 00:24:30 - Were you the youngest person you knew on the JMT? 00:29:45 - Do you have any advice for a younger person who wants to get into thru-hiking? 00:33:45 - How did you decide to do the Tahoe Rim Trail next? 00:36:00 - How did the Tahoe Rim Trail compare to JMT in terms of people? 00:38:30 - What is your career? 00:41:15 - What makes a good map? 00:44:15 - Tell us about the Oregon Coast Trail and Bigfoot Trail attempts 00:59:22 - Did you like the parts of the trail that you did see? 01:02:15 - Tell us about hiking the Long Trail 01:04:35 - Tell us about your Fulbright and the Jordan Trail 01:10:45 - Discussion about being abroad when Covid started 01:15:30 - Tell us about getting on the Long Trail 01:17:55 - Give us the elevator pitch on the Jordan Trail 01:23:45 - Tell us about the Mountains to Sea Trail 01:30:13 - Are they aiming to get the trail all on single track? 01:35:20 - How did you decide to hike the MST? 01:36:50 - What was it like to start the AT? 01:39:10 - Tell us about your tramily experience on the AT 01:42:45 - Did being queer impact you on your hikes before the AT? 01:45:25 - What were your takeaways about intentional community building? 01:48:24 - What are the biggest differences between hiking with men versus women? 01:49:44 - Tell us about hiking in a dress and practicing femininity on trail 01:52:53 - Tell us about your article, Four Things I Will Never Hike Without Again 01:56:30 - Any other standout stories from the AT? 02:05:25 - Tell us about the Teton Crest Trail 02:09:35 - Tell us about your article, Actually No, the Trail Won't Always Be There: Why You Should Thru-Hike Now 02:12:15 - Peak Performance Question: What is your top performance-enhancing or backpacking hack? Segments Trek Propaganda 121 Years of Forest Service Doctrine, Undone. What Comes Next? By Katie Jackson A Billionaire Game Developer Has Been Buying Up Thousands of Acres in North Carolina. Why? By Katie Jackson QOTD: Would you rather have every September off — fully paid, no PTO touched, or be able to thrive off 4 hours of sleep? Triple Crown of BBQ foods One-Minute Gear Reviews Listener Voicemail Mail Bag 5 Star Review [divider] Check out our sound guy @my_boy_pauly/ and his coffee. Sign up for the Trek's newsletter Leave us a voicemail! Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes (and please leave us a review)! Find us on Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play. Support us on Patreon to get bonus content. Advertise on Backpacker Radio Follow The Trek, Chaunce, Badger, and Trail Correspondents on Instagram. Follow Backpacker Radio, The Trek and Chaunce on YouTube. Follow Backpacker Radio on Tik Tok. Our theme song is Walking Slow by Animal Years. 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 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, 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, David Neal, Dcnerdlet, Denise Krekeler, Jack Greene, Jak Hoquat, Jeanie, Jeanne Latshaw, Lloyd Harris, Merle Watkins, Peter, Quenten Jones, Ruth S, Salt Stain, Sloan Alberhasky, and Tyler Powers.
