AI (more specifically, Generative AI) is on a sharp rise. With so many industries anxiously adapting it in order to keep up with trends in technology, the outdoors community has held back for the most part. With so much yet to be discovered from AI, it is only right that an industry that prides itself on trust and safety of its community, doesn't quickly integrate this somewhat untamed technology. But is it now time for companies like HiiKER to look to AI as an aid to helping more people get outdoors and building their confidence?

The HiiKER team discuss the rise of AI in the outdoors industry. We talk about the positive and negative implications of it if there is a wider adaption across the industry and debate the risks that come with it.

Join the conversation - this podcast is recorded live each week as part of our weekly community stream. You can join our facebook community discussion here - https://www.facebook.com/share/eYgJxXHbDujNBThA/

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The Art O’Neill challenge has long-been on Irish mountain-dwellers calendar. 

Hikers and ultra-runners gather in the depths of winter, at night to complete a grueling 60km course 

I say course, but there is actually no official route. 

Not only are participants facing into the darkness, 

but they also have to self-navigate over open mountains with almost no actual trails to use. 

Some might say those that run the route are lunatics for running in those conditions. 

The runners might be looking back at the walkers with awe as they continue in the bleak winter night. 

So why are they doing this? Why Am I doing this?? 

Last year, I myself took part in the challenge as a runner. Unfortunately, I dropped out early…

This year, I’m going again with the sole purpose of completing it! 

The more time I have spent with this challenge in my head, the more fascinated I became with the history of it. 

Who was Art O’Neill? 

Why is it named after him? 

Normally when a race is named after a person, it usually means that person is not around anymore! 

Turns out Art hasn’t been around for a couple centuries. 

I’ve wanted to do a podcast about the Art O’Neill challenge for a while, but it wasn’t until I came across my guest, that I felt we could do a good job of it. 

Jane Casey is a fellow hiker and content creator from Wicklow. 

Over the past few months, she has been documenting her curiosity around Ireland on social media. 

She offers bite-sized history lessons about things that we all walk by unknowingly everyday. 

And in a country like Ireland that is steeped in History and folklore, she has plenty of subject matter to get through. 

When I introduced Jane to the subject of Art O’Neill and the challenge, she was excited to be involved. While Jane is not a historian, she does her research well and came to the show prepared! 

So if you’re taking part in this years challenge or you’re just a curious Casey like Jane, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

Follow Jane Casey 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/janecasey.ie

TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@janecasey.ie

Find all the maps you need for the Art O'Neill challenge

https://hiiker.app/purchases  

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John Muir - Hopefully this name doesn’t require an introduction to listeners of this podcast.

But just in case there are a few that have yet to be acquainted,

John Muir is a scottish-born environmentalist, writer, outdoorsman and is considered to be the Father of the US National Parks and is the founder of The Sierra Club.

As a writer, he is probably one of the most quoted people on the planet.

If you’re looking for a quote to express your love for the outdoors, chances are that google or chat gpt will cough up a bunch of stuff by John Muir.

Many are also probably familiar with the hiking trails left in his name. Most significantly the John Muir Trail (or JMT to the trail connoisseurs) which stretches from the summit of Mount Whitney to Yosemite Valley.

While his name and writings are so well-known around the world, not much is spoken about his life. Which is incredibly surprising considering the life that he had!

From Thousand mile walks (before thru-hiking was even a thing) to facing a wind storm at the top of a 100 ft Douglas spruce and traveling the world, he definitely walked the walk!

I’m certainly no expert on the subject of John Muir and unfortunately, since his passing in 1914, John couldn’t make it for the interview. But thankfully, we have the next best thing! Harold Wood Junior is the co-founder and webmaster for the John muir exhibit which is a virtual museum dedicated to the life and legacy of John Muir.

Harold knows John as if he is a brother. So there was nobody more suited to exploring his life than Harold.

There is so much to learn about John Muir, far more than what could fit into this short episode. We mention books and other resources that you can check out to learn more.

https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_mui...

