Nicole Antoinette recently released a trail journal of her 2017 thru-hike of the Arizona Trail called “How to Be Alone.” And that’s what we met up to talk about on a trail near Boston: how her first thru hike came to be, how she persevered, and why she decided to add to the trail journal canon.

Growing up Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant loved watching nature shows — and she paid a lot of attention to the humans that showed up in front of the camera. Not seeing anyone in the host position who looked like her, Rae made it her goal to become a wildlife ecologist.