133 : Solo On The John Muir Trail | Preparing to Hike 250 Miles Alone (Sam's Prep)

Two hundred and fifty miles sounds heroic until you do the math: high altitude starts around 9,000 feet, relentless climbs that add up to roughly 55,000 feet, and the daily reality of moving through the Sierra Nevada with a fully loaded pack. We’re recording right before Sam steps onto the John Muir Trail, and we get painfully honest about what “prepared” actually means when you’re going solo for 20 plus days.

We talk through the permit lottery, why she’s hiking northbound from Cottonwood Pass, and how weather windows, resupply exits, and wilderness rules shape every decision. Then we go deeper into the backstory that makes this more than a thru-hike: the grief of losing her brother, the choice to carry his ashes to a specific pass, and the way solitude in nature becomes an initiation rather than just an adventure.

If you’ve ever tried to come back after setbacks, this will hit. Sam shares how she rebuilt  her mental and physicial body after gut infections, a major back injury, back surgery, and months of physical therapy. Plus, the training principles that actually translate to mountain travel: strength and mobility first, slow progression, nutrition that supports recovery, and a mindset that refuses “summit at any cost.” We also cover real trail safety, from bears and bear canisters to river crossings, snow travel, Garmin inReach planning, and why trusting your gut can be the difference between a great story and a rescue.

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Transcript

Welcome And The Big Goal

Polly Mertens 0:27

Hey superstars, welcome back. Polly here. And Sam Pruitt. What's up, beautiful humans? Oh, this is gonna be a fun one. This is like this is all about you, girl. This is all about you. How not to die on the John Mirror Trail is what we've called this. And you have no plans of dying on the John Mirror Trail. I know that. Right. No. No, no, no. Yeah. So let's But I'm the guest today. Yes.

Samantha Pruitt 0:52

Samantha Bruitt is heading out on the John Mirror Trail. And why don't you like, yeah, you know the logistics of like miles and feet and stuff like that. So what are we talking about today? What what you know, what trip are you about to embark on? Tell us a little bit about like the trip itself. Give me the context. What is the John Muir Trail for somebody who's maybe never heard of it? Yeah. And if you haven't, get a grip. No screen. The John Muir Trail is one of the through, one of the famous through hikes. So through hikes and backpacks are where you go from end to end, and you know, you do day after day of crazy enormous things with a backpack on your back. Uh the John Muir Trail specifically goes through the John Muir Wilderness. The trail is 211 miles, but I'm going to be doing about 250 miles, maybe a little bit more than that, because I have to get to the trail. So I have to take the PCT, Pacific Rest Trail, to the trail south of Mount Whitney. And then I get on the John Muir, do the entire John Muir, and then I have to exit twice to resupply. So hence all the additional mileage. Accumulative, it'll be about 55,000 feet of climbing. Uh-huh. Yeah. And about 45 to 50,000 feet of descending. So let's just say these legs are about to get at it. Okay. Those legs and those feet. And we're talking and what it like Everest is how many feet? Like just to give somebody like this is like two Everests or something? Or I mean or I think it's like two and a half Everests. Yeah. I mean, not the same altitude. It is a high altitude hike. So like I start, when I start, I'm already at like 9,000 feet. Yeah.

Polly Mertens 2:35

And then I go up and down, up and down, up and down. You know, some of the peaks are 11,000, 12,000, 13,000, and then you come back down and they go back up. So yeah, it's just a lot of climbing and descending.

Samantha Pruitt 2:46

Wow.

Polly Mertens 2:47

And it goes across the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which is in California. And what have you, you know, you, I don't know how much you've studied. I I I'm fascinated by John Muir as a human being. I went to his, there's a forest dedicated to him in Northern California, north of San Francisco. So I went to the John, it's called Mirror Woods or something like that. And

What The John Muir Trail Is

Polly Mertens 3:06

just these amazing, you know, like Yosemite exists because of John Muir. Can we just say that? Like, like he is why we have Yosemite. And I think the start of our national parks was like part of the seedling that he is. So what do you know about this Muir Trail? That like, why do this trip? What was it about that? Was it being in nature? Why, why go on this epic freaking adventure? Yeah, with Muir, it's really interesting. I mean, he's totally legendary in all things, the natural, you know, world, and in particular, the United States natural world. He's slightly controversial because for a man of his times, he did say and do some things that these days we would say are not politically correct. So there's a little controversy there. But overall, this trail and the wilderness that has been protected and named after him is purely magical. And really, he was one person who brought about most of the awareness and was doing some of the advocacy. But frankly, there's so many people that actually made this trail. It's just mind-blowing. And then I also found out, and now I'm trying to remember because I just had a brain fart if it was the PCT or the John Muir Trail. This might be the PCT. So if I'm wrong, forget me. But it was actually a woman's idea. Oh, this was the you and I did the PCT. It was the PCT. Yeah, yeah. You and I were on the PCT. Premier, then it was a different advocacy advocacy group in Northern California, basically, that started the whole process. And those are the really the people that made it happen. But he was like, hey, y'all, nature's a thing. Get outside. An exquisite was an exquisite writer and documentaritarianism, you know, around like telling the story of nature that really pulled people in, including governments and agencies and just lay people like me into the space, right? So it's that type of person who's like, hey, do you see all of this natural world? A, you need to be out there and appreciate it because that's what real life is. And his writings are magnificent. And then, you know, just really helping to tell that story is what created people, the desire for people to want to preserve these lands and allow the public, like me, to utilize them at a future date rather than having them full of homes and you know, all kinds of stuff. But to be clear, we're on native land. So this was all native land. You're all on native land, and including this experience, you know. So if you think about that and the depth of that beauty and awe, that's really also quite magnificent. The peoples, the indigenous people that have lived in these mountains forever, you know, since the beginning of man. So some of the things we're going to go over. So I want to hear, you know, like why you're doing this trip, why you're doing it now. You have been preparing for this epic adventure for months. And we'll go into some of the places that you started in, you know, like from last year, you know, you were injured, you know, and now here almost a year later, it's like you're about to crush 250 miles. It's like, what the hell is, you know, and and there's been a long journey. Like you're about to take an epic journey, but you've been on a journey for a while. So let's start with. So before we go into like all the nitty-gritty, and I just can't wait, because you're such a good, I mean, like you, so if you guys if you're tuning into this and you don't know who Sam Pruitt is, okay, let me just give you a little quick backstory and you can add to this. But like ultra marathoner, triathlete, iron woman, ultra woman. I mean, you've just got into backpacking just a couple years ago, you know, like maybe three or four years ago, if you will. But like you're all things outdoor and endurance for many, many years, you know, run businesses around getting people outside, getting people on their feet, getting people moving. So it's no surprise to me that at 57, 50, almost coming up on 58, that you're like bing, like I'm going and doing something even bigger, right? So I'm super stoked. I want to hear why are you doing this? Like, what where did this start to come from? Like, why do this? Why, why do, yeah? Like, tell me a little bit of the backstory, help people understand. Yeah, the impetus. Well, I did start casually backpacking. You were on the first backpacking trip, weren't we hilarious? Yeah, we had no idea what the hell we were doing. It was and I'm still in the beginners. So if I went out with you, I'd be like, you know, you've been preparing for this. Like, yeah, well, it helps that I work part-time with REI