Find your next Sauntering adventure over at https://hiiker.app/app?utm_source=you...

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Ireland is a small country. You can pretty much drive from one end of the country to the other in less than a day. 

But this small Island off the west coast of Europe, is packed with some of the most beautiful and rugged landscapes in the world. 

Our little Island has 275 mountains according to the Vandeleur-Lynams scale, which classifies a mountain as being over 600m in elevation and 15m prominence. 

While bagging all of these peaks is not as widely spoken about as say the Munroes in Scotland, or the Wainwrights in the Lake District or the 14ers in the US, there are a number of people who have managed to scale all 275. 

My guest this week, Ellie Berry, not only ticked off all 275, but managed to do it in a new record time of 50 days and 5 hours! Beating the previous record by almost 5 days. 

You might remember Ellie as one part of Tough soles - I did a podcast way back with her and her partner Carl who hiked all of the Irish Waymarked trails. 

This time she has conquered a new challenge. 

If it wasn’t already a huge challenge, Ireland had the worst summer for rainfall on record this year. Add into the mix a couple of spills and a missed peak, this was truly an achievement of mind over matter. 

While Ellie is soft spoken, her achievements are almost deafening!

Find more on Tough soles over at https://toughsoles.ie/

Plan your next hiking adventure with HiiKER - https://hiiker.app/

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Reaching the highest point in the Netherlands is not much to boast about. Maybe its worth a photo to post on social media and joke about with your hiking friends. 

But adding on 27 other country high-points, including Mont Blanc, Grossglockner, Teide, Kebnekaise, Ben Nevis and doing them all in 28 days…. That’s something that earns you a throne in the pub for life. 

My guest this week, Ian O’Brien, did just that this year and did it while managing a life with developing Early Onset parkinson's disease. 

The logistics of travel alone would cause chatgpt to implode! But Ian and his crew managed to scale all 28 within that 28 days. 

But as all epic adventures go, It didn’t come without any suffering or failure. With Ian’s condition, some of the climbs were extremely challenging. And the descents were even more risky. Despite all that, he defeated the odds and reached his final peak, here in Ireland, summiting Carrauntohill on the 2nd of july 2023. 

To find out more about Ian's adventures and to make a donation, visit https://eurupian.com/

And don't forget to check out all that HiiKER PRO+ has to offer for free this weekend. Learn more at https://blog.hiiker.app/?p=9187

https://hiiker.app/

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Louis-Philippe Loncke is an, explorer, adventurer, speaking coach and entrepreneur.

He has done 19 expeditions on 5 continents, 14 are world firsts. He has done solo extreme treks across deserts, long distance sea-kayaking on rivers or lakes and scientific expeditions. He is a Life Fellow of the Explorers Club in New York, elected Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, was a Torchbearer for the London Olympic Games and won the European Adventurer of the year 2016 award.

Among his expedition he crossed on foot and completely alone the length of the Simpson desert, the most arid desert of Australia; kayaked around lake Titicaca and survived for 7 weeks trekking across the mountains and wet forests of Tasmania.

He even went back in 2018 to cross Tasmania unressupplied in the winter. Most of his expeditions are solo unsupported treks. He just passed over 10.000km of hiking and 3300km of kayaking on multi days trips and expeditions.

As web entrepreneur, he founded the Expedition Database, the first online encyclopaedia about scientific, exploration and adventure expeditions.

He often raises awareness for an ecological cause and was knighted by Dr. Jane Goodall in the European parliament for his services to raise awareness about water pollution in fragile environments. Find more about him on his socials, his newsletter to know when his films are coming out: https://sleek.bio/lonckelph

Find your next expedition - https://hiiker.app

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Kali is a long distance backpacker and solo hiker that has a passion to make others feel more confident on trail. As an outdoor content creator she really focuses helping everyone feeling safer and prepared as they start their own adventures.

You can find Kali across social media as @Kalihikes

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Tory is a hiker and backpacker based in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. She creates outdoorsy content introducing her followers and readers to amazing places in Pennsylvania and beyond!

