People often ask us how we decide on our next adventure. Usually, it’s a hike, but not always. We love our history, so sometimes it’s a day (or more) spent at a museum or a battlefield. Sometimes it’s a paddle or exploring a deep spring. But how do we decide?… well, that’s complicated.

We’ve both done the Appalachian Trail, of course. And, we’ve done lots of other hikes (long and short) and climbs and paddles together and separately, mostly in the eastern half of the US. But there is just so much else to explore in this country that we built out our Ford Transit van just so we could venture farther west… and north… and south.

There are amazing trails in every state, some of which have piqued our interest like the Ouachita Trail in Arkansas and the Colorado Trail and the Centennial Trail in South Dakota and the Oregon Coastal Trail, among others. There are some very long national scenic trails that traverse many, many states like the Pacific Crest Trail that runs 2,650 miles from Mexico in the south to Canada in the north, or the North Country Trail that is an incredible 4,800 miles long, from Vermont in the east to North Dakota in the west.

There are books and magazine and YouTube videos galore about all these hikes, and more! But one of the most compelling reasons for considering a trail, truly, is that we’ve heard about it from another hiker. For example, while we were heading east from Chicago last year, we would be passing through Ohio. We’d been following another hiker, who goes by the trail name “Apple Pie.” She was hiking the entire North Country Trail and was on the Ohio Buckeye Trail at that time and posting about her travels around the state. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t cross paths with her, but that was all the inspiration we needed to stop at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to do some day hikes on the same trail she’d hiked a few months earlier.

There are several hikers we follow on Facebook and YouTube, like Apple Pie. The hikers we follow are enthusiastic, but down-to-earth folks, of all ages, and all doing extraordinary adventuring. With their permission, we’d like to introduce you to some of the amazing people who influence our own decisions on where to adventure next:

Arlette Laan (Apple Pie) is a guide at Redline Guiding in the White Mountains in NH. She recently became the first woman to hike all 11 National Scenic Trails. She’s got a great personality, lots of good energy, and when you read about her travels, it makes you want to strap on a pair of hiking boots and join her! Visit her website at www.arlettelaan.com where you’ll learn more about this fascinating hiker, and links to all her travels.

Aaron Landon (Soda) is a hiker we began following while he was on the Florida Trail around the same time we were hiking it. We never saw him along the way, but last year we met up with him in Minnesota. He’s currently hiking the North Country Trail and we’ve been following him closely on Facebook. He’s got a great attitude and keeps slogging along, even after a couple of medical issues on the trail. We love the way he writes about the people he meets, all good folks who’ve found a place in this very special hiker’s heart. He doesn’t have a website but you can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aaronlandon.16.

Jupiter Hikes is a 30-year-old hiker who we met when he completed the Florida Trail in record time, even hiking Big Cypress swamp in the dark to make it to the southern terminus! Over the past few years he’s hiked more than 11,000 miles on long distance trails across the US, including the Arizona Trail, which we’re looking forward to testing out this fall. He’s also an artist and teaches painting in his spare time. Follow Jupiter’s adventures at www.jupiterhikes.com.

Carey Kish (Beer Man) is an adventurer, outdoors and travel writer, speaker, author, editor, and beer enthusiast from Maine. He’s the author of Best Day Hikes Along the Maine Coast, Maine Mountain Guide, and recently he’s published a new book, Beer Hiking New England, which will be available in February 2023. He writes for lots of outdoor publications! Visit his website at www.mainegeographic.com, or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/careykish and Instagram at www.instagram.com/careykish/. To purchase his latest book, visit www.amazon.com/Beer-Hiking-New-England-Massachusetts/.