# There's No Suck to be Embraced - Bradford "Rafiki" Bartels (Part I)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hiker-trash-radio-2158694/there-s-no-suck-to-be-embraced-bradford-rafiki-bartels-part-i
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/hiker-trash-radio-2158694/there-s-no-suck-to-be-embraced-bradford-rafiki-bartels-part-i.md
Podcast: [Hiker Trash Radio](https://stenobird.com/podcast/hiker-trash-radio-2158694)
Published: 2026-09-16T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://bleav.com/shows/hiker-trash-radio/?post_type=gp_podcast_episode&p=1012
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/1385/injector.simplecastaudio.com/6d2da267-75e0-4996-8f52-dc96c283fcb3/episodes/c811d0ec-37cb-4912-8213-5477d6dedb77/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=6d2da267-75e0-4996-8f52-dc96c283fcb3&awEpisodeId=c811d0ec-37cb-4912-8213-5477d6dedb77&feed=TGxnwCmZ
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/hiker-trash-radio-2158694/episodes/there-s-no-suck-to-be-embraced-bradford-rafiki-bartels-part-i
Duration seconds: 2051

## Resource

Bradford "Rafiki" Bartels just became the first person to thru-hike the Alaska Long Trail, and his hiking poll score of 33 out of 100 — which he describes as just enough to be unmedicated — reflects a man who carried three emergency ponchos (one of which was a skirt), coated his rain jacket in homemade silicone solution, invented the term bear-anoid to describe his scent discipline regimen, and has strong opinions about both bear bells and the proper application of bear spray. In Part 1, Doc and Rafiki cover how a Marine Corps veteran and high school dropout came to thru-hiking, the gear philosophy of someone who likes to tinker, the difference between the bears everyone worries about and the rivers that will actually stop you, and the navigation reality of hiking a trail that is, generously, about 30 percent road walks and only somewhat on CalTopo. Also: frosted animal crackers, instant mash with bacon bits, and the confirmed Hiker Trash Radio position on applying bear spray topically.

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## Transcript

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