Grief, Purpose, And A Pilgrimage

Polly Mertens 7:33

and do a lot of things specific. And most people know what REI is. Uh, but yeah, I've gotten gotten more and more expert in it for sure in the last year, as I knew I would be doing something like this someday, one day, right? It was always kind of like a dream. The John Muir Muir in particular, because originally I thought I was going to do PCT, but just do California, which is still on the list, and that'll happen at some point. But what preempted that was it actually was my brother's dream to do the John Muir Trail. And he did do segments of it and particularly was obsessed and went many times to over Corsair Cursage Pass and into Cursage Lakes, which is an area I will be in. And so because he passed in December, I was at the time helping to care for him and spend a lot of time with him. So we would talk about this adventure I was gonna go on. So it was really just lovely for us to have this thing to share and talk about planning and just give him something to think about and envision and visualize me out there doing this. And so he knew I was gonna do it, you know, and I'm taking some of his ashes, and I will, of course, deliver them to the top of Corsage Pass and Cersage Lake Lake even. But yeah, so that's really the emphasis for doing it now. And when he passed in December, I was already committed to doing it. It was a matter of getting my permit and the whole lottery system and all that kind of stuff. So that's what's determined the date that I go is the permit. Permits are very difficult to get, but doing it really feels to me like a pilgrimage. And, you know, at the same time, like a very deeply personal initiation of sorts around my own self and identity in the next chapters of my life at this age, in this body, you know, with this kind of spiritual path that I'm on and things like that. So it all really sort of ties together. It's pretty intense stuff, honestly. This is not just me backpacking on a trip, you know. I've done those trips too, you know, with friends and whatever. It's part of the reason I'm doing it solo, is for that reason specifically, is I want 20, 21, 22 days in the wilderness by myself with great intention. Yeah, and I think that's really what sets us apart is yeah, there's a lot of training. Yeah, there's a lot of physical stuff and logistics, but how you approach things, I think you apply that. I would say, having, you know, been there as I've watched you step up to the race line of, you know, several races, it's never just running. It's never just going out and backpacking. It's like you have such intentionality and you're connected to so much more inside yourself and greater that you create this bigger context. Like you're like, this is, you know, I think I've been hearing you leading up to this. You haven't said the word yet, but I think we've talked about like oh, it started with an I. It was your initiation. Yeah, like there's some sort of initiation. And I don't even know, I don't even know if you know what that means quite yet, right? Like it's like there's a threshold that you cross as you take that first step, right? And it's like, okay, I'm I'm I'm you like like a leap of faith, like, okay, I'm out in the wilderness, and what's gonna happen, right? So totally, totally, and being completely at peace with whatever does happen and feeling capable and all of those things. But yeah, it's not just a physical journey, and I do have have always felt that way about endurance sports. But as I get older and I try different things, especially the more and more and more they are connected to nature, which is where I feel my best self and my most whole self, then it has that other really incredible depth of power and meaning and connection to the greater world and to the natural world and to all of humanity and all of that, you know. So it's really just like this incredible encapsulated thing when you drop into the wild like that, right? You're really re-rewilding yourself. Where was I? Oh, I was somewhere recently. Uh I was on a hike, I think, last weekend with my training partner, and we went into this like oak grove, right? You know, and we're and as you know, it was just like Alan hadn't been there before. And I was like, oh yeah, I was just kind of describing it to him a little bit. And we got there, and it I hadn't been there in maybe like six to nine months or something. And as and I felt the grandeur of it again, and I was and I was like describing it. And then when we went home and I was like describing to someone, I was like, it was like an oak cathedral. I was like, you know, and so there's these, you know, spiritual it's a church out there, yeah. If that's how people hell yeah, I mean, you know, I feel that way about my backyard trails, totally, totally like I'm all I'm walking into a mausoleum, a church, a significant, you know, area of ancient wisdom and native people and all of the just beauty and the natural elements of the dirt and the rocks and the trees and the animals and all that kind of stuff. Like, what it doesn't get better than that. Come on, people tune into it. So let's talk about like so you set this goal. So in December of that was 2025, you were, and now like now it's the logistics. I mean, it's not easy, like you said, to get the damn permit. I remember you were like week after week after week. So, you know, tell me, tell us like, okay, like how did how what did you have to do to secure the permit? How many times did

