Welcome to episode 199 of the first 40 miles.

If you're new to backpacking or if you're hopelessly in love with someone who wants you to love

backpacking, then this podcast is for you. We'll talk about the

essentials, how to lighten your load, and how to make the most of your time on the

trail. I'm your host Heather Legler. And'm Josh Legler and this is the first 40 miles.

Today on the first 40 miles I can't help but get a little nostalgic when September rolls around. This week marks the four year anniversary of our first 40 miles, the trip that Josh and I took together with friends around Mount Hood.

And even though we've been backpacking for a few years, there are still things that take us by surprise.

Next, for today's summit review, a headlamp that doubles as a flashlight and triples as a stand-up

torch. Then we'll share a hack that will make your next trip to the bathroom rock and we'll leave you with a little

trail wisdom that will help you understand your human connection with nature.

All this and that's about it. Today on the first 40 miles. So I've been reflecting

recently on my first real backpacking trip, the one that we took together around Mount Hood.

Now that I've had some time to digest it, you know, think back on some key moments on that backpacking trip. I realized first of all I was in way over my head that was a crazy first

Backpacking trip. There were some real risks on that trip that I didn't even realize

were real risks because everyone around me seemed pretty confident and

pretty knowledgeable and I was basically just going along for the ride and

putting one foot in front of the other and kind of relying on their expertise.

I'm really grateful that I was invited on that trip,

even though I was pretty green.

What were some of those risks that you now see in hindsight that maybe you didn't fully grasp at the time?

Oh, definitely the river crossings.

Okay. There were a lot of river crossings just, you know, tons of glaciers on this massive dormant volcano and the

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