# The Route Makers - Episode 2: The Proving Ground

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hiker-trash-radio-2158694/the-route-makers-episode-2-the-proving-ground
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hiker-trash-radio-2158694/the-route-makers-episode-2-the-proving-ground.md
Podcast: [Hiker Trash Radio](https://stenobird.com/podcast/hiker-trash-radio-2158694)
Published: 2026-08-28T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://bleav.com/shows/hiker-trash-radio/?post_type=gp_podcast_episode&p=998
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/1385/injector.simplecastaudio.com/6d2da267-75e0-4996-8f52-dc96c283fcb3/episodes/99a2a25d-00c8-4038-b810-3e0be0277928/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=6d2da267-75e0-4996-8f52-dc96c283fcb3&awEpisodeId=99a2a25d-00c8-4038-b810-3e0be0277928&feed=TGxnwCmZ
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hiker-trash-radio-2158694/episodes/the-route-makers-episode-2-the-proving-ground
Duration seconds: 1449

## Resource

The Route Makers Episode 2: Rue McKenrick, Kevin "The Animal" Koski, Wesley "Megaman" Tils, and Andrew Skurka on what it costs to walk a route no one has walked before — the American Perimeter Trail, the Four Corners Loop, and a self-invented Mexico-to-Canada line. A route isn't real when you draw it. It's real when somebody walks the whole thing and comes back and says: it goes. This episode is about the proving — the deserts, the −40 blizzards, the years, and the toll a first traverse takes on the body and everyone waiting at home. Settle in for the second episode of our new documentary series.

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## Transcript

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