The Great Western Loop

Congrats Andy! What an amazing accomplishment. You're really quite an inspiration.

Adam

thanks for the update Ken,

and thanks to andy for sharing his experiences with us through his podcasts and photos and videos,.. this trip will definatley help me in planning big trips for myself in the future.

Andy,
Congrats and thanks for the podcasts! I enjoyed listening to them on my commute and during my hike thru the Three Sisters Wilderness.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/10125/index.html

I heard you talk about your sea-to-sea route in Madison, NJ and hope to hear a similar review of this hike. Hope you can put some captions on your photos to further educate us on some of these great places.

Tom

Andy,

Congratulations, man. Don't go walking for a few days, ok?

– Sam

This is a great accomplishment Andy! It's been so fun to hear updates on your adventure- I'm really proud of you!

Enjoy the coming weeks at home- and best of luck on the reentry.

Thank you!
Doug

Woo Hoo!!!!

Congratulations, Andy – can't wait to hear more of the story.

Ya mean Andy's not still hiking;-)

Truly amazing, well done!

Congratulations on an EPIC achievement. I have enjoyed your reports and the images are beautiful. Thanks for taking us along on your adventure.
Gotta Run
Tim

Andy, I think you have completely reset the limits and have shown us all, once again, what is possible with the right gear, techniques, training and most importantly attitude.

I look forward greatly to an article (please!) on what gear, techniques, etc worked well on such a long trip, and any improvements you will make for your next extended adventure…we all know there's another on the cards somewhere.

Congratulations mate!

Well, I was so excited to listen to the final podcast about Skurka's amazing journey. I settled down here at work, put my headphones on, and pressed play.

Three minutes later I had to turn it off. WHAT IS UP W/ THE HOST'S BREATHING. Every time Skurka talks you can hear the hosts wheezy, relentless breathing. Put the microphone down or mix it properly. Are you out of breath from saying one sentence? It is distracting and fairly disgusting.

This podcast has basically been ruined and I am disappointed because I followed Skurka all the way.

Perhaps everyone has already noticed but 52 more photos covering the time from October 1 to 18 are now online.

Soon to come more wonderful video from Andy over that same period. After Thanksgiving the last set of photos and videos will appear.

Salts – Please take it easy bud. Ken Knight, the host of the last podcast, did an amazing amount of work to bring you and other listeners all of the Podcasts and photos throughout this trip. It was very fitting that Ken was there for the finish and that he did the last interview — he lived this trip more than anybody else (he saw every photo I took and watched every video I shot before selecting the best to show you), except for me. Please accept our apology that the last podcast is not perfect, but please look beyond it too. Thanks.

Good to see you back on the boards Andy! Now that you've completed the Great Western Loop, what are you going to do next?
Que answer: I'm going to Disneyland!

As for the breathing on the final broadcast, yes it was somewhat irritating, but totally understandable.

The newspaper I work for is going through many of the same growing pains as BPL for video and podcasts, and I myself had to deal with my own breathing (along with snorts and sniffs), wind, and an untold number of other variables while doing daily video interviews on my tahoe Rim Trail thru-hike.

I guess I just appreciate Andy and BPL attempting to introduce multi-media into the website, regardless of imperfections.

I'm late to the party with this…I still wanted to post a congratulatory note on your successfully completion of possibly the single greatest hiking trek I've ever heard of anyone undertaking.

Great Job to both Andy and Ken!

I had a great time living vicariously through these podcasts. Got to give a big applause to both of them for putting in all the time and effort it took to bring the podcasts to us. I'm quite sure it was a lot of work for both of them, and I'm sure after putting in a 40 mile day, Andy had other things he wanted to do (i.e. eat and sleep), than give an trip update.
Love all the BPL podcast! Keep bringing them to US! They are Very Interesting and informative. And great for all those times we want to be out on the trail but can't.

josh

Who interviewed Andy for this podcast? I think a quick lesson in broadcasting etiquette is in order. I couldn't make it halfway through the broadcast due to the interviewer's constant breathing into the microphone, which almost drowned out Skurka at points.

While the guest is talking, it would be good to make the interviewer's mike go dead, or at least hold it far enough away from the face, nose, mouth areas to ensure that we don't hear you breathe throughout the interview.

Otherwise, apart from the incessant loud breathing, it was a good interview.

Someone already brought it up months ago and it was explained by Andy….if you read the thread first.

I won't split hairs but I don't think that was an adequate explanation, whatever.

Seems as though the links to the MP3s are getting 404s. The RSS link as well.

Sadly this has been the case for years. Was a great series.

still an awesome journey

Anyone know if the podcasts from this trip are available anywhere?