"I Had A Big Old Blank Canvas." - Watergirl (Part I)

About the Guest Andrea "Watergirl" Zelinski is a writer, former political reporter, and two-trail thru-hiker based in North Carolina. She covered the Texas State Legislature for the Houston Chronicle and Austin-based outlets before hiking the Appalachian Trail during the COVID pandemic in 2020. The AT led her to abandon political journalism, pivot to travel writing as senior cruise editor for Travel Weekly — a job that took her on 36 trips across five continents in three years, including Antarctica — and then to leave that job too, in 2025, to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. She is currently working on a memoir about the experience. Trail name: Watergirl. Named by a man called Medicine Man in Georgia after she embarrassed herself at a water source. They have been friends ever since. She follows @adventuresofwatergirl. What's Covered in Part 1 Trail Name — Watergirl Trailblazer's Toolkit — Trekking Poles The Hiking Poll — Score: 24 The Vermont Lightning Strike COVID 2020 — Hiking in the 1980s The McDonald's Cheeseburger Closest to Quitting — The Cold and the Dogs Links & Resources Watergirl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adventuresofwatergirl The Name of the Stars: A Life in the Wilds — Pete Fromm. Watergirl's Off the Beaten Path recommendation — a memoir about nature, fatherhood, and what happens as we age. Blaze Physio —: https://www.blazephysio.com Appalachian Trail Conservancy — www.appalachiantrail.org — Pay It Forward: volunteer for local trail maintenance. Pacific Crest Trail Association: https://www.pcta.org Connect with Hiker Trash Radio Email: mailto:hikertashradio@gmail.com Social: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok — search Hiker Trash Radio. Part 2 drops in 10 minutes. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it takes 60 seconds and makes a real difference. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.