Permits, Timing, And Going Northbound

Polly Mertens 13:02

you try? Like, and and like getting time off work and all that some of these logistics. Tell us some of that. Yeah, yeah. So the first thing you have to do besides committing to yourself that you're doing this, okay. So that is that leap of faith, that courage, bravery, you know, slight stupidity, whatever you want to call it. I don't care. And then, and then you do have to actually start the logistical planning. This is no small fee to be out, you know, self-supported. Because I'm going solo, right? Totally self-supported for 20-something days in the middle of freaking nowhere. But you do have to have a permit. So you can't just willy-nilly go into these wild places without permits. Almost most trails and all of the long trails do require permits. So you have to go online, recreation.gov, you have to basically find the trails that you're trying to utilize, and then you apply for those specific permits. So, like you guys did Whitney recently, you know, you have to get a permit for Whitney. You can't just go climbing Mount Whitney, right? So, same thing, recreation.gov, you go on there. Well, I was trying to go the traditional route, which is southbound, starting Yosemite, finishing on Whitney. And I tried for six weeks entering the lottery, paying, entering the lottery, paying. It's not expensive, but it does add up. And you every week and every week, and then you're rejected, and you're rejected, and you're rejected because there's thousands and thousands of people trying to get these permits, right? And they release 50 a day. So your odds are pretty shit. And I got to, yeah, about the seventh week, and I was like, I I'm not gonna be able to do it this year, a based on time off and timing, but also there's weather windows, there's all these other things that you need to consider. You don't just go when there's snow and you actually can't pass on the desert and freeze to death. Right. You know, like there's all these other variables for consideration. And I knew for me, living here in the desert, that going in the summer was ideal. And also getting time off work from my projects, the summertime was going to be ideal. So there were these other personal elements to it. So anyway, I finally just bailed all together on hoping and praying I'd get that southbound permit. And I started applying for the northbound permit. So I was applying for southbound and northhound at the same time. So I did that for three weeks, and then eventually I got the northbound permit from Cottonwood Pass on the PCT into the John Muir and then northbound, and I will exit at Yosemite. So I'm going the opposite direction, which is just not as popular and all of that, which I I don't care. And the reason is for good reason, because it's quite a bit harder. Because out of the gate, you start with the big mountain passes. So you're like not leisurely working your way into this 250-mile hike. You're like, so anyway, hey, guess what? Here's Whitney. Waiting. And generally, people, especially because of the high altitude acclimation and all the they're not fans of that, getting punched in the face day one, two, three, four, five, right.

Samantha Pruitt 16:04

Yeah.

Polly Mertens 16:05

Uh so it just is what it is. And it just means that for me, the beginning of the hike, because I don't live at altitude, um, I'll be a lot slower. And I am totally fine with that. This is my journey, and I will do what I need to do when I need to do it. I mean, I have a rough plan and we can get into that, but like I am also so open to anything could happen. I could go faster, I could go slower. I could and highly probably will hit storms and will have to adjust my movement because of that and safety parameters, right? Whatever. I might not feel good one day. I might feel like a freaking machine. Maybe I do two passes one day because I'm like superhuman. How the hell do I know? I have no idea. Yeah, I really have no idea. And I'm totally cool with all that. Do you get and it's totally off, but I want to come back to a little bit. But do I was just thinking like trail name? Do you already have a trail name? I forget. No, I don't have one. That happens when you're out there on the trail, and it's usually people in that hiking community that you're around. Not that I'm hiking with anyone, but like at the camps, and then over the days and the miles, you sort of get that, and then people generally assign that to you because of some weird little quirky thing you might have going on. Me quirky? Can't wait to hear it. I don't think I'll be getting a trail name because I have no quirky. Exit with that one. But I don't know. For me, it might be something that I give myself based on the experience. I don't know. Again, like I'm open to what's gonna happen. No idea. So so tell me about the frame of mind. So even you know, some people are sitting here going, okay, coming up on 58 years old. You're like, you're gonna come out of the other end. Oh, I turned 57 on August 7th. Sorry, sorry, 50. Yeah, that's 57 on so don't try and steal my ears. I got shit to do. No, but like who I'm not a young person. Who even says, let me go out solo? Like, how many people have you told? Like, I'm going, well, you work, you know, you're at REI. A this even those people are like, oh hell no, solo female, 57. What? And I'm like, Yeah. Um initially, a lot of people were slightly terrified. You know, was I gonna be safe and all the things that they have stories in their head? And of course, I said, Yeah, I'm gonna be good. I'm totally good. I don't have that fear that you have, and all these ideas that you have, and whatever's going on in your brain. I don't have that, but thank you for your enthusiasm. And now, of course, people have just accepted as I've been planning and doing logistics and training and buying equipment and all those kind of things. And really, there's a whole army of people now that are incredibly right supportive and understanding and are behind me a thousand percent. Was there ever so was there ever a time where this seemed like an audacious goal to you, or has it always felt like, oh yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do that? Like, did it like um truthfully, it never ever felt audacious. Okay. Okay. So I just like I, when I know something in my bones, I just know it. And this was definitely one of those things, and I never have hesitated or wavered. The training was, you know, besides logistics, and we'll get into training next, but like taking on the training was a little initially like, whoa, you know, what's gonna be required? And can I do it coming out of the last year I just had? Will I be fit enough? So that was probably the only very small consideration was like that training, I had such a big gap to close. And it was like, was I gonna be able to close it? But in terms of, and again, we'll get into that, but like in terms of me mentally saying, I can do this, fuck yeah, dude. Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, what's beautiful is because I've known you for however many years we've known each other, and I've seen you go after goal. Like, I remember when you set the goal for Iron Man, you know, a couple of years ago. And and it was like, and you weren't in Iron Man shape at all. It was like, uh-uh, like, you know, but you you set those goals, and I remember Moab, the Moab 240, you know, it was like, holy, you know, these things. And then you just like you said, it's a closing the gap. It's like, okay, there is a journey to get there. I don't just like wake up one day and want to go do the Moab 240 or hike the John Mirror trail. John Mirror did. I don't know. Some of this is, you know, I I think I watched a movie about that story, and it was like, he's just hiking around with a freaking canteen and like boots from the 1900s or 1910s or something. It was like, whoa, you know, like so, so we've got gear, thank you, REI, and and all the stuff that you found. But so I I think now we because we've been talking about the the training, let's talk about that. Like, what was the gap? And tell us, tell everybody, because I I've been around you long enough to know what was going on in your body last year. And so what, eight almost 18 months ago, almost two years ago, you were at Iron Man. Tell us like what happened after that, or as much as you want, you know, and how you started closing this gap, you know, and you had a couple setbacks along the way, right? Totally, totally. That Iron Man training was just a lot of long, slow distance cardio. So I wasn't even that fit, honestly. Wasn't doing a lot of strength training, was doing a lot of zone two and just like plodding along endlessly, like sucking up gazillions of miles just to make sure I could make a 140-mile race, you know, swimming back and running, swimming back and running, swimming back

