Ep. 1218: Creating the US Perimeter Trail with Rue McKenrick
Adventure Sports Podcast
Curt Linville
4.6 • 579 Ratings
🗓️ 4 June 2026
⏱️ 65 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Thru-Hiking: The story behind a 15,000-mile trail encircling the entire country, built from a blank map in a tent into a conservation corridor connecting ecosystems and communities alike.
Ever wonder how long it takes to create a trail that encircles the country? Roo started with a blank map in his tent and literally made it up as he went—over 15,000 miles of discovery, mistakes, and resilience. His journey isn’t just about hiking; it’s about forging a conservation corridor that benefits ecosystems and communities alike. This isn’t just a trail; it's a movement to protect, connect, and inspire.
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https://americanperimetertrail.org/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the Adventure Sports Podcast. |
| 0:10.1 | Thanks for adventuring with us as we discover what incredible athletes and outdoor enthusiasts |
| 0:16.0 | are doing all over the world. |
| 0:19.5 | Hey friends, welcome to the Adventure Sports podcast. |
| 0:22.5 | I have Rue McKinrich with us today, and he's not only a triple crowner, meaning that he |
| 0:28.4 | has done the through hikes on the three big trails in the U.S., but he is also the executive |
| 0:33.3 | director of organization that's putting together. |
| 0:36.2 | You ready for this one? |
| 0:37.6 | The American Perimeter Trail, which goes around the outside edge of the United States, |
| 0:43.8 | all the way around. |
| 0:45.6 | It's an amazing thing that they're putting together, and Rue has actually already hiked this. |
| 0:51.5 | And so we're going to get into what that's all about. |
| 0:55.4 | American Perimeter Trail.org is where you can learn more. |
| 0:59.1 | Roo also has four books out to describe the routes and help you with the trail. |
| 1:03.3 | It's the American Perimeter Trail. Name of the book, pretty easy to remember. |
| 1:07.1 | There are four books in total. The first one is published. |
| 1:13.1 | And the second one will be published very, very soon if it's not published by the time that this episode hits. So this is cool. New |
| 1:20.7 | trail, big, big trail with the founder himself. Ru, welcome to the program. Hi, thank you so very much for having me, Kurt. It's a pleasure to be here. |
| 1:31.4 | I've talked to a lot of through hikers, and I love talking to through hikers because I just think |
| 1:35.4 | it's such an amazing and inspirational thing to do to hike these big trails. |
| 1:41.4 | But I had never heard of the American Perimeter Trail. Now, that might be because |
| 1:45.7 | my head was in the sand. I don't know. But tell us what the American Perimeter Trail is. |
... |
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