The Honest Outdoors Podcast

Jarod Anderson and I sat down at Ohio Author Fest in Cambridge, Ohio, to talk about mental health and the outdoors.
Jarod is the author of Something in the Woods Loves You and the creator of The CryptoNaturalist. We share our perspectives as writers and discuss our relationship with the natural world.
My thanks to Ada for organizing the event and to Jarod for sharing the conversation.
Episode resources
Jarod K. Anderson
More from Project Mindfully Outdoors
Read The Honest Wilderness, Across the Gap, and the Field Guide, or return to The Honest Outdoors podcast for more stories and conversations.
Follow my Boone Trace Hike project and support the Boone Trace fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D. Donations support Breakthrough T1D, separate from the costs of my hike.

Why do we keep moving? What are we looking for, and what are we leaving behind?
I share an author talk and selected readings from The Honest Wilderness: Finding Daniel Boone and the Frontier Within. The conversation follows Boone through loss and captivity, then returns to my own questions about solitude, grief, and continuing after life changes.
The historical research became personal. I began by asking why Boone kept moving. Eventually, I had to ask why I did.
More from Project Mindfully Outdoors
Read The Honest Wilderness, Across the Gap, and the Field Guide, or return to The Honest Outdoors podcast for more stories and conversations.
Follow my Boone Trace Hike project and support the Boone Trace fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D. Donations support Breakthrough T1D, separate from the costs of my hike.

Dr. John Fox joins me to discuss Boone Trace, the route Daniel Boone and his company marked toward Kentucky in 1775.
We talk about the distinction between Boone Trace and the later Wilderness Road, how the route changed as roads and development covered parts of it, and the work to identify and preserve what remains.
This conversation closes Season One of The Honest Outdoors.
More from Project Mindfully Outdoors
Read The Honest Wilderness, Across the Gap, and the Field Guide, or return to The Honest Outdoors podcast for more stories and conversations.
Follow my Boone Trace Hike project and support the Boone Trace fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D. Donations support Breakthrough T1D, separate from the costs of my hike.

How does a route that once mattered to so many people disappear from public memory?
I follow the story of Boone Trace, from the Holston country toward the Kentucky River, and consider what happens when a person’s work becomes part of something larger than the recognition they receive.
This Season One episode connects the history behind The Honest Wilderness with questions about purpose and what we leave for others.
More from Project Mindfully Outdoors
Read The Honest Wilderness, Across the Gap, and the Field Guide, or return to The Honest Outdoors podcast for more stories and conversations.
Follow my Boone Trace Hike project and support the Boone Trace fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D. Donations support Breakthrough T1D, separate from the costs of my hike.

What does continuing after loss look like? I bring Daniel Boone’s story into conversation with my own experience of rebuilding a life, reflecting on grief, perseverance, and the difference between moving on and moving forward. The personal meaning I find here is an interpretation, rather than evidence of Boone’s private thoughts.
More from Project Mindfully Outdoors
Read The Honest Wilderness, Across the Gap, and the Field Guide, or return to The Honest Outdoors podcast for more stories and conversations.
Follow my Boone Trace Hike project and support the Boone Trace fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D. Donations support Breakthrough T1D, separate from the costs of my hike.

This episode considers Daniel Boone as a father after the death of his son James, and the questions his eventual return to Kentucky raises about carrying loss.
I bring historical storytelling together with personal reflection on grief and continuing after a life changes. The historical record cannot tell us every private thought Boone carried; the reflection begins with that limit.
More from Project Mindfully Outdoors
Read The Honest Wilderness, Across the Gap, and the Field Guide, or return to The Honest Outdoors podcast for more stories and conversations.
Follow my Boone Trace Hike project and support the Boone Trace fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D. Donations support Breakthrough T1D, separate from the costs of my hike.

Before the familiar stories of Daniel Boone’s road into Kentucky came years of hunting, travel, isolation, and loss.
I look at Boone’s early journeys as a long hunter and consider what those experiences demanded of him. The episode then approaches his attempted migration to Kentucky in 1773, pausing at Solomon’s Cave before the story continues.
Part of Season One of The Honest Outdoors.
More from Project Mindfully Outdoors
Read The Honest Wilderness, Across the Gap, and the Field Guide, or return to The Honest Outdoors podcast for more stories and conversations.
Follow my Boone Trace Hike project and support the Boone Trace fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D. Donations support Breakthrough T1D, separate from the costs of my hike.

What happens when an identity you have spent years building no longer fits your life?
Beginning at Cumberland Gap, I bring Daniel Boone’s story into conversation with my own experience of change. This first episode of The Honest Outdoors considers what we carry forward and what it takes to leave something familiar.
Season One draws on the history and reflections behind The Honest Wilderness.
More from Project Mindfully Outdoors
Read The Honest Wilderness, Across the Gap, and the Field Guide, or return to The Honest Outdoors podcast for more stories and conversations.
Follow my Boone Trace Hike project and support the Boone Trace fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D. Donations support Breakthrough T1D, separate from the costs of my hike.

Why did I start The Honest Outdoors?
In this pilot, I talk about the questions behind the show: identity, resilience, meaning, and what time outdoors can ask of us. I also discuss the connection between my years with Project Mindfully Outdoors and the work behind The Honest Wilderness.
Start here if you’re new to the podcast.
Disclaimer
The Honest Outdoors is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only.
Topics discussed may include outdoor recreation, preparedness, mindfulness, wilderness travel, first aid, and personal experiences.
Nothing in this podcast should be considered medical, mental health, legal, or professional advice.
Always seek qualified instruction and exercise appropriate judgment when making decisions involving your health, safety, or outdoor activities.
More from Project Mindfully Outdoors
Read The Honest Wilderness, Across the Gap, and the Field Guide, or return to The Honest Outdoors podcast for more stories and conversations.
Follow my Boone Trace Hike project and support the Boone Trace fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D. Donations support Breakthrough T1D, separate from the costs of my hike.

This short guided meditation brings attention to breathing, the body, and nature. I invite you to slow down and notice the pause between breaths, without needing to force a particular feeling. Return to it when you want a few minutes for a mindfulness practice.
More from Project Mindfully Outdoors
Read The Honest Wilderness, Across the Gap, and the Field Guide, or return to The Honest Outdoors podcast for more stories and conversations.
Follow my Boone Trace Hike project and support the Boone Trace fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D. Donations support Breakthrough T1D, separate from the costs of my hike.