National Parks Traveler Podcast | A Walk in the Park

National Parks Traveler Podcast | A Walk in the Park

Author: Kurt Repanshek December 29, 2024 Duration: 1:07:47

Many of us like to take a walk in our favorite national park, whether it's a short stroll down one of the boardwalks at Yellowstone National Park, the hike to the top of Old Rag at Shenandoah National Park, or up the Mist Trail at Yosemite National Park, we like to get out and experience parks up close.

As you might imagine, there are walks in the National Park System, and then there are walks. Kevin Fedarko and his photographic sidekick Pete McBride took one of those "other" hikes in Grand Canyon National Park. And it didn't initially go as planned. While Fedarko raised some serious blisters on his feet that required duct tape to protect, McBride almost needed a medical evacuation from the backcountry. 

Still, the hike - or rather hikes - generated a compelling book from Fedarko titled, appropriately enough, "A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon".


There's a world of stories waiting beyond the park entrance sign, and the National Parks Traveler Podcast is your audio guide to them. Led by Kurt Repanshek, this series goes deeper than trail maps and visitor statistics. It connects the natural wonder you experience firsthand with the crucial, often unseen work happening behind the scenes-the science informing conservation, the cultural histories embedded in the landscape, and the policy decisions that will shape these places for future generations. As the audio companion to the editorially independent nonprofit media organization, this podcast delivers a thoughtful blend of on-the-ground reports, interviews with researchers and park staff, and nuanced discussions about the challenges and triumphs in managing protected areas. You'll hear the sounds of the parks and the voices of the people dedicated to them. Each episode is an invitation to better understand the complex tapestry of ecology, history, and society that makes every national park far more than a scenic destination. Tune in for a regular dose of insight that will deepen your appreciation and perhaps even shape your next journey into America's most treasured public lands.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

National Parks Traveler Podcast
Podcast Episodes
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Wildlife Crossings [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:57
Across the United States, there are many thousands of collisions between vehicles and wildlife each year, killing people and animals and causing millions of dollars in property damages. Some solutions revolve around crea…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Polluting Parks With Light [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:35
You might not entirely appreciate the wonders and majesty of national parks unless you venture out after dark and gaze up at what often is referred to as the other half of the national park system. The view can be quite…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Florida's Ailing Reef [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:44
Warming oceans, pollution, more potent hurricanes, anchor drops, dredging and trawling. The Florida Reef struggles with a lot of impacts today. In fact, only about 2 percent of the reef that stretches some 350 miles from…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Managing Capitol Reef's Visitors [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:16
Capitol Reef National Park in Utah is one of the Mighty Five, as the state likes to say in its tourism promotions, and while it's somewhat off the beaten path, visitors are finding it. In 2024, visitation to the park was…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | 1,000 Western Wonders [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:53
What do you do, where do you go, when you pull into your favorite national park and can't find a place to park or a trail without crowds? Those are good questions probably going through many people's minds as the nationa…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Congaree's Big Trees [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:03
Congaree National Park is an often-overlooked unit of the National Park System. Indeed, only about 250,000 visitors set foot in Congaree each year. Those who do are awestruck by the size of the trees there, as the park c…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Bats in the Parks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:09
A growing majority of bat species are in serious trouble, largely because of white nose syndrome, a deadly fungal disease that resembles a white fuzz on infected bats. As the disease has spread across the country, it's d…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Big Bend's Big Wall [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:29
Big Bend National Park lately has drawn a lot of national attention, and not in a good way. Recently the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol announced that it wanted to build some sort of border wall along all or part of the…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Revisiting the ESA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:54
To put some perspective on the National Parks Travelers' monthslong coverage of threatened and endangered species, we're going to go back in time a bit today to replay a podcast in which we discussed the ESA — and possib…