Podcasts

[Bob McCaw]

I am planning a 2007 NOBO thru and will be carrying an MP3 player, mainly to listen to podcasts. I have several GB loaded and ready to go, but I know I'll be ready for more long before I get to Maine.

Can anyone relate from personal experience whether it is possible/easy to download podcasts from internet access points along the trail? I realize that many libraries block such activity for security reasons.

Thanks and happy trails.

[Touch of Grey]

Cannot speak to the exact subject you are bringing up Bob, however I would seriously reconsider the thought. Unless weight is not and issue nor is personal safety.

The reason I say this is that while hiking you may want to keep your ears free of the distraction of the music or talking in your ear in order to hear what 'Mother Nature' is talking about. It could save you from scaring a deer, bear, skunk or other animal and possibly being hurt from this encounter because you could not react fast enough to the problem due to your ears being stuffed.

The other problem involves the additional weight of the wall-wart charger in your pack to carry around or waiting the couple of hours it takes to use the USB port to charge you IPod.

But hey you will do what you think is right. I myself in doing my prehike found that it was a waste of time and weight for me to carry mine around and when you make camp you have a thousand other things you need to do. That in and of itself should keep you busy day-in and day-out. Besdies like you seem to have alluded to, after you have heard the tunes you have a few times what do you do next? Save yourself the time and weight and leave it home.

TOG

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

As Touch of Grey says, hiking with earphones is not a good idea. You cannot hear a rattle snake with earphones and hearing those is really important so you can keep your distance.

[Bob McCaw]

I called the public libraries between Hiawassee and Pearisburg, and it seems about half allow downloads of podcasts and half don't. So it will certainly be possible to get stuff to listen to. The downloads must be to a generic MP3 player, not an iPod, which requires proprietary software.

I'm sure the advice about not carrying the MP3 player is well intentioned, but perhaps I should have said that I don't listen to it on the trail, just at night. It runs on one AAA battery and weighs two ounces.

[Bob McCaw]

Mostly they're from NPR. There is lots of good content there, having to do with current events, medicine, entertainment, you name it. I'm going to download a series on learning Italian (very basic). Trailcast.com has a series of interviews with people connected with the AT and other trails, too.

As I say, it's mostly for listening at night after I get in my tent but before I'm ready to go to sleep.

[GlazeDog]

Princeton University has some amazing and lengthy podcasts. I just listened to 7.5 hours of talk by leading experts on food, environment, and ethics. Amazing!!!

You'll be missing the really interesting sounds of the woods. The podcasts will be there when you return.

GlazeDog