Episode #478 - Annika Ananias (Ravenclaw)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
Steve Adams
4.8 • 599 Ratings
🗓️ 5 April 2025
⏱️ 77 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We have a German hiker on the podcast this week. Annika Ananias recently flew into the US to hike the Arizona Trail with her American boyfriend, when she was pulled out of line, harshly interrogated, deported, and banned from re-entering the country for five years. This, despite having a ten-year visa. She has a compelling story.
I wanted to hear from Annika in her own words. The Trek wrote a great article about her that left me with a few questions I wanted to clear up with her. As you'll hear, she is articulate and tells her alarming story with clarity.
These links will tell you more of the story and, if you're able to read German or you can get it translated, at the end of the list is an article she wrote to warn fellow European hikers of the situation they may face in the US.
Annika Ananias / "Ravenclaw", Author at The Trek
German Thru-Hiker Detained, Deported, and Banned From US - The Trek
Both of our Mighty Blue Class of 2025 are now on trail. Beth saet out this past week, and we catch up with her and her stepson, Andrew, at Woody Gap, with their first impressions.
Dave is now into Hot Springs, some 275 miles ahead of Beth, and he is zeroing there to give back to the local community by spending in local businesses.
I used my hike last year on the South West Coast Path in the UK to help raise money for my absolute favorite charity, Parenting Matters, on whose board I've been privileged to serve for over a decade. You can learn more about the hike and the organization–and donate–by visiting Hike with Steve - Empowering Parents, One Step at a Time | Parenting Matters %. I hope you want to support this critical mission.
Don't forget. Our entire series of videos from our Woods Hole Weekend in 2022 is now FREE and available at my YouTube page at Woods Hole Weekend - Trailer There, you'll find all sorts of tips and tricks that our guests took away from the weekend that helped them with their own hikes this year. Check it out.
I often ask listeners for ideas on who to interview, and I'm sure several of you say, "I could do that. I've got an awesome story to tell." You're the person we need to hear from. If you'd like to be interviewed on the podcast, just register as a guest on the link below, and I'll be in touch. Come on the show!
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 Hiking Radio Network .
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.
Additionally, you can "Zelle" me a donation to steve@hikingradionetwork.com. Or "Venmo" me at @‌Steve-Adams-105. They both work!
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
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 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 | Hey guys, it's me, Mighty Blue, and you are at last listening to the latest episode of Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis, and this is episode number 478. |
| 0:45.8 | Well, I'm starting with an apology. I've had so many issues this week, not least technology and Wi-Fi issues, but one or two personal ones that also |
| 0:55.0 | needed some attention. And this led me to delay in the publication of our latest episode. Anyway, |
| 1:00.3 | we're here now and I think I've got a really interesting show for you this week. Now, |
| 1:04.1 | our interview this week is with the German lady, Anika Ananias. If that name sounds familiar to you, |
| 1:10.2 | you may have read her story in the Trek recently. |
| 1:13.3 | She's the one who came to our country just over a month ago, holding a 10-year visa with |
| 1:18.2 | an American boyfriend to hike the Arizona Trail. She'd already hiked the PCT and the CDT in recent |
| 1:23.8 | years, yet she was denied entry into the US, had a 10-year visa revoked, |
| 1:29.1 | and was summarily deported after spending a day and a night in a bare cell, |
| 1:33.6 | and is now banned from re-entering the US for five years. |
| 1:37.3 | The TREC covered this story meticulously, getting all the documentation that Anika had, |
| 1:42.4 | and I was intrigued by both her and a story, |
| 1:44.4 | so I wanted to offer her the chance to tell it in her own words. |
| 1:48.3 | As many of you know, politics is a subject I steer well clear off in the podcast, |
| 1:53.0 | but it's difficult to hear this story without thinking that something is going very wrong |
| 1:56.8 | with our country's immigration system, |
| 1:58.8 | when we're denying entry in such a fashion to people |
| 2:01.6 | who may appear outside the norm in that they're staying for a long time hiking long trails and |
| 2:06.4 | not trying to work over here an anchor and i are careful to avoid it being political and i hope you |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Steve Adams, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Steve Adams and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.