On today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, presented by Topo Athletic, we’re joined by Caleb “Meatball” Adcock, a professional photographer and hiker who completed the AT last year and is currently halfway through the CDT, doing it almost entirely alone.
Caleb tells us how he built a career shooting for brands like Hyperlite and Jetboil while hiking, why authentic trail photography looks so different than what brands used to put out there, contracting Lyme disease on the AT and spending four days at the Yellow Deli, sleeping floating in a pool for four days, what it’s really like to hike the CDT almost completely alone for months at a time, what he’s learning about himself in solitude, and the time he was attacked by an angry mom moose. times near Leadville.
We end the show with my review of the popular KETL Mtn No Fry Sun Hoodie Review, a complex question of the day involving depriving the rest of the world of access to food or cooking appliances, the triple crown of ways you would behave differently if there were no ramifications, Why You Should Never Take Gear Advice Seriously, and many tears shed as this is Chaunce’s last Backpacker Radio studio visit as a Colorado resident.
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Interview with Caleb “Meatball” Adcock
Timestamps and questions
00:05:15 – Processing
00:06:45 – Reminders: Subscribe to the Trek newsletter, Subscribe to Trek’s new YouTube channel, Trek: On Trailand listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon!
00:12:50 – Introducing the meatball
00:20:40 – Discussion on impression balance on social media
00:21:45 – Did you ever worry about posting shitty photos?
00:23:43 – What is the most unprofessional thing you have done in one of your videos?
00:27:30 – Discussion on authenticity with brand photography.
00:29:14 – Which of your photos or videos have become the most viral?
00:33:03 – At what stage of your career did you get involved in photography?
00:36:00 – How did you determine your price?
00:39:00 – What brands have you worked with?
00:43:45 – Have you had any entertainment requests that you’ve turned down?
00:46:55 – What did you study at university?
00:51:00 – How do you quantify the value of your work?
00:55:25 – What is the funniest interaction you have had with someone who recognized you?
00:58:30 – How did you start backpacking?
01:04:05 – How did you decide to hike the AT last year?
01:11:40 – Give us the pros and cons of hiking in sections versus hiking through
01:19:40 – Tell us about getting Lyme
01:32:45 – Do you have any funny stories about trail connections?
01:35:15 – Are you obsessed with hot dogs?
01:43:10 – Why did you choose the CDT for your second tour?
01:47:20 – How has loneliness been in the CDT?
01:52:10 – How do you stay happy and motivated when hiking alone?
01:55:41 – What is one of the difficult days you have had so far?
01:58:20 – Are you considering slowing down to join other hikers?
02:02:15 – Did you ever think about quitting?
02:07:00 – Discussion on taking zero days to reset
02:10:00 – Do you feel a greater sense of presence on this walk?
02:11:56 – Tell us about how a moose accused you.
02:23:00 – What else do you want to share about CDT?
02:25:10 – If you were the director of photography at the BPR studio, what would you do differently?
02:26:20 – Peak Performance Question: What’s your best performance-enhancing or backpacking trick?
Segments
Treatment
Propaganda clues
QOTD: Would you rather A) every time you eat a particular food, the rest of the world loses access to this food for 24 hours, people know this (you may receive threats, but you are protected or B) every time you use a deep fryer or a microwave, everyone else on earth becomes unusable until you finish using them (you may receive threats, but you are protected)?
Triple Crown of ways you would behave differently if there were no ramifications
Sun Hoodie Review
Stupid thing of the week
Processing again
Patent pending
mail bag
5 star review
Check out our sound technician. @mi_chico_pauly/ and your coffee.
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