Stalked by a Mountain Lion, a 25-Foot Fall in the Sierra, and Canoeing 2,400 Miles Down the Mississippi with Matthew "Masochist" Hengst (BPR #362)

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Matthew Hengst, aka Masochist, an IT-professional-turned-full-time-adventurer who over the past eight-plus years has racked up 20,000 miles hiked, nearly 3,000 miles paddled, 2.5 million feet of elevation climbed, and somewhere north of 300 diving sessions across multiple continents. Masochist walks us through canoeing 2,400 miles down the Mississippi, the time he fell 25 feet in a remote part of the Sierra and laid there for 15 hours waiting for a helicopter, catching COVID and norovirus back to back at 12,000 feet on the CDT, navigating stealth camping across rural America, terrifying encounters with dogs, and his favorite parts of the Eastern Continental Trail. Matthew also makes a strong case for why the Florida Trail and the Condor Trail are two of the most underrated long trails, and explains why he has no plans to stop adventuring anytime soon. We wrap the show with the devastating news that Timberline Lodge has ended its breakfast buffet, debating whether poop pees count as full pees, a sun hoodie review on a product that's maybe not a sun hoodie, the triple crown of words for penis (with Chaunce publicly soliciting micropenis photos), and the best way to move legos across the country. Topo Athletic: Use code "TREK15TOPO" at topoathletic.com . Gossamer Gear: Use code "BACKPACKERRADIO" for $20 off LT5 Trekking Poles at gossamergear.com . OnX Backcountry: Use code "TREK70" for 70% off at onxmaps.com [divider] Interview with Matthew "Masochist" Hengst Matthew's Youtube Matthew's Instagram Matthew's Website Time stamps & Questions 00:05:45 - Reminders: Apply to vlog or blog for the Trek , subscribe to The Trek's Youtube , join us for Chaunce's live podcast sendoff , and listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon ! 00:11:15 - Introducing Masochist 00:13:10 - Tell us about your life prior to backpacking 00:19:00 - Tell us about your spreadsheets 00:23:14 - Did you grow up in the outdoors? 00:24:40 - Tell us about your relationship 00:30:00 - Tell us about your major injuries 00:36:32 - What's the closest you've ever been to death? 00:38:45 - How do you describe yourself? 00:40:00 - What adventure have you done that gets people the most excited? 00:42:00 - Discussion about paddling the Mississippi River 00:48:20 - What's the elevator pitch on floating the Mississippi River? 00:53:30 - How do you decide what your next trip should be? 00:55:30 - Tell us about the Theodore Solomons Trail 00:59:00 - What's the Desert Trail Border? 01:00:50 - Tell us about the Condor Trail 01:03:00 - What are your tips for stealth camping? 01:06:40 - Did Florida put a bad taste in your mouth when starting the ECT? 01:11:20 - Discussion about bad water in eastern Colorado 01:15:20 - Is there more to why you liked the Florida Trail? 01:18:55 - Tell us about the ECT after Katahdin 01:26:00 - Discussion about dog attacks while thru-hiking 01:30:30