Barney “Scout” Mann has been called “the dean of America’s long-distance trails” and is one of the rare individuals to have conquered the Triple Crown of thru-hiking, successfully completing the 8,000 combined miles of the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails. Each spring for the past fifteen years he and his wife Sandy have hosted hikers starting out on the PCT (more than 7,000 to date) at their San Diego home, providing them with a final hot meal and a bit of encouragement before they begin their trek from Mexico to Canada. So, we sat down with Barney to chat about his deep connections to the PCT and the community it creates; Journeys North, the memoir he wrote about his own 2007 thru-hike; his work as the President of the Partnership for the National Trails System; the future of thru-hiking in America; and much more.
TOPICS & TIMES:
- Trail names (2:02)
- Scout 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 (12:10)
- Career as a “kind” lawyer (16:05)
- Mastering the art of storytelling (19:28)
- Journeys North (20:30)
- His 2007 PCT thru-hike (24:13)
- Vulnerability on the trail (32:43)
- The endurance mindset (42:02)
- The future of the PCT & being a trail advocate (47:10)
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Wonderful episode! I did my first thru hike in the Colorado trail last summer and am planning the Washington state part of the pct this summer. The part about incredible recall from that period is some I hadn’t considered but is so true. I have a CT wall map and can remember almost every day. It’s so difficult to answer the question How was your camping trip? One thing I was hoping you would discuss is the contrast between multi day backpackers and trail runners. There was definitely some grumbling from thru about trail runners blasting by, but lots of thru hikers are runners. Just different head spaces that should get along but sharing the trail can get complicated sometimes. I also wish you could have promoted trail volunteering to listeners a bit more in there. It’s so important. Happy trails