As someone who fell in love with outdoors as an adult, she shows that it's never too late to try new things and that you don't have to travel far from home to find great places to explore. You can find her on trail with her dog, Tom, and a LOT of snacks.

Tory's links

Website: https://mytrailsaremany.com/

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/torytalkstrails

youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@torytalkstrails/featured

Tiktok: http://www.tiktok.com/torytalkstrails

To find the perfect hiking trail for your next adventure, visit the HiiKER Website https://hiiker.app

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Matthew was previously the host of the "Humans of the trail" podcast and has long been a strong voice for diversity and inclusivity in the outdoors. Eoin speaks to Matthew about a better outdoors community and how we can get there.

You can find out more about Matthew and his work over at https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-usherwood-4584b2198/

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After an unprecedented break, Eoin is back in the hotseat with yet another episode of the HiiKER Podcast. Yes, after (what seems like) years away from the mic, Co-founder, CMO and host of the HiiKER Podcast, Eoin Hamilton is ready to get back on trail with conversations from the humans of the hiking world.

In this episode, Eoin chats with Chase Tucker, aka, Chase Mountains. Content creator and strength and mobility expert when it comes to the outdoors. Chase is an experienced hiker, backpacker, mountaineer and couples his deep understanding of mobility, strength and rehab with his passion for the outdoors. His unique insight into building strength and fitness to hike further and longer has helped his channel ( https://www.youtube.com/@ChaseMountains) grow to over 194k subscribers.

For more interviews on the podcast, check back through our back-catalogue.

To find the best trails and maps in your area AND to download them offline for free, head to https://hiiker.app/app

Happy Trails

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Cal Dobbs is a trans-man athlete from America. Having already completed the coveted "Triple Crown" of thru-hiking (The Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail & Continental Divide Trail), Cal is now taking on a whole new challenge- running across the USA. Starting on the West coast in California and finishing up in Florida on the East coast, Cal is using this monumental challenge to shine a light for the Trans community in America - in particular the southern states, where Trans people face some of the harshest treatment.

Cal dials in from Arizona after just completing his run across California in roughly 12 days. Thats over 300 mile in that time!

Here are some links where you can support Cal and the charities he represents

Patreon: patreon.com/CalDobbs

Website: caldobbs.com

Latest fundraiser: https://equalityarizona.org/transcontinental

Instagram: @cal_hikes

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdSdibSJIzMZf37Wa_zAidg

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Wesley Trimble previously joined us on the show discussing his work with the American Hiking society. But Wesley's own adventure story is quite interesting. Despite being born with Cerebral Palsy, Wesley was encouraged by his parents to live a life of adventure. From an early age, he was already hiking up the highest peaks in colorado (the 14ers - mountains that reach an elevation of over 14,000ft). This lead him to completing the goal of climbing all 54 of these peaks in Colorado. As well as this amazing feat he has thru-hiked the PCT and the Colorado trail.

Now as a father, Wesley is adapting to family life and viewing and feeling the sense of adventure a different way.

On the show, we discuss Wesley's life of adventure and defying the odds as well as the triumph and tragedy surrounding his completion of climbing all 54 14ers in Colorado.

You can learn more about Wesley's life on his youtube channel - https://youtu.be/2_tNXjeKIaQ

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Sonny Mazzullo is the Education Manager for Wild Montana - an organisation that works to protect the wild places in The state of Montana and inspire people to become stewards for the land they live on, off of, and use for recreation.

You can learn more about the work that Wild Montana does at https://wildmontana.org/our-work/what-we-do/

You can also find thousands of amazing hiking trails in Montana over on HiiKER - https://hiiker.app/trails/montana?utm_source=acast

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Get offline access to over 24,000 hiking trails from around the world on HiiKER: The essential app for hikers worldwide. Use Promo code HIIKERPOD to get 20% off premium packages at checkout.