Illness, Back Injury, And Surgery

Polly Mertens 21:20

and running. Sort of the monotony of it all. Sorry, Drathlon, but that's who you are. So then I did that race. Lots of things went wrong that day, but I did finish the race, and I ended up coming down immediately with SIBO and SIFO. So SIBO is small intestinal bacteria infection. SIFO is the fungal version of that, and water exposure, not great. You know, you're in the water a long ass time, two and a half miles. That is, you know, a long time to be submerged in water, and that stuff is getting in every orifice, including your mouth and your nose and everything. And so I came out of that and had nothing but gut issues, gut issues, gut issues. And going in, my gut was already leaky and permeable from all of the training and all of the stress and everything else. So I was a perfect host for SIBO and SIBO basically.

Samantha Pruitt 22:09

And then you worked her.

Polly Mertens 22:11

Yeah. And then you worked with coaches for like six months or not. I mean, you were doing detox. I I did a lot of health coaching stuff trying. To heal that first naturally. Yeah. And then ultimately I had to take antibiotics because we weren't able to kill it, which was a bummer but crazy.

Samantha Pruitt 22:27

Yeah.

Polly Mertens 22:27

And so uh yeah, that went on forever. And also we thought there could be some other underlying things. So we had to do all this other testing and rule out female cancers and you know, colonoscopy, all the different things. And luckily that was all clear. And we did, or I did ultimately heal that. So hallelujah. But yeah, that was not that took six months of from post-iron man to really even feeling well. Well, you know, I didn't seem like dude. I felt like so. Iron Man was in like November, and it was like middle of the summer that year, not 2025. I think that you were, I mean, you weren't working out very much. You just were feeling like crap all the time, you know, just lack of energy and just working, you know, like that's was your focus is like heal this gut, heal this gut thing. And so coming out of the summer, you know, 2025, tell us then what happened. Yeah. And then in addition to that stuff that was happening, you know, my brother did have cancer and was in cancer treatment. So I was trying to be helpful there, just other family stuff and stress and life and work, it just like there was a big load. So there was a physical load on my immune system and my body fighting these infections. And then additionally, there was a huge emotional and stress load coming from all these other areas called life. Really, just called life, you know? Which led me to slowly go back to the gym and kind of, you know, be doing things. And I was getting back in shape or shape for me, you know, it's all relative, but mostly doing CrossFit, very little running. I wasn't super inspired to do a lot of cardio at that point because I had kind of fried myself with Iron Man, but trail running. So a combination of trail running and crossfit is sort of what I was up to at that moment. And then unfortunately, I hurt I came out of Iron Man with a little bit of low back issue from sitting on the bike and running on the pavement for so many miles, especially like with hypothermia and the wind and all the things. So I had a like a locked-up pelvis low back lock that I wasn't able to undo, even though I kept rationalizing it was this kind of injury and it was maybe this thing and whatever. Um, at the end of the day, I know that my back was totally compromised because I ended up uh blowing my back out at CrossFit. So that was the first injury was in August. So I actually injured myself for the first time in August. Again, I thought it was something totally different because of my history. I mean, I was treating that, and then I went back to CrossFit and was continuing. And then in September, while visiting my brother and going to his CrossFit up there, I just totally blew my back out doing deadlifts and running and pull-ups and all of these crazy things that we do. I just was a wild woman like I am, and I went total overkill, and that was it. I ended up on the floor, immobilized in this random ass CrossFit gym, you know, where I don't even hardly know these people. And they're like, oh, what's going on with the old lady over there? And I drug myself out of there. But that's when basically I blew out L4, L5, and I had full compression on what's called the S1 nerve route. So that's down your left side, left leg, left foot, all of that kind of stuff had, you know, massive compression. So then I was basically fully injured and not able to really function. Level nine. You were, I mean, I remember the pain you were in when we would talk, and and we were doing podcasts as you were like on some, you know, light painkiller. And it was just, I could just see how immobile you felt. Like you couldn't, you know, there was like you, it was it was like down your left, your left leg, as I remember. And it was just like, you know, like don't turn, don't twist, don't, don't mess it up, you know, for months. Well, and I couldn't sit at all. So that sitting, last time I checked, that's going to the bathroom. Okay. Who's tried to, you know, not sit down and go to the bathroom? So I got very good at that, by the way, which will be helpful in the wood. Okay. So I have that skill now. But no sitting, eating, standing up, you know, everything was basically standing up all day long. And then sleep was very, very difficult. Yeah. And I just personally wouldn't do the hardcore narcotics and opioids. I just chose not to. So my body was under that fight or flight. My nervous system was totally blown out, obviously, at this point, for months as I tried to pursue healing, you know, through first getting the x-rays and the MRIs, and then getting into PT and then finding the right doctor, and that's not the right doctor, and then the next one, the next one. Because they basically all were like, drugs. We're gonna give you shots and we're gonna drugs. And you were like, What the yeah, no, yeah. And then it was a wait and see. I'm like, a wait and see for what my life to basically just exit the window while I witness it, like within the next breeze. Like, I don't understand what this wait and see is. So, of course, I me being me, as my own health advocate, I didn't tolerate those answers or solutions. And I kept pursuing. And eventually I got in and I did have to leave the area. I went to UC Irvine and they were amazing. And I had surgery in November. So September and October, and halfway through November, I basically was just in the pain cave. And then went into that surgery with the doctor who was brilliant, and said, as he's rolling me in, I have one assignment, as we have discussed, is I come out of this thing and I can run again because I'm a runner, I love to run and I want my life back. And he's like, Deal. We shook hands. We shook hands. And so that was the deal. And so then I went into surgery. And then, of course, I had to recover, which you know takes quite a bit of time. But I did all the PT. I did my own PT. I mean, I was like a PT queen for months, frankly. I know so much about PT now because I really just had to, you know, learn all that stuff for myself. And then I did find a good PT locally to work with to kind of fine-tune things towards the end. Um, and then yes, getting all the way to December. My brother passed in December, unfortunately, right before Christmas. And then coming out the other side. So it really took me till like the end of January, early February, before I was like, I got this Jean Muir trail. When did you get the ticket? When did you or when did you get the permit? Like when I had the permit in December. Oh, I knew I was doing this trail. Yep. And I was like, okay, so I'm not doing it, but I need to like figure out the training. And this was that one moment of not that I hesitated ever. I was fully committed, but it was it was this question can I close the gap? The gap is huge right now. Okay, I'm going from like immobilized back surgery, post-menopause, post-gut infection, like all of these things that were literally like, hey Sam, waz uh, well, you know, like everything. But can I take all of that, accept it for what it was and is, and make myself stronger? And I basically committed in February to I will not only rebuild to where I was and get back the quality of my life, which is running, trail running. You know, would I ever ultra run again? I don't know. That was questionable. I'm doing the John Muir trail, I will get back my strength, you know, I will rebuild myself mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, all of the things. And so I need to fucking get to work. Right. And so in February, I got to work. That's how it started. And Sam Pruitt's style. 100%. When I put my mind in the game, you know, I'm I'm committed. And if it's a goal, a personal goal of mine, or even somebody I coach, if it's their goal, like I'm freaking all in. 100%'s not even good enough. Like, because you know, you're gonna have bad days. So 100% ain't even gonna get you there. You gotta go 200, you know. Well, and the beauty, I think, that I just want to point out is you've coached lots of people in physical exercise, endurance, recovery, you know, lots of things, right? You continue to today, right? So if you're listening to this and you're like, I think I'll do the John Mirror Trail and I'll just start hiking and like get a coach, get some advice or whatever. But you were able to coach yourself. I'm sure you, as you always do, my favorite Wikipedia, walking Wikipedia of everything. How did you start to close that gap? What steps did you take to go, okay, February and I'm leaving in July? What did you do? Like, what were the steps? Like, did you put a written plan? Did you have nutrition? Did you what did you and what did you did? I'm not training videos. There's just so many videos out there, but it's mostly about gear and uh there's so

