On today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, presented by LMNT, we are joined by our friend Elise Ott, also known as Sauce, who tells us step by step about her recent hike along the Portuguese Camino coastal route with her parents.
SOS guides us through the Camino as a tribute to his late brother Curtis, who passed away in February 2025 after years of living with schizoaffective disorder. She shares her story with honesty and humor, including the time she stole a county parks truck in a three-piece suit, drove it across state lines and congratulated the police officer who accosted him, and explains what it’s like to love someone whose illness made it impossible to help him, why she doesn’t know exactly how he died, and what it meant to scatter his ashes along the coast of Portugal with her parents.
Elise also shares what the Portuguese Way coastal route is really like, the food situation (and why it was so-so), what it was like to hike the trail through a tour operator, navigating language barriers with limited Spanish, and what it’s like to walk 13 days with your parents and be closer to the other side.
We end the show with 2026 hiking trends and whether they’re really worth it, debating the classic raccoon who knows your secrets versus the goose who overreacts to everything debate, the women’s team triple crown, I’m Very Dumb and I Pulled My Hamstring, and we covered a bag of mail about wearing contact lenses on the trail.
Warning: This episode contains candid discussion of mental illness, substance abuse, family trauma, and the death of a loved one.
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Interview with Elise “SOS” Ott
Timestamps and questions
00:05:35 – Reminders: Join us for Chaunce’s Live Podcast Farewell, send your favorite Chaunce moments or a voice message to Chaunce, Calling all CDT hikers – suggest yourself as a guest, subscribe to the Trek newsletterand listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon!
00:12:30 – Introducing Elise
00:14:00 – What does a career coach do?
00:19:01 – How do you handle the social pressure of running on Strava?
00:23:09 – How did you end up choosing the Portuguese Coastal Way?
00:26:06 – What are the daily kilometers, pace and logistics like on the Camino?
00:29:04 – What was the food like in Portugal and Spain?
00:35:05 – What was the cost of using a tourist service? Was it worth it?
00:38:59 – What are the highlights of the towns along the route?
00:45:00 – Discussion about Curtis and the reason for the walk.
00:46:18 – What is schizoaffective disorder and how did Curtis disease develop?
00:55:51 – What’s the story about Curtis stealing the county van in a three-piece suit?
01:03:10 – Were the rehabilitation periods ever helpful for Curtis?
01:18:39 – What was it like fearing for your parents’ safety?
01:28:35 – How are your parents? Was the walk an exercise in positive grief?
01:32:13 – What do you know about how Curtis died?
01:41:12 – What advice would you give to people who love someone with a serious mental illness?
01:45:15 – What were the highlights and best moments of the Camino?
01:46:53 – How did you overcome the language barriers in Portugal and Spain?
01:48:24 – What are the funniest parenting quirks you discovered during the walk?
01:57:03 – What equipment do you recommend for the Camino?
02:07:15 – What was the funniest thing that happened along the way?
02:10:01 – What is it like to manage sleep apnea with a CPAP while backpacking?
02:23:04 – What are your top recovery tips for ultrarunning?
02:27:54 – 2026 Hiking Trends Discussion: Sleeping Pad Inflators and Alpha Direct
Segments
Propaganda Clues: Hiking gear trends for 2026, and if I think they’re really worth it by Livvy Weld
QOTD: Would you rather have a raccoon know all your secrets and occasionally hint at them or have a goose publicly overreact to everything you do?
Stupid thing of the week
Team Triple Crown that you can find that is female.
mail bag
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