10,000 Miles on Foot, Madison Blagden’s Biggest Year Yet

Madison Blagden joins me to break down one of the wildest hiking years I have ever heard of. In 2025, she completed a border-to-border Calendar Year Triple Crown, then kept going until she hit 10,071 miles on foot.

We talk about how the goal evolved in real time, what it takes to hike that kind of mileage day after day, and how she handled injury, snow, isolation, grizzly country, and the mental toll of a full year spent moving forward. Madison also shares how she got into thru-hiking in the first place, from starting the PCT with almost no experience to building into one of the biggest hiking years ever.

This one is about huge miles, trail life, identity, sacrifice, and what happens when you push so far that the whole experience starts to feel bigger than hiking.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Walker of the Year Nominee

09:27 Transitioning from Trail to Everyday Life

15:12 The Impact of the First Thru-Hike

21:10 Living on the Road: Adventures and Challenges

29:30 Navigating Trail Challenges

36:20 Pushing Hiking Limits

42:00 Starting the 2025 Journey

48:44 The Journey Begins in Key West

54:48 Transitioning to the PCT

59:58 Navigating Challenges on the PCT

01:04:45 Overcoming Injury and Setbacks

01:15:35 Balancing Hiking with Content Creation

01:20:41 Finding Spirituality in the Wilderness

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