Episode #12 - Kaiha Bertollini (Wild Card Ninja)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis

Steve Adams

Wilderness, Sports

4.8 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2016

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2016, Kaiha Bertollini, the Wild Card Ninja, laid claim to the unsupported hike record on the Appalachian Trail. This, despite no previous experience as an elite athlete or even any indication that she might be able to take such an endurance test on. The response in the hiking world was almost uniformly negative and very hostile. Kaiha agreed to tell me her story and, whether you believe her or not, it is gripping and worthy of an audience. The interview is not explicit, but her story on her website, hikeforourlives.org is certainly not for children. That said, I urge people to read what she has to say. She can be reached through the website under the contact page and will respond personally to every message. I'd also love to hear what you have to say about Kaiha and the interview. If you click here, you'll be linked to the visceral video I referred to in the interview. It left a lasting impression upon me. The language is very strong, so beware once more. Don't forget to rate us on iTunes or leave me a message at my website, www.mightyblueontheat.com. There, you can listen to all my podcasts, look at a gallery of photographs from my 2014 thru-hike and see some of the videos I made of the trip.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis,
0:16.4	joined Stephen his guests every week as he staggers from Georgia to Maine.
0:27.1	Hello again. We're at episode number 12 today. These podcasts have become important to me
0:33.7	and have given me the added benefit of reconnecting and connecting with a huge
0:38.0	Appalachian Trail family. You can tell from the diversity of my guests that the trail
0:43.1	can accommodate a multitude of people from all walks of life. There simply is no standard
0:49.4	AT hiker. We all come to the trail of our own volition and all of us have a singular goal.
0:55.8	Whether it's to hike all the way from Springer to Catardin or vice versa, or a section of
1:01.0	about 100 miles over a week or 10 days, even if we're just out there for a day hike,
1:05.9	the AT can accommodate anybody. We're free to do as little or as much as we can handle, and there are
1:12.4	absolutely no rules to preclude us from hiking our own hike. I think I opened with that little
1:18.5	thought because of today's guests, Kaya Bertolini or the Wild Card Ninja. I've been thinking a lot
1:25.0	about Kaya in recent weeks, and particularly so since I interviewed her.
1:29.7	I did this interview about a month ago, and, to be honest, I've had conflicting advice as to
1:34.7	whether or not I should include it in my show. My downloads are increasing, the show has been
1:39.6	well received, and I've had just positivity. Why would I want to include an interview with Kaya?
1:45.4	A woman who has had a cascade of bad publicity and doubt cast upon her claims.
1:51.0	Some of the stuff I've read and some of the stuff that Kaya shared with me is bloody outrageous.
1:57.1	It's also almost entirely written by men.
2:01.7	What is wrong with these people?
2:05.0	By the way, thanks to everybody who reached out to me about Kaya,
2:08.7	I should tell you that I never considered not including the interview,
	...

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