Michael "Broadway" Grant is not your average long-distance hiker. The 56-country traveller has cycled across America, walked the Camino de Santiago and Scotland's West Highland Way, and is now daily-vlogging a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. Episode 375 of Backpacker Radio from The Trek hands him the microphone, and the stories are worth the listen.
The highlights lean gloriously unglamorous. En route to PCT Trail Days, Grant hitched a ride and got bitten in the face by a six-pound chihuahua. Then came his "Day 50" Sierra meltdown, a genuine low point in which he melted a carbon trekking pole, burned holes through his sleeping bag, discovered two more holes in his tent, and cried on camera. Anyone who has watched a long trip slowly fray at the edges will recognise the moment.
There are high points too. Grant described a nerve-wracking pitch-black alpine start at 11:00 PM up the snow chutes of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, plus a Yosemite detour built on last-minute Half Dome permits and a hot tub borrowed from a park employee. He also talks openly about hiking as a gay man on the PCT, masculinity in thru-hiking culture, and how losing his mother to brain cancer reshaped his reasons for walking the trail. His inspirations include Cheryl Strayed's Wild.
His gear takes are refreshingly contrarian: he argues ultralight kit is not a prerequisite for thriving on a thru-hike, and he'd rather dig a cathole than use a toilet. The episode closes with tips for covering bigger miles, news of a blogger finishing on Katahdin at the northern tip of the Appalachian Trail, and a listener question about the worst smells on trail.
Why does this matter to a traveller? Because it demystifies the PCT. Long trails can feel like they belong only to hardcore athletes, but Grant's story is one of a regular adventurer juggling a job mid-hike, improvising side quests, and having very public bad days. If you're weighing a big walk — the PCT, the Camino, or anything in between — this is a useful dose of what the experience actually looks like, chihuahua bites and all.