Rebuilding Fitness With Strength And Mobility

Polly Mertens 31:25

many gear nerds and all this stuff, or you know, pictures of some people having beautiful, lovely hikes on the jam you're like that ain't gonna get you freaking fit and have to. And so when you're creating a training plan, whether it be me and I was creating my own at that point or another human's, right? It's like you first of all meet the person where they're at, including me. So I couldn't be like, well, hey, two years ago I could run a hundred miles without stopping. So like I should start there. Well, that's ludicrous, right? I have to be real about where my current level of fitness was and what, if any, my constraints might have been, like any other human that I'd be coaching. Everybody has that, right? Strengths, weaknesses, et cetera, skill sets. And when you're building a program, you need to take all of that into consideration. So you need to take a full inventory. So I basically did a full inventory of myself. Where was I, right? Really, where was I? Like, where was my cardiovascular fitness? Where was my strength fitness? Where was my mobility, which was a huge limiting factor initially? Where was that flexibility and mobility? You know, because I hadn't been using my back for like six months. You need your back for everything. And let me just say, my core, like I it was where did it go? I mean, I just disappeared. Right, right. Yeah, so I had to be real about that, which meant a big part of my commitment was gonna be to strength training and mobility training in the gym. Period. I know myself enough with cardio and endurance that like I love to do that and I'll just do that all day long if you let me, right? But that's not gonna be something that gets me definitely not where I want to get long term for my long-term health and longevity. But it no way in hell is it gonna get me over mountains with 35 pounds on my back. I don't care how much cardio you do. Sorry, put a backpack on that weighs that much. What I mean, I weigh 130 pounds, so I'm literally carrying a load. How much percentage of my body weight? Like this is slightly nuts, right? And I got to go over big mountains. Yeah. So I had to really be honest about that. And that's a good place to start because I do think a lot of people are sort of in denial about either what they really have for a level of fitness and what their weaknesses are, but how can you work on them if you're not honest about it and you don't deal with it? So that's where I started. Uh so I my primary focus was strength training with mobility consistently, consistently, consistently. So I was it the same thing every week, or were you building or were you shifting it around? Like, did you go, oh, I gotta work on core to start, and then I gotta build my legs, or what what were you? I'm just curious, like some of the component, like I think of the backpack, like I think of the core, you know, a lot of core there to hold your ass up, you know, because I've held the backpack and it just wants to go backwards, right? Right. What were you? Yeah, up and down, right? So you can't just like pick a muscle group. You'll see people at the gym, by the way. Hey, beautiful quads or biceps, but I'm not sure how that's functional. Right. It looks good in a tank top or shorts, but like what's up, whole body, whole body. Um, yeah. And for me, it's not a beauty contest or a whatever, like it's it's you know, functionality and performance are the metrics for me, right? And I have to really look at that and be honest about it and then build a program based on that. So when I first started, I could only go about three days a week because I was so weak, so sore, and it took me so long to recover. I was like three days a week. I mean, this is someone who went from six and seven days a week for years, years and years and years and years, unless I was recovering from a race, you know? Right. So it felt a little demoralizing. Baby steps. Yeah, we gotta do the baby step. It's slightly demoralizing, right? It's like, god damn, are you kidding me? This is the kind of um weight I'm lifting. Like, what is this weak sauce, right? But at the same time, with humor, because it's comical, like I can't really beat myself up for it. There's really a reason that I have lost all this strength, fitness, and mobility. It's just get over it and keep showing up. If I would have just beat myself to shit and got my head so wrapped in where I was and how far backwards I've gone, I wouldn't have shown up consistently. And that's what it was going to require. And then I went from hiking. So I started just hiking, hiking, hiking, and then I slowly reintegrated running. So by March, I was starting to do a little bit of running, and then I was training more. So I've strength training now four days a week, running two or three days a week, very, very low mileage, very, very small, very, very slow. And again, super slow progression. Like generally, I would write a periodized program for somebody that every six weeks it would progress pretty quickly and significantly. Well, I got through a few of those training cycles and I was like, oh hell, I'm not progressing. Like I am, but it's so small. It's so small, right? And I also recognize, and I was, of course, studying this at the time, but how my hormones were having an impact on that, right? I'm a post-menopausal female. What else in my whole accoutrements of toolbox might be in disarray? So I was still trying to figure out my gut and get that back on track. So my nutrition wasn't dialed in. So there were other elements that I really also needed to, hey, let's get these things lined up. These are the the bricks on which you are building, you know, the mountain of your fitness. So you can't do that with a brick missing. Wow, wow, wow. So looking back, was there anything like I mean, standing here today, from what I've been, you know, leading up to this, we've been talking a little bit. It's like, I think you're fucking ready. So would you, would you like when you look back, is there something you're like, I'm so glad I did that? Or like that was a crucial step, or if I'd skipped that, or is