Kellie Flowers is the Senior Marketing and Communications Manager for Volunteer for Outdoors Colorado. The work of VOC includes trail management and development, as well as engaging the public to empower individuals to become stewards for the land that they cherish.

You can find out more about the work that Kellie and VOC do over at www.voc.org

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After seeing a family member with a massive love for hiking and the outdoors go though a tough battle with health issues, Paul Clarke started a charity event to support those in need of vital health services. Thus the Lugmo challenge was born.

11 years later and over €240,000 raised for charity, Lugmo is becoming a key date in the Irish hiking calendar.

Check out more about Lugmo over on the instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/lugmo_challenge/

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On our 50th an Final episode for 2022, we are joined by one-half of the Blues Brothers that hiked the Appalachian Trail back in 1986, H Shindle. After hiking the trail, the self confessed couch exerciser is getting his trail mojo back by hiking a bunch of trails all over the US and internationally, including Ben Nevis, Kilimanjaro and his native Tuscarora Trail. The latter is the trail he currently sits as committee chair under the banner of the Potomac Appalachian trail club. The PATC is responsible for the maintenance of some 1200 miles of trail, including 200 miles of the Appalachian trail.

Eoin shoots the breeze with H and talks about the changes in the AT over the past 30 years and the future of thru-hiking in the US.

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The American Hiking Society is a national organization that works to support hiking and the nationwide network of trails around the United States of America. Organizing events such as National Trails Day® and Hike The Hill® as well as their regular programs to promote trail advocacy and maintenance, the AHS is truly committed to its mission to "empower all to enjoy, share and preserve the hiking experience".

In this episode, Eoin speaks with Acting Executive Director and Senior Development Director, Heather Klein Olsen, Senior Director for Programs and Advocacy, Tyler Ray and Communications and Creative Director, Wesley Trimble. We dive into the various programs and events that AHS runs as well as a vision for the future of hiking in the US.

Find out more about the American Hiking Society here - https://americanhiking.org/

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Michael Quinn is a hiker, hillwalker and content creator from the west of Ireland. He talks with Eoin about his own mental health struggles and the impact that hiking and hillwalking have had on his life.

Check out Mike's content across his social media channels and Youtube

https://www.instagram.com/mountain.mikes_adventures/

https://www.youtube.com/@MountainMikesAdventures

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Bryan Fennell is the Rural Recreation Officer for Leitrim Development Company, having previously held the post in Wicklow for a number of years.

Bryan brings to the role extensive experience and qualifications in the recreational, mountaineering, watersports and trails sectors. Bryan holds qualifications in a range of adventure sports and is a qualified outdoor education facilitator, having graduated from GMIT in Castlebar with a degree in Outdoor Education and Leisure. He is an avid adventurer, an advocate for exciting activities in the countryside, having sat on the Board of Management of Canoeing Ireland, and speaker at the World Trails Conference. 

The Rural Recreation Officer (RRO) works closely with community groups, small business enterprises and tourism bodies to access advice, support and funding for the development and enhancement of recreational projects, activity tourism and related infrastructure.

There are 21 RROs positions nationwide that are funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development with the support of Fáilte Ireland., The positions stem from the recognition of the important task of developing sustainable tourism in local communities.

Managed by Leitrim Development Company, the position is considered to be an essential link to the continued growth of Leitrim’s tourism sector.

The Rural Recreation Officer also acts as a local connection with stakeholders that include Sport Ireland Outdoors, Coillte, Wicklow Co. Council, Fáilte Ireland, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Wicklow Uplands Council and private landowners who provide recreational users access to their lands. Naturally, the fostering of warm relationships between all interested parties is a key focus to the role.

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Amy Kuber is a mother of 3, Registered Nurse, & creator of the Wanderling Babywearing jacket. She lives with her husband, Chris, in view of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The family loves hiking, backpacking, fishing, skiing, and general tomfoolery.

“Not all who wander are lost, but you better stay where mama can see you!”

Listeners can get 10% off their Wanderling purchase by using the code HIIKER10 at checkout

visit https://wanderling.us for more

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