Podcast

Jeff Garmire traces the progression from a 55-pound first thru-hiking pack to the Great Western Loop, Nolan’s 14, and unsupported FKTs. His experience shows how steady efficiency, personal goal-setting, sound reasons for stopping an attempt, and simple gear systems shape very long days.

Paul Ferraro recounts the purpose, preparation, logistics, and hazards behind his 2015 3,121-mile walk from Virginia to California for the Navy SEAL Foundation. He and Tayson discuss earlier walks, a 90-pound cart, training, route-specific gear, public kindness, severe dehydration, and the need to keep extreme determination in check.

Tayson, Tyler, and Derek describe the historical 2023 OV 100 Mile Challenge and the beta-year experiences that shaped it. They examine why a large goal can change preparation, how continuous and stacked miles serve different hikers, and how a baseline, training framework, shakedowns, live calls, and community can support a dream trip.

Tayson answers listener questions about training for ultras after 50, tent footprints, sunlight and perceived warmth, historical product plans, layering, pack fit, pack capacity, watches, snowshoes, and the Garmin inReach Mini 2. The conversation repeatedly returns to personal experience, actual fit, and matching equipment to the way it will be used.

Tayson gives a January 2023 company update covering Outdoor Vitals’ 2022 launches, private ownership, direct-to-consumer model, customer feedback, conservation focus, product development, and plans for the coming year. The historical forecast included a pad, windbreaker, backpacks, apparel, tent poles, events, and a revised 100 Mile Challenge.

Tayson, Brigham, and Tyler unpack their 2022 trip to ISPO in Munich, where supplier meetings and wholesale conversations put outdoor-product tradeoffs in focus. They discuss direct-to-consumer design, material selection, sustainability, European travel, and the clothing and luggage systems that worked across airports, trains, cities, and cold weather.

French runner Aurelien Sanchez recounts three self-supported attempts on the John Muir Trail before his 2018 south-to-north fastest known time. He and Tayson discuss food and gear failures, Grand Canyon training, severe sleep deprivation and hallucinations, the lonely finish, and how a failed effort can reveal the next problem to solve.

Filmmaker and hiker Kraig Adams joins Tayson to discuss solo travel, fast hiking, minimalism, outdoor storytelling, and the systems behind his videos. They also examine group-trip friction, an iPhone-only filming setup, early gear mistakes, and serious incidents on Mount Whitney and in Alaska.

American Perimeter Trail founder Rue McKenrick explains the evolving 2022 vision for an estimated 14,000-mile conservation corridor built through recreation and local ownership. He and Tayson discuss provisional mapping, private land, road and water hazards, Rue’s long-distance background, and why a scouting success should never be mistaken for a safe public route.

Outdoor guide Glen Anderson joins Tayson to discuss building Youth Wilderness Experiences, choosing and vetting guides for international trips, and reducing fear through route-specific research. They also examine device-free outdoor time, repeatable skills, personal challenge, solitude, and connection as ways to make adventure part of life beyond one trip.

Tayson and lead designer Brigham Crane explain the principles behind Outdoor Vitals’ 2022 ten-piece adaptive clothing framework. They separate moving, protective, and static layers; examine four forms of heat loss; and show how sweat, wind, precipitation, personal output, and dry sleep clothes change what belongs in a pack.

Outdoor-industry veteran Peter Reese joins Tayson to explain how he judges backpacking gear through weather range, durability, maintainability, price, and real use rather than one headline specification. They connect a Patagonia tent-pole failure, beginner buying priorities, diminishing returns, clothing and shelter margins, and the freedom dependable gear can create outdoors.