Who is Eric Kipperman?

First off we want to begin with a heartfelt apology to Etic, or Pure Stoke! We got so caught up in the excitement and as he put it "infectious joy" of sharing in hiking stories, that we did not even mention his trail name one time! Even after having a pre-show chat and apologizing beforehand about all the puns we would make from such a wonderful trail name. "Pure Stoke", Eric, we are sorry we must have gotten carried away...and we say it...purely stoked?!?

Today we begin the show by experiencing high levels of stoke, as we chat the stoke master himself, Eric Kipperman. We begin by jumping right into Eric's first long distance thru-hike, this year on the CDT or Continental Divide Trail. Quite a trail to tackle as the first, and we fully unpack the feelings involved. We begin to chat about handling New Mexico that experienced a early and intense fire season this year, and how the concept of the CDT quickly became evident. It was a journey, a trail full of alternates, pick your way to Canada and go north! We talk about the feelings involved in having to tackle such a massive re-route only 500~ miles into his first thru-hike, and what it felt like to move forward.

We then take a stroll north through the CDT itself. Touching upon the early season in Colorado and high intensity snow fields and traverses. We bounce up to the Great Basin in Wyoming, where we chat about the lowest point of the trail emotionally, and how it became a highlight. We dust ourselves off as we head into the Wind River Range, where loss of a trail family member becomes a defining factor. We gander at the enormity of the sky itself as we talk all things The Big Sky Alternate. Diving deep into the reasoning, feel, logistics and choice of creating your own adventure on the CDT. We put our hand upon the terminus and breath the words to life of the feelings of "done."

We take deep dives into the feelings as Eric shares with us the journey, the thoughts, and the moments of a first thru-hike. Truly a special experience that he lets us feel and see through his eyes. From the beginning to the end, we feel the moments and learn what it means to go from avid outdoorsperson to one who is now "consumed" or "obsessed."

We chat about techniques of squatting to be shorter than the person next to you in thunder and lightning storms, we chat about the difference between dollops of cherries and dollops of ketchup, we chat PB cookies and brownies as a diet, and we chat the 5 headed pressure was shower of Montana.

We chat about coming to peace with a trail being over, this generations philosopher we all know as 50 Cent, and intimate and emotional relationships with pieces of gear. We chat Wild Bill and Open Carry, we chat homecoming feelings in a new perspective, we chat lowest lows and highest highs, we chat new confidence, mayors of small towns, connection and disconnection, closure, and opening a door that never again can be shut.

We end the show with a Ramen Rating Review and are extremely happy to hear Eric's rating... until it takes a dark and personally painfully turn to our hearts.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

"The CDT is a full bucket list of trails."

"It was a highlight because it was my lowest point on the trail."

"Instead of a cherry on top...it was a dollop of Ketchup."

"The Philosopher 50 CENT said: Sunny days wouldn't be so special if it wasn't for rain."

"Where you been, where you are, where you want to be."

To learn more about Eric Kipperman visit him on LinkedIn and Strava

To learn more about us click below.

Website: www.ElevenSkys.com