In 1995 travel writer Bill Bryson was living in the United States after residing in England for over twenty years and longed to reconnect with the country he once knew. Despite having little knowledge of hiking, camping, or the Great Outdoors he decided that an adventure on the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail would be the best way to reacquaint himself with America. Not to be outdone in the inexperience department, Bryson was joined by his friend Stephen Katz, an overweight, out of shape, mercurial college friend, who he hadn't spoken to in over a decade. A Walk in the Woods chronicles their difficult and humorous attempt of one of America's great thru-hikes.In this episode Christine and Kyle discuss some of Bryson's anecdotes from the trail, his conversational writing style as well as his questionable strategy for completing the trail. They also dive into the life of the real "Stephen Katz" and gab about some of their own experiences on the Appalachian Trail.

In 1996 author Jon Krakauer joined a Mount Everest expedition to document the recent commercialization of the world's highest peak. As an experienced alpinist, Krakauer understood the inherent dangers of climbing at extreme altitudes, but nothing could have prepared him for the events that unfolded on May 10-11, resulting in one of the deadliest days in the history of Everest.  Into Thin Air recounts the entire expedition in vivid detail from the recollection of those who survived and questions how money effects decision making in a high altitude life and death situation.Released in 1997, Into Thin Air is a national bestseller, was adapted into a movie and is considered a must-read adventure book.

Have you ever been lost in the woods? Did you immediately ball up in the fetal position and scream for help? Stephen King's, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon follows the story of Tricia McFarland, a nine year old girl who is lost in the woods with very few supplies and little water. Her only contact with the outside world is through her Walkman which is tuned into the Boston Red Sox and her favorite player, Tom Gordon. In this episode the Roamers debate fiction vs non-fiction, foraging for food, how hallucinations help with survival, and what they would listen to if they were only accompanied by a Walkman. What's on your lost in the woods mixtape?

After a long fight on the front lines of the women's suffrage movement Edna Brush Perkins and her friend Charlotte Jordan needed a vacation so they did what anyone would do to unwind and traveled for a month in one of the most inhospitable places on earth- Death Valley. At the time it was unheard of for anyone to go to the Mojave Desert for a vacation let alone two cosmopolitan women.  The White Heart of Mojave poetically chronicles the story of the two trailblazing women's adventure across the desert. They experienced both awe and agony because the Mojave is a landscape unlike any other. One minute it will paralyze you with the heat of sun and the next it will freeze your bones all while dramatically taking your breath away with beautiful vistas so expansive that it makes you reconsider your place in the world.  On this episode Christine and Kyle discuss the book, Christine's recent trip to the Mojave and who would play Edna in a movie.

The Roamers dive into the book Sprinting Through No Man's Land by Adin Dobkin who painstakingly chronicled the journey of the 1919 Tour de France cyclists many of whom had recently completed service in World War I. The ink on the Treaty at Versailles had barely dried when the riders took off on a route around the country's border. Most of the competitors lacked the fitness, resources, and tolerance for pain necessary to endure the 3,450mi race for it was a far cry from the modern tour with teams that posses unlimited funding. The 1919 riders didn't just pedal, they acted as their own mechanic, dietician, doctor, manager, masseur, seamstress and even blacksmith. It was a Tour rich with mythology- the first to introduce the Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey),  the second longest of all time, but most importantly a race that reunited the war-torn people of France.

The Roamers discuss Cheryl Strayed's book Wild which was adapted into the film of the same name staring Reese Witherspoon. In 1995 Strayed set out on the Pacific Crest Trail to traverse 1,100 miles of the California and Oregon wilderness on foot while escaping the life she left behind. Prior to embarking on her hike Strayed was stricken with suffering and grief after the death of her mother and the abandonment of her family. She began using heroin when her marriage fell apart and needed a dramatic change; that change came in the form of the PCT.

Christine and Kyle read Lost in the Jungle by Yossi Ghinsberg which chronicles the time that Ghinsberg........got lost in the jungle. In 1981 he and three other backpackers tromped into the Amazon jungle of Bolivia hoping to make contact with a legendary indigenous village and strike it rich by finding a mother lode of gold. They were armed with a shot gun, machete and the hubris of youth, but things quickly turned from an adventure to survival when the group split up and divided their resources. Christine and Kyle discuss Yossi's miserable journey to safety, the pitfalls of the expedition, and come up with eight rules of survival! Finally, they give their rating for the book. Spoiler alert- THE AUDIO BOOK WILL MAKE YOUR EARS BLEED!The next book we'll read and discuss is Wild by Cheryl Strayed which was adapted into the 2014 film of the same name starring Reese Witherspoon. For more Roamers content follow @blackgoldcabin on Instagram.

The book club revisits Jedediah Jenkins book, To Shake the Sleeping Self by talking to some long distance cyclists about what they're experiences on the road and what they've learned from being on the bike.

For two years in the 1950's Edward Abbey worked as a park ranger in Arches National Park (then monument) spending most of his time alone, contemplating the desert environment, humans relationship to nature, and conspiracy theories! After it was published in 1968 Desert Solitaire became an influential piece of literature for the contemporary environmental movement of the 1970's. Christine and Kyle discuss some of Abbey's controversial takes, their experiences with the national parks and get deep as they gab about the end of human existence.

As a follow up to Running the Amazon by Joe Kane, Christine interviewed her younger brother Seth Peterson who is a high skilled whitewater rafting and kyaking guide in the Pacific Northwest. Check out Seth saving the day here:

In 1986 a ragtag team of twelve explorers attempted to kayak the Amazon from source to sea. Their journey began 16,000 feet up in the Peruvian Andes and ended 4,200 miles away at the Atlantic Ocean. They faced death at every turn, running class 5+ rapids, grappling with drug runners, negotiating with guerrilla armies, and overcoming a mutiny. For the author Joe Kane the trip was transformative. "So all I can say is this. For a while at least the Amazon sucked me out of my cocoon and my life has been the better for it. To anyone seriously considering a flying leap into the void I say, go."

