The Adirondacks Pop takes you across the legendary Great Range Traverse — one of the most demanding, dramatic, and iconic single‑day routes in the East. This episode drops you into the dark forests of Keene Valley at 4 a.m. and carries you peak by peak across the rooftop of the Adirondacks: Wolfjaws, Armstrong, Gothics, Saddleback, Basin, and finally Mount Marcy.

This is a story about endurance — the kind you earn one slab, one ladder, one ridge, one breath at a time. You’ll move through root‑tangled forest, exposed rock, airy ridgelines, and billion‑year‑old alpine stone as the day unfolds in chapters. Along the way, we explore the human history of the High Peaks, the psychology of long‑form effort, and the quiet transformation that happens when you keep going long after your legs want to stop.

If you’re listening to this, you’re already the kind of person who seeks the bigger version of your life. The Adirondacks Pop is your invitation to step into it.

www.blisterpopadventurers.com

US18 — The Great Range Traverse
A climb across the rooftop of the Adirondacks.
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If you’ve ever wanted to take on a big mountain day — a real Pop — but didn’t know how to train for it, this episode is your starting line. BIG DAY HIKE TRAINING is a free, outdoor‑only, community‑driven program designed to build the legs, lungs, and confidence you need for a big day in the next 3–6 months.

In this episode, we break down the full training system:
HIKE for aerobic base,
HIKE X for strength and durability,
HIKE MAX for weighted power and resilience.

You’ll learn why all training happens outdoors, why the weekend adventure is non‑negotiable, how periodization works, and how the program scales for beginners, intermediates, advanced athletes, and runners. You’ll also hear why runners must hike to stay injury‑free, and how to use this structure to grow into your Pop.

This is my personal training plan — the exact system I use — scaled and shared with the Blisterpop community. It’s self‑guided, self‑paced, and built on clarity, consistency, and your own judgment.

If you’re ready to train with purpose, join the Facebook group, pick your mountain, and start building your big‑day engine. Facebook Community: BlisterPop Adventurers

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The Catskills Pop is one of the most rugged, humbling, and quietly mythic traverses in the Northeast — a full day on Devil’s Path, where steep scrambles, moss‑covered ledges, and shadowed forest corridors test your presence as much as your legs. In this episode, we walk the steep, ancient spine of the Catskills from Prediger Road to Spruceton Road, moving through immediate hand‑over‑hand climbs, narrow ledges, atmospheric hemlock forests, and the iconic summits of Indian Head, Twin, Sugarloaf, Plateau, and West Kill.

This is a route that doesn’t care who you are — only how you show up. It’s a day shaped by humility: slowing down when the rock demands it, staying focused when the scrambles stack up, and finding your rhythm in the quiet, moss‑draped miles of the western Catskills. Along the way, we explore the human history of the range, the mood and mystery of the terrain, the logistics of a point‑to‑point traverse, and the psychological architecture that turns a hard hike into a story you carry.

If you’re listening to this, you’re already the kind of person who seeks meaning over ease. The Catskills Pop is your invitation to step into a bigger version of your life — one ledge, one breath, one ridge at a time.

Full route. Full honesty. Full humility.

www.blisterpopadventures.com

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A climb from lake to sky — this episode takes you from the dark, humid shores of Fontana Dam to the sacred summit of Kuwohi, the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains. The Appalachia Pop is a journey through continuity: ecosystems, cultures, centuries, and the long, rolling spine of the Smokies themselves.

In this guide, we walk the full Fontana → Kuwohi ascent: humid hardwoods, rhododendron tunnels, classic AT ridge miles, high meadows, and the cool, moss‑covered spruce‑fir zone that leads to the summit. Along the way, we explore Cherokee history, the emotional architecture of the route, risk and weather strategy, and the psychological engine that makes this climb feel mythic but human.

If you’re listening, you’re already halfway there. You’re the kind of person who seeks meaning, who chooses effort over ease, who wants a story worth telling. The Appalachia Pop gives you that story — a full‑day ascent through the living archive of the Smokies.