there something you would have changed? Like, oh, I didn't need to do all that, or I don't know, anything that you would have changed about it? Um, and I'm not like trying to blow my own horn or whatever, but no. It worked. Ta-da! I mean, the only thing I'd say I took I did a slow roll on was the nutritional elements. I knew there were problems happening, like I was having a hard time eating. I was had a lack nauseousness, I had a lot of diarrhea, like I had a lot of GI stuff still following me. And I did again have to go back and like have an endoscopy, have all these things and kind of rule out like, really, is there something still in there or something problematic that hasn't been resolved? And all of those scans are clean, everything is clean. So I'm I'm super stoked on that. But it just the gut takes a long time to heal. So if I would have done anything differently, I would have been more aggressive up front with that piece because it had me going into workouts, critical workouts, underfueled. I was bonking. I would text you sometimes and I'd be laughing my ass. I've remembered I was like, I just had the most ridiculous bonk. Like, literally, I'm in the middle of the gym, like, I don't think I can move. How am I gonna get out of the gym? I got nothing. Like my tank, I would just be like, uh, empty because it took that long for my metabolism also to be like, oh shit, she's building muscle again. Like, this is no joke. Okay. Oh shit, she's gonna command high intensity workouts again, which I hadn't done high intensity in a long time, dude. Because of iron and all the shit. Almost two years, um, which are now my favorite thing. I'm fucking hooked on these things, but to get that level of fitness before you can actually perform at that level takes a long time. So the nutrition was challenging, but no, a hundred percent the strength. Like I, you know, was bragging to you chicks the other day because we're all on this journey together. We have this little chit-chat of girls that are women and they're empowering each other. But I was like, I'm freaking PRing on everything, which is blowing my mind. Okay, I'm lifting more weight, heavier weights, and I mean like full body than I ever have. That's what a PR is, and I'm going, what the hell is going on? Okay, so I have definitely tapped into some secret sauce there, and then my running is 100% back to where it was, in addition to these speed workouts that are like, you know, I was running those speeds three, four, five years ago. Wow, and I'm like, okay, I guess she still got it. So I'm having fun too. By the way, that's a big part of it, right? I'm having fun, I'm really enjoying it. Like, I'm the project and I'm enjoying the build. And and the journey, right? I was just thinking about that this morning. I so I'm doing not anything near craziness like crazy town that you're doing. It's pretty crazy though. You tell me what you're doing. It's not uh Yeah, so I'm doing a Tour de Mont Blanc, I'm not doing it with a big 30-pound pack on me, and I'm gonna have a day pack or whatever. It's 105 miles, 10 days, you know, six to eight hours a day, stuff like that. And one thing I was really noticing, because you and I know, you know, we're we're in this year to live, right? And we're seeing people that were here one minute and are not here the next, right? And so it's just like, wow, like I'm just being so grateful for every hike, right? And I'm like, I'm watching videos of people on this. I mean, like our Sierra's are beautiful, and this is the Swiss Alps and the Italian Alps and stuff, and it's just jaw-dropping seeing this. I'm like, I don't want it to go fast. Exactly. Right? Exactly, and it's all now too. Like, I can just smear through all this training, like these hikes, like, oh, check it off. Like, oh, check, check, check. That you know, trail that I did, I said about the cathedral. It was like that's a moment in my life, right? On the journey, like you said, and like don't just be like, oh, going to get a tour de Mont Blanc done. Check, it's like right. No, and the build, the process, the work, right? The path to actually get to the starting line of whatever the hell it is, is freaking 90% of the deal. We put this flag out there, like, I'm coming for you. But why we do that is like, oh, I get to go on this epic months long. I mean, like some would say, this this race started or this track started for you when you got off the bike and or the run in Iron Man, some might say, right? And you've been been on this two plus year journey of down and down and up, right? And you are at your, you know, 250 miles from the crescendo, but like you've been all these miles and all these places and all these things you've learned along the way, and the people, you know, you and all the people, right? So exactly, and the amount of growth besides the physical, which is what we're alluding to here, that we are both so deep in, right? All the other stuff, the spiritual growth, the emotional growth, the mental and psychological understanding and comprehension, and just all of it. I mean, even the learnings, like I'm a nerd, right? I'm learning all the things, and like I'm so excited about just what I've learned about my body or about hormones or about nutrition or whatever, right? These are things I've always had a passion for. But when you're putting it to really good use, called yourself, like self-investing. And of course, I do use this with my clients, it's not like I'm hogging all the information, but like there's so it's incredibly rewarding because then you see results and results, and sometimes there'll be setbacks, like life will happen, you know, maybe my training didn't go great one week or whatever, all things do happen, you know. But then you get back up, dust yourself off, and get back in the arena and get back in the arena, right? This is your damn life. Okay. Tell me a little. So when you talk, you know, like let's shift to that emotional and mental fitness required. Because one of the things that I see that's a part of your protocol, if you will, is you know when you're my experience looking at so I when I trained for Iron Man, half Iron Man,