Throughout her teens and twenties Blair Braverman proved to herself that she could survive some of the coldest environments in the world while learning to drive sled dogs. Norway continuously beckoned and she made a second home in a tiny village north of the Arctic Circle ingratiating herself with the locals. Christine and Kyle discuss what it was like for a young woman in male dominated circumstances, dog sledding, and the world famous Norwegian sense of humor.

Would you quit your dream job for an epic bike ride? Does travel result in life changing epiphanies? What impact do your parents have on who you become as an adult? The Roamers discuss Jedidiah Jenkins's sixteen month cycling trip from Oregon to Patagonia and answer every last question about religion, sexuality, and the simple beauty of cycling.

In Travels with Charley John Steinbeck wrote, "Once you are in Texas it seems to take forever to get out and some people never make it." Our Texas correspondent, MK Paulsen made it out, but will always be a Texan at heart and was kind enough to share his thoughts on the Lone Star State.

How does the current state of America compare to that of the 1960's? Has progress been made? Are cities doomed to fail? What great adventure is on your bucket list? Christine and Kyle attempt to answer these questions and more as they dive into John Steinbeck's book Travels with Charley: In Search of America.  ROAD TRIP!In 1960 John Steinbeck embraced van life hitting the open road in a camper-truck accompanied by his poodle Charley. Travels with Charley is a travelogue of that journey with Steinbeck musing on the country he built a career writing about. It was an election year; political and racial unrest was sweeping the nation and Steinbeck made remarkably prescient observations about America that took shape in recent history. The book was published in 1962, the same year Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for literature and made it to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list.For more Roamers related content follow @blackgoldcabin on Instagram Music provided by Ross Bugden, Without Limits  and Chris Haugen, Tumbleweed Texas

This month the Roamers Book Club read Soaring to Glory: A Tuskegee Airman's Firsthand Account of WWII.  It is the remarkable story of Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr.--one of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen, African-American pilots and airmen that trained in Tuskegee, Alabama. From a young age Harry fantasized about flight and his story raises the question - To what lengths would you go to achieve your dream? Despite facing the significant obstacle of widespread racism in 1930's and 40's America, he became a pilot by joining the armed forces during WWII. The Roamers discuss this enjoyable book, Harry's improbable success, their own dreams and fears of flying, and the lasting legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen.Join us next month for "Travels with Charley" by American heavy-hitter and Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck.For additional content and announcements, follow Black Gold Cabin on Instagram @blackgoldcabin.Music for the show was provided by Ross Budgen and falls under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Tracks used include Without Limits and Flight Hymn.

Following the death of his wife, Peter Matthiessen set out on a journey  in 1973 through the Himalayas of Nepal with the goal of spotting the elusive snow leopard, but was he searching for something more? Would hiking through the snow covered trails among the world's greatest peaks bring clarity to his life?Christine and Kyle get spiritual as they dive into The Snow Leopard, discuss air burials, and hear a book club member's first-hand account of what it was like to travel in the region.The next book on the club's reading list is Soaring to Glory: A Tuskegee Airman's Firsthand Account of World War IIFor additional content follow Black Gold Cabin on Instagram @blackgoldcabin and find us on AirBnbRoyalty Free Music Provided By:"Without Limits" Ross Budgen (YouTube Channel) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 LicenseReferencesMatthiessen, Peter. The Snow Leopard (1978)

We received a passionate opinion from a loyal Roamers member about Robyn Davidson's Tracks and we learned more about camels! Next week we'll be releasing our third episode which covers Peter Matthiessen's Snow Leopard. Call in to be featured on the show.

"The most difficult part of any endeavor is taking the first step, making the first decision." We discuss Tracks by Robyn Davidson and her empowering 273-day, 1700-mile trek across the western Australian desert with four camels and a dog. Why she did it, what total solitude in the desert (without screens) would be like, why people care so much about names, and how exciting it is to get to know plants! Includes a can't-miss scary camel story from Uncle John.   For additional content follow Black Gold Cabin on Instagram @blackgoldcabin and find us on AirBnbRoyalty Free Music Provided By:"Without Limits" Ross Budgen (YouTube Channel) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License"Sands of Mystery" Trey VanZandt (YouTube.com/c/treyvanzandt) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 LicenseReferencesDavidson, Robyn. Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback (1980).Davidson, Robyn. National Geographic, “Alone Across the Outback,” May 1978.Tracks. Directed by John Curran, performances by Mia Wasikowski and Adam Driver, See-Saw Films, 2013.Nick Smolan, Inside Tracks: Robyn Davidson's Solo Journey Across the Outback (2014).

This episode of Roamers covers Kon Tiki which was a 1947 expedition where the author, Thor Heyerdahl and five others set out on an adventure as they sailed on a log raft from Peru to the Polynesian islands. When it was first published Kon Tiki was a best seller and footage from the expedition was used for a film that won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1951. Book club participants featured in this episode include Katy Haas and Paulette Peterson. The next book we'll be reading and gabbing about is Tracks by Robyn Davidson.  For the latest book club updates subscribe to the podcast and follow us on Instagram @blackgoldcabinMusic provided by:Without Limits by Ross Budgen This track is licensed under a ‘Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License’Interstellar by Ross Budgen This track is licensed under a ‘Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License’Snowfall by Scott Buckley This track is licensed under a ‘Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License’Art of Silence - by Uniq This track is licensed under a ‘Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License’