This week, we feature a couple who met on the trail in 2019 and have been a couple ever since. Reid Marshall and Marina Santiago are, however, locationally challenged, as Reid is in Australia and Marina is in Denver.

I was fortunate enough to have met Reid on my thru-hike and was impressed with his calm and thoughtful demeanor. When we met, near the VT / NH border, Reid was on his own and didn't meet Marina until many miles later. Such is the serendipity of the trail.

They share the story of their respective and joint hikes, as well as their adventures together since the AT.

You can connect and find out more about them at their Challenge & Beauty website, https://challengeandbeauty.com/, find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/challengeandbeauty, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/challenge_and_beauty/. Their first book, Trail Running Utah, is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Trail-Running-Utah-Challenge-Beauty/dp/1661352820/ref=sr_1_1

Their second set of books, Trail Running Tasmania and Day Hikes Tasmania, are available in the US via special order on their website: https://challengeandbeauty.com/order-now/ Their illustrated book about their AT experience, Filthy and Free, is in the works and will be available later this year. I'll let you know when that comes out.

This week on the Know Before You Go ATC part of the show, Laurie Potteiger suggests that we "Explore Locally." She tells us about alternative trails to explore, some of which are listed here. www.appalachiantrail.org/explore/plan-and-prepare/hiker-resource-library/alternate-trails/

A link to the Alternate Trails page, as well as ATC's Day-hiking and Overnight Hiking checklists updated for hiking during COVID-19, and many other useful pages, can be found in the Hiker Resource Library at www.appalachiantrail.org/hiker-resources.

Don't forget, if you are going to get on the AT, make sure you register at www.ATCamp.org.

In our book reading of Larry Luxenburg's Walking the Appalachian Trail, Larry talks about everybody's favorite subject; food and the exquisite possibility of eating guiltlessly.

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