Episode #333 - Monica Aguilar (Moss)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
Steve Adams
4.8 • 599 Ratings
🗓️ 4 August 2022
⏱️ 76 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Our guest today is Monica Aguilar. Monica has been putting in the miles for the past four years, having thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2018, then completing half of the PCT last year before she was forced to get off trail because of the fires. In between, she managed to fit in a bikepacking trip on the Great Divide Trail.
But Monica's passion for adventure triggered another, more creative side of her. She started to draw and paint in her journal to record the sights she was seeing. When she returned home, she parlayed that hobby into a business.
If you'd like to check out some of Monica's work, go to her website, http://www.chasingtrailsart.com/ or her Instagram page at http://www.instagram.com/chasingtrailsart. She also runs a podcast, which you can hear at https://shitoutdoorspod.com/
Katie and Sarah, so close to the end of their respective journeys, are back on the show this week. They share their experiences of the past week.
If you'd like to find out more about "Then The Hail Came," check out George's website at https://georgesteffanos.webador.com/. You can also find George's book on Amazon at this link. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QFG4ZR6.
If you like what we're doing on the Hiking Radio Network, and want to see our shows continue, please consider supporting us with either a one-off or monthly donation. You'll find the donate button on each Hiking Radio Network page at https://www.hikingradionetwork.com
If you prefer NOT to use PayPal, you can now support us via check by mailing it to Mighty Blue Publishing, PO Box 6161, Sun City Center, FL 35751. Any support is gratefully received.
If you'd like to take advantage of my book offer (all three of my printed hiking books–with a personal message and signed by me–for $31, including postage to the United States) send a check payable to Mighty Blue Publishing at the address just above.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You are listening to the Hiking Radio Network, where we talk the walk with shows by hikers |
| 0:05.3 | about hikers for everybody. Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis, joins Stephen his guests every week as he staggers from Georgia to Maine. |
| 0:33.6 | Hi guys, thanks for coming back to the show. You're listening to Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis. I'm your host, Steve Adams, otherwise known to some of you as Mighty Blue. This week, Monica Aguilar joins us on the show. Monica has been putting in some miles over the past few years. She threw her at the Appalachian Trail in 2018, then bike-packed the Great Divide |
| 0:54.8 | trial the following year and was forced off halfway through the PCT last year because of fires. |
| 1:00.3 | Along the way, while she was developing this passion for the outdoors, she started painting |
| 1:04.5 | and drawing in a journal, producing a record of her adventures with some of the sites that |
| 1:08.6 | she saw out there. She also started a podcast, beautifully |
| 1:11.9 | titled, shit we do outdoors. So naturally we have plenty to talk about. Monica will be on in a moment. |
| 1:18.3 | Then, as I said I would last week, we're going to hear again from Katie Wessling and Sarah |
| 1:22.2 | Landis, who are nearing the end of their own epic journeys. Finally, of course, we catch up again |
| 1:27.2 | with George Stephanos's then the hail came, where George goes on a seemingly nearing the end of their own epic journeys. Finally, of course, we catch up again with |
| 1:27.6 | George Stephanos's then the hail came, where George goes on a seemingly endless mission |
| 1:32.8 | to find a pizza hut in Irwin, Tennessee. So now, let's hear from Monica Aguilar. |
| 1:41.5 | So today's guest, Monica Aguilar, wrote to me recently and talked about creating on the |
| 1:47.1 | trial. Hey, Monica, how are you? Hi, how's it going? I'm doing great. Pretty good, thanks. So I think |
| 1:54.2 | we need to start with your backpacking credentials. You threw high at the 18 in 2018. The fire has knocked you off after about half of the |
| 2:03.0 | PCC last year. In between you bike packs the Great Divide Trail. Is that right? Yep, those are all |
| 2:08.7 | correct. Right. So which has been the most difficult journey so far? Honestly, the bike |
| 2:15.4 | packing was probably the most difficult for me. |
| 2:18.0 | I feel like that Appalachian Trail, you know, it was like a lifelong dream. |
| 2:21.9 | So there was nothing that was going to get me off the trail sort of like breaking my leg or something like that. |
| 2:28.0 | Um, and so then actually bike packing was probably more difficult just because it was, I kind of knew what I was getting |
... |
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