S7 Ep. 36: Akuna Robinson on Going the Distance With Through Hiking

fiction/non/fiction

With summer approaching, Army veteran and long-distance hiker Akuna Robinson joins host V.V. Ganeshananthan and guest co-host Matt Gallagher to talk about the experience of through hiking, or long-distance hiking a trail from end to end. Robinson, the first Black man to complete the Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail—the Triple Crown of through hiking—recounts how he was inspired by the movie Wild to attempt the Pacific Crest Trail as a way of managing post-traumatic stress disorder from his military service in Iraq. Robinson reflects on encountering greater diversity on the trail in recent years, seeing the landscape affected by climate change, and the individualized nature of packing for a months-long journey. He also discusses hiking with Gallagher, and reading and writing on the trail. Gallagher reads from his 2021 ESPN profile of Robinson.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Akuna Robinson

• “Iraq War veteran Will 'Akuna' Robinson is the trailblazing superstar of thru-hiking,” by Matt Gallagher | ESPN | Nov. 11, 2021
• “For first Black man to wear hiking's 'triple crown,' the trails are a place for healing,” by Dakota Kim | Los Angeles Times | Feb. 23, 2023

Others:

• Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
• Wild (movie)
• Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character by David Straithairn and Jonathan Shay
• Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming by Jonathan Shay, Senator Max Cleland
• Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail by Carrot Quinn
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 3, Episode 4: “Wild Ecologies: So Go the Salmon, So Goes the World, with Tucker Malarkey, Will Bardenwerper, and Stan Brewer
• Pacific Crest Trail
• Appalachian Trail
• Continental Divide Trail

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