Mental Training Through Life Chaos

Polly Mertens 43:53

be it, it took a lot of time, right? Like there's a lot that goes into that. So for you, with like this epic thing, like you've got to like carve out space in your life, right? So that's one of the stuff. So, you know, you being, you know, fit and prepared and going in, you know, mentally, physically for those workouts and stuff. What was going on these last seven, six months with emotional and mental clarity? And and fitness, let's call it. I mean, really since February, so February, March, April, May, June. So five months when I start on July 8th, has been, you know, that's probably been the biggest roller coaster. Because there's still so much going on in my life. It's not like all of a sudden said, okay, y'all, hey, I'll be back in six months. I'll, I'll, I'll see you on the other side of that, right? Like there's all this stuff still going on. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm not I'm normal, just like everybody else, right? So figuring out how to continue to allow your goal, no matter what it is, this big, epic, audacious, whatever it is for you, human being, okay, to still sit at the forefront of your mind and your schedule and your priorities, and and and right, like still keeping it there, even if like maybe today it's right here, and then tomorrow it's a little bit off to the side, right? Because I have a big work day or I have a whatever thing, a family obligation or something. But it's still there, not over here out of sight. And then two weeks later I might come back to oh shit, I guess I was supposed to be training for that thing. Whoa, you know what I mean? Like that sort of keeping it at least in the periphery, if not in the forefront at all times, I think is critical. And I do think from what I've seen training many, many people, and literally thousands and thousands of people, you know, with races and stuff like that. That's a big mistake a lot of people make. They set that thing, that goal in January, or whenever the hell they set it right, or the building of the business, or whatever the thing is. And then they are in life doing life, and that goal is out there, and sometimes initially they're working on it, right? And then very slowly it starts creeping out of the peripheral vision and into the background of their life. And pretty soon it disappears. So to me, that's a big mistake. And and doing that and keeping on track with that is probably the most challenging for all humans, including me. I think, you know, when I hear that, one of the things that I think about, especially because I coach so many people in business, is like pretty much if you're gonna jump on a coaching call with me, I'm like, what are the three things you're prioritizing right now? Right. And whether it's a 90-day priority or this week or today, like we're talking about that, right? Because we've got to keep, you know, that right? Yeah. And what that does is it people don't get it, I think, until they like it's like there's gotta be a lot of no to other things, right? Like, what are you saying? You don't even need to tell me what you're saying no to, because I know that there's other things. Like, I'm not sitting here like thinking you only have three things to do today or this week. I know that. So what are you saying? What are you saying no to? Because you're saying yes to what, right? Exactly. And so that's I think that's how it translates for me over here is like you said yes to this big epic thing. And if you said yes to other things, or yes to drinking on these nights, or yes to whatever, like that yes that you said was a priority, it really isn't, right? And so you're you're like, no, it's it's a big thing, and and you know, you keep it where it needs to be as a priority. So a lot of things. And there's lots of ways you and I talk about on the pod all the time about how to do that. If you don't have a coach, like how to do that on your own. But you do have to figure out initially, like, I need to clear some fucking decks, right? Like, I gotta make space. There is only so many hours in the day, there is only so much physical energy. So, like in the beginning, for me, I'm really good at like organizing my schedule and making my health and wellness a priority at this point, you know. But I also only had so much physical energy because I was still healing and recovering and all those things. So that was really interesting for me to like have to balance that too, you know. So it was like, okay, what needs to happen in the course of my day? When do these workouts need to happen? When does this nutrition need to happen? How can I get some extra sleep to ensure? And then by the way, how can I still stay on top of all these other life responsibilities I have? Right. And so you have to really say, if I'm doing this and I'm committed to my personal goal, what do I need to do differently? What does my life need to look like on the daily to ensure that can happen? Right. You know, I think there was a lot of legit, so like when we consider this as like how not to die on the trail, it's like, A, you've got a lot of just, you know, being out and working your body and stuff like that, but there's a lot of logistics and supplies and skills and stuff that you had to up level as a backpacker now, not just I'm

