Who is Coyote?

Welcome back to the Off Trail Podcast!

Today we sit down to chat with the one and only, Coyote.

We begin the show by learning about labels and the growth of breaking free of defining oneself in the singular. We learn about Coyote bein a chef, a thru-hiker, a artist and a musician. Then almost instantly we dive deep into the growth through hiking and just as importantly the growth found and taken off trail from hiking.

We talk hard labor jobs, percentages of life off trail being too high within the grind mindset, and the more Coyote hiked the more he craved more life not only on trail but off. We chat Coyote seeking more multi-dimensional life within his pursuit of thru-hiking and more generally a life will lived. We chat weighted returns on time, plateaus of growth, and unlocking new levels of fitness.

We chat the importance of becoming obsessed with thru-hiking but finding balance within the obsession. We chat the importance of realizing there is a life off trail, and it doesn't have to be singular, it can be a full life. We quickly touch on the Grand Enchantment Trail, the Pacific Northwest Trail, and the Northern New Mexico Loop with a quick shout out to the legend himself, Brett Tucker.

We chat the questions that arise when the trail ahead becomes undefined, we chat the similarities and differences of the words adventure and thru-hike, and we dive into the very definition of what the term "thru-hike" can mean. We break the chains of a classical definition and theorize the change that is almost never chosen but always found. We discuss singular goal mindsets and the vast varieties within, we dip our toes into the word "purism" and unpack all the baggage associated inside it. We debate the undefined line in the sand that defines a purist and where it begins and where it ends. No answer found, only theories provided.

We chat the Idaho Centennial Trail. We chat skipping a section and the choice that was never a choice. We chat early season Sawtooth Mountains and swelled creeks. We dive into quitting the ICT 4 times and coming back over and over again. We go further into the feelings and perceived need to return to a trail. We unpack shame and embarrassment in choosing the not only right choice but only safe choice and the danger that can arise from being consumed in the accomplishment mindset. We talk no matter the hiker, that if you hike long enough and far enough the inevitable decision that all will be faced with.

We chat respect for hikers that chose to not continue, and when going home becomes the right choice. We discuss the filter of social media and the dangers that lie within. We chat the Mogollon Rim Trail and the growth in a discomfort chosen. On the flip side we chat the growth found in comfort chosen. The comfortable choice sometimes becomes the most uncomfortable and the most difficult.

We chat becoming a cat in the rain, making plans A and B, and learning to read topo lines. I incorrectly define what dead-reckoning is and we talk the healthy vs the unhealthy. We compare the bodies reaction to health in and health out, and the weird pride that hikers find in eating unhealthy diets. We chat becoming an athlete, no higher responsibility than life itself, and the truest heroes of them all, the people living regular lives.

It gets weird and it gets deep, an absolutely wonderful episode. Thank you so much Coyote for sharing with all of us.

Favorite Quotes:

"The trail to me means knowledge of life and knowledge of myself."

"If I am off trail, I still need to have some sort of trail."

Follow Coyote at the links below:

Instagram: @hikingcoyote

YouTube: @hikingcoyote8169

To learn more about us click below:

⁠Website: www.ElevenSkys.com