#939 - Chris Cage

Chris Cage (0:00)

Sound good?

Joe Rogan (0:00)

Yeah, we're good. Five, four, three, two.

That was like, he didn't do the thumb. I wasn't sure it was the finger button. Chris, what's up, man? How are you?

Chris Cage (0:14)

Good, man. How are you doing, Joe?

Joe Rogan (0:15)

Thanks for doing this. For people tuning in right now, Chris is the author of How to Hike the Appalachian Trail. And he's also, I've talked about these on the podcast before, this is his company, he's not a sponsor.

This is company Greenbelly Meals, and these are these really delicious bars that weigh like 50 pounds, like a brick filled with nutrients and food, and they're really good for people who do this crazy Appalachian Trail thing. These bars that you sell have become very popular with hunters and people that like to go on backpack journeys deep into the backcountry. And I found out about you from Rich, Cody Rich, Rich Outdoors podcast.

And that's where I listened to you on his podcast, and that's why you're here. That's why I got your book here.

Chris Cage (1:06)

Thanks Cody, love the podcast.

Joe Rogan (1:08)

Yeah, it's a good podcast. So what the fuck, for people who don't know the Appalachian Trail, we've talked about this on the podcast before, but it's a trail where people walk from Georgia, right, all the way up to Maine.

Chris Cage (1:21)

Or vice versa, but yeah.

Joe Rogan (1:22)

Yeah, vice versa, if you want, if you're a mad man. And it takes you, how many months?

Chris Cage (1:28)

Five to seven, took me a little over six.

Joe Rogan (1:32)

So you just hike for six months. When you're at like month three, do you ever go like, what the fuck am I doing?

Chris Cage (1:41)

Long story short, yeah. And by month three, I was actually approaching winter time.

And winter time camping is just a fundamentally different experience. So not only have you been hiking that long and you're tired and your body's just done, doing it every day of hiking, but then the elements of the winter come in and that was a different ball game entirely.

Joe Rogan (2:05)

How many people have done this?

Chris Cage (2:07)

Less than 10,000.

Joe Rogan (2:09)

That's a lot of fucking people.

Chris Cage (2:11)

Yeah, it is.

Joe Rogan (2:11)

That's still a lot. I would have said like 50

Chris Cage (2:15)

There's another thing called the Triple Crown, which is the AT. Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. I think less than 100 people have done all three of those.

Joe Rogan (2:25)

The Pacific Crest Trail. Is that the one that goes from like Mexico?

Chris Cage (2:29)

To Canada. It's through California.

Joe Rogan (2:33)

That's insane. How long did that one take?

Chris Cage (2:36)

I think so. The Appalachian Trail is 2,200 miles. And the Pacific Crest Trail, I believe, is like 25, 26, 2,700 miles. But the trail gradient is a lot easier.

So I think on any given day, you can actually hike more miles, even though the trail is longer than the AT. But I think people actually finish it faster than the AT.

Joe Rogan (2:56)

I like how you call it the AT. That's inside lingo. With all you maniacs, all you hiking maniacs.

What the fuck got you into this, man?

Chris Cage (3:06)

I'd say, long story short, Boy Scouts. Yeah. I joined Boy Scouts later than most people. I joined when I was 14

And the kind of the pinnacle of the Boy Scout career is getting your Eagle Scout.

And I joined with that in mind. I was like, okay, I'm joining later than most. I joined when most people are quitting, Boy Scouts. You know, they go from Cub Scouts to like 13, and they quit. I joined and I was like, all right, I want my Eagle Scout. And you have to, in order to get your Eagle Scout, spend 20 nights in the woods. Not consecutively, but you have to get your camping merit badge and get your camping merit badge. You have to spend the night, 20 nights in the woods.

So, that was in Georgia, and the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains are in North Georgia. So, the beginning of the Appalachian Trail is also right there. So, we went on several trips up there in North Georgia, and I got exposed to it. And I think just the idea of getting on this small trail and kind of looking down and understanding that this thing goes on for 2,000 more miles was just kind of like, one, that just seems crazy, right? You know, there's no way I'm ever gonna have enough time or kind of the drive to do that. But yeah, there was definitely kind of the mystery. I was like, oh man, that just seems like an adventure I wanna do.