Itinerary Planning, Resupplies, And Rules

Polly Mertens 48:59

a hiker, I'm an outdoors, but like, because like you alluded to, like you and I only backpack. I'm like, how many nights have you been out in the wilderness before? Probably under 20. And now you're about to go for more than 20 in one fell swoop. So what are some of the like in order not to die on this thing, like how what did you have to level up? Where did you I mean you work at REI, so God, like that's just great, but there, what were the logistics supplies skills? What did where where did you start to fill in those holes too? Well, it's a bit of a reality check when you sit down and you make your itinerary. Because I mean, you don't just want to go, I gotta do so. I need to go 250 miles. Where the hell am I going? Like, what's the direction? How am I actually? Where is this trail? Yeah, what the hell is this thing, right? It's different when you're like, well, I'm gonna go do a local hike and I'm familiar with the trail. I've done it a hundred times or whatever. I don't think anything of it. I know where I'm going. But in this case, I'm no, I have no idea. Right. I have not been there. I do not know. I have been to the end. So by then, who gives a shit? It's the end, right? And I've done Eustachy and Half Dome and some stuff up in that region, but these other trails, and I've done Whitney, but all these trails. So logistically, you have to sit down and literally write yourself an itinerary, okay, for 20 days or whatever your number is that you're going to do this. And I'm planning about 22 days because I have to leave the trail and come back and whatever. Where will how fast do I think I can go? How slow do I need to go? What is the elevation gain? Where are the water sources? So I have to track every single lake. You can only camp in certain places. I can't just pop my tent wherever I want, you know. And there are a lot of rules on this permit about what I can and cannot do in the wilderness because we are protecting the wilderness. Thank goodness. Yeah. Right? So figuring that itinerary out. So one whole sheet is just the itinerary. And it's literally every single day, my goal is to go from A to B. That's X amount of miles, accumulative miles, elevation gain, you know, is where's the water source? Is there a bear box there? Because there's some places where there's bear boxes, but I have to carry a bear canister the entire time.

Samantha Pruitt 51:10

Wow.

Polly Mertens 51:11

And how much food do I need to get from A to B to C D D D or whatever, right? So if you take a 22 mile or 22-day itinerary, which is what I currently have, I literally have day by day all of that. Now, will it be perfectly how I execute it? Come on, no. What? I mean, uh to the best of my knowledge and abilities, I'm figuring out this could be reasonable, but I'm referencing maps and I'm referencing guidebooks and I'm referencing all this information or to put all of this together and into my brain and make it personalized and then spit it on paper. So it's really quite hilarious if you look at the thing. And so I will do chunks basically, where I do a chunk of days, and then like I said, I'll leave the trail twice, and my husband's gonna meet me off trail. So I have to hike seven miles off the trail over a mountain pass to get out, resupply with food, because I can only carry so much food. There's plenty of water out there as long as it's filtered, but I can only get so much food, and then I have to hike back over that mountain pass seven miles back in to get back to that trail. And I have to do that twice in two different places. So that's part of the logistical stuff. A lot of people will have their stuff shipped into the trail in a big bucket, like a canister bucket, and then they pack them in with mules. So a couple hundred dollars, you get a trash bag, trash can full of your dehydrated together or whatever. I'm like, I'm gonna just hike out, take the extra miles, and just you know, at least I'll get to eat real food for one day, take a shower in a hotel room. Look at me being a lap of luxury. Uh, see my husband so he knows I'm still alive, and then come back. Wow, keep going. Um, I also have a whole list of just gear. Now that seems like how it that can't be complicated, but that's probably the second most complicated part, right?

Samantha Pruitt 53:04

Totally.

Polly Mertens 53:05

One is the logistics of getting through the trail itself safely, how many days, how much mileage, refueling. And the other is so I can carry a backpack that weighs about 35 pounds. I've done 40 before, it was too much. And I know that five pounds is a lot of difference.

Samantha Pruitt 53:22

Yeah.

Polly Mertens 53:22

When you are going up big ass mountains at high altitude, oh damn. I mean, it makes a big difference. So in my pack, fully loaded with water and food, it's about 35 pounds. I wish it was 30, but dude, I've tried everything under the sun to try and eliminate stuff, and I just can't. So you've got water, water filtration systems, you've got your food, including your bare canister, right? Any clothing that you need, including rain gear, because I will get rain probably almost every day. And then cold weather gear because there's still snow on a lot of these mountain passes, right? And then you have very little bit of like toiletries, first aid, a camp stove that's like this big, you know, and all it does is boil water. I mean, it's not like I'm making meals out there. Right. It's amazing how 35 pounds adds up. Tent. Yeah. My sleeping bag, right? All of these things need to be waterproofed or protected from water. Totally. Actually, all my stuff's just sitting right here behind me, which is kind of hilarious. Um, that's really about it. And then a few little odds and ends, but like it is bare bones. So the bulk of the weight is food and water for sure. Yeah, thank God. Like you said, you're going off and just replenishing. So and there's so many lakes, so there's a lot of water sources. So the other trails, PCT is an example, the whole lower region is in the desert and there really isn't water. It's very problematic, and people get it's very dangerous, and people get dehydrated, and they're drinking from animal uh reservoirs, and that's not with not with what you've been facing the last couple of years. Hell no, I'm hell no. So I'm going up into the big mountains where all the water is clean and beautiful and lovely, and we'll keep it that way because we protect our nature in that way, you know. So tell me, so there's been a couple training, like, you know, some of this we talk about the skills, you know. So you've got the physical fitness, like get the body in a place where it can tackle this kind of miles and stuff. But I mean, you and I like you did Catalina last year. Okay, so maybe five days out, you know. So I and I think you've been doing your local mountain in the desert there. So tell us a little bit about the skills and what it took to prepare. You know, you've done these overnighters in the last couple months. What were you doing there? Like why what