Episode #523 - Michelle Michaud (Fyrfly)

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

Steve Adams

Sports, Wilderness

4.8 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 8 January 2026

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Michelle Michaud is our guest today. She has completed the Appalachian Trail three times, having been on trail every year since the late 90s.

Her love for the AT is apparent, and she has managed to parlay that love into a business, helping hikers with their logistics and training as they try to fulfill their own Appalachian Trail dream.

You can find out more by visiting Michelle's website, http://www.appalachiantrailhikingsupport.com/ and her Facebook account at https://www.facebook.com/WanderingBootsAppalachianTrailhikingsupport, and her Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/wanderingbootsat/ .

Also today, Michael Glavin, the inventor and owner of Zenbiy, with the Zenbivy sleep system, helps Steve make up his mind for the final big purchase for his upcoming Appalachian Trail thru-hike. Check out their site at https://zenbivy.com/

Finally, the accountability blog turns to the subject of food.

I used my hike in 2024 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 https://parentingmattersfl.org/eventer/hike-with-steve-empowering-parents-one-step-at-a-time/edate/2024-04-15/. 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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA8ImK4qpNc&list=PLu8u88nsJtgWZxT8DLwEW2yXcz4gT6HXs 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. https://www.hikingradionetwork.com/show/mighty-blue-on-the-appalachian-trail-the-ultimate-mid-life-c/guests/intake/

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 .

Additionally, you can join our membership at http://buymeacoffee.com/mightyblue. It's worth checking out what is on offer for you there.

If you prefer NOT to use PayPal, you can now support us via check by mailing it to Mighty Blue Publishing, 3821 Milflores Drive, Sun City Center, FL 33573. 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 Steve and his guests every week as he staggers from Georgia to Maine.
0:33.6	Hi guys and welcome back to the podcast. This is episode number 523 of the Mighty Blue Podcasts and I'm your host Steve Mighty Blue Adams.
0:41.9	And on this episode I'm introducing you to Michelle Michaud, a very experienced Appletchon Trail Hiker with three completions to her name and a vast amount of knowledge of the trail to share.
0:51.2	Michelle has parlayed her love for hiking into a business where she provides training
0:55.3	and logistical support to hikers hoping to fulfil their Appalachian Trail Dream. She's so dedicated
1:00.8	that I've been trying to interview her for about three months as one of her clients was finishing
1:04.7	up another through hike. I think you'll get a kick out of her and she'll be on in a moment.
1:09.3	After Michelle, I at last managed to recall
1:12.1	Michael Glaven from Zem Bivie. As you know, I've been looking at Zem Bivie as a new potential sleep
1:16.4	system and Michael, who is a very enthusiastic bloke, chatting with me about his system and really
1:21.7	help me make the decision once we concluded our call. I'll be ordering the entire system in a couple of days.
1:27.8	Then my accountability blog will focus a bit more on food this week as I've started my new
1:32.5	diet. All that's to come, so sit back, grab a coffee and meet Michelle Mishot or Firefly.
1:41.3	Today our guest is Michelle Mischo or Firefly, spelled F-Y-R-F-L-Y.
1:48.0	Hey, Michelle, thanks for coming on the podcast.
1:49.8	Hello, Steve.
1:50.5	Thank you for inviting me on to yours, Muddy Blue podcast.
1:53.8	Thank you very much.
1:55.6	My pleasure.
1:56.4	And your Michelle, Michelle, which I think is French, did I pronounce that, how you pronounce it? That is correct, yes. Okay. But more interesting is how you spell firefly. So what's that all about? Well, you know, when I first started hiking in 1998 on the Appalachian Trail, I noticed that every year there tends to be a firefly out there and they spelled it the normal way,
2:18.7	F-I-R-E-F-L-Y.
	...

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