US16. A climb from the lakeshore to the roof of the Smokies.
www.blisterpopadventures.com

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The Pisgah Pop is grit made physical — 30 miles across the wild, humid, ridgerunning spine of the Art Loeb Trail. In this episode, we take you from the dark hardwood forests of Davidson River to the glowing quartzite of Shining Rock, across the iconic balds of Black Balsam and Tennent Mountain, and down into the quiet woods of the Daniel Boone Camp.

You’ll hear the story of this Southern Appalachian epic: the humidity, the fog, the roots, the wind, the balds, and the deep internal shift that happens when you choose to keep moving long after the day gets hard. We break down the route, the risks, the weather, the logistics, the human history, and the psychological architecture that makes US15 a true test of endurance.

If you’re the kind of person who seeks meaning over ease — who wants a story worth telling — the Pisgah Pop is waiting.

www.blisterpopadventures.com

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In this first episode of the UK Six Peaks series, we step behind the scenes into the part of adventure no one ever talks about — the months of planning, modelling, ferry meltdowns, and logistical choreography that turn a wild idea into something real. Recorded in January from Reno, this is the blueprint for a challenge that spans six countries, three islands, and a 72‑hour clock.

We break down the origins of the Six Peaks, why this version is different, and how the route takes shape when ferries, flights, weather windows, and geography all fight for control. From Cork to Carrauntoohil, from Glasgow to Ben Nevis, from Manchester to the Isle of Man, this episode reveals the architecture of an adventure that is equal parts mountain and movement.

We also explore the deeper purpose behind the attempt — raising money for Beating Breast Cancer with Success through Sarah’s Story — and how giving a challenge meaning changes the way you prepare for it.

If you’ve ever wondered how to design a big adventure, or you’re dreaming up a Pop of your own, this episode shows you how the story really begins: long before the first summit, in the quiet, obsessive, beautiful work of preparation.

www.blisterpopadventures.com

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A journey along the edge of the world. In this episode of Off You Pop, we walk the legendary Kalalau Trail on Kauaʻi’s Nā Pali Coast — an 11‑mile coastal pilgrimage carved into volcanic cliffs above the Pacific. You’ll move through rainforest, red‑dirt ridgelines, ancient valleys, and finally arrive at Kalalau Beach, a place that feels mythic the moment you see it.

This episode blends cinematic storytelling with practical guidance: permits, pacing, heat strategy, river crossings, and how to move through the exposed cliff sections with clarity instead of fear. Along the way, we explore the cultural history of the coast, the psychology of presence, and why this route has become one of the most transformative one‑day adventures in the US21.

If you’re the kind of person who chooses meaning over ease, who wants a story worth telling, and who feels the pull of wild coastline and big landscapes — the Hawaii Pop is waiting.

US14. The Kalalau Trail. A journey along the edge of the world.

www.blisterpopadventures.com

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In this Story Pop episode, Philip shares the unfiltered truth of his failed attempt at the Death Valley Pop — the brutal ascent from Shorty’s Well to Telescope Peak. This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a story about heat, navigation mistakes, fitness mismatch, and the moment a big dream meets a bigger mountain.

You’ll hear how the day began below sea level in the dark, how the route unraveled in the braided washes of Hanaupah Canyon, and how every wrong decision compounded the grade, the heat, and the effort. Philip breaks down the exact moment he realized he wasn’t going to make the summit — and what it felt like to turn around, descend in silence, and sit with the truth of the day.

This episode explores the deeper psychology of failure: how small errors cascade into big consequences, how confidence erodes when the terrain stops making sense, and how ambition sometimes outpaces preparation. .

If you’ve ever had a day go sideways in the mountains, or if you’re preparing for your own US21 journey, this episode is a reminder that failure isn’t the opposite of success. It’s part of the path.

Learn more about the US21 and the Death Valley Pop at:
www.blisterpopadventures.com

Story Pop: How I Failed Shorty’s Well to Telescope Peak.
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