Episode Details

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, we are once again flipping the script. This episode is dedicated to all things COVID-19. We chat with a pair of experts on infectious disease and epidemiology. Dr. Amesh Adalja is an infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. And Jagdish Khubchandani is a Professor of Health Science at Ball State University with a PhD in Health Education and Epidemiology. Both of our experts share their opinion on the latest data surrounding this virus, including the million dollar question of when they think it will be safe to resume our backpacking ways.

We also are joined by a pair of 2020 NOBO turned NOGO thru-hikers (and Trek contributors), one from the AT, one from the PCT, to share their experiences of how this pandemic played out from their perspectives. Taylor Frint had only been on trail for two days before making the decision to get off, while John Mecklin was a few hundred miles into his hike when shit really started hitting the fan.

Also---it's worth stating here---after today's episode, we will likely drop the coronavirus subject for a while. There's plenty of information out there regarding this virus, and although we're not about to pretend like it isn't impacting everything, we're hoping to provide a venue where you can go to escape the firehose of doomsday information. The reason for today's episode is that we wanted to provide some expertise on this subject and how it pertains to backpacking along with shine a spotlight on those who made the difficult decision to hit the indefinite pause button on their hikes.

In this episode:

• Specialist Dr.Amesh Adalja
  • Twitter
• Specialist Dr.Jagdish Khubchandani
  • Twitter
• Hiker: Taylor Frint
  • The Trek Vlogger
• Hiker: John Mecklin
  • The Trek Blooger
• Save 5% at Zpacks.com by using code "ThanksZach" at checkout.
• Save 10% at AppalachianGearCompany.com by using code "BACKPACKERRADIO" at checkout.
• Hikerlink!
• Intro Song: Walking Slow by Animal Years
• Intro beats: Pauly Boy Shallcross
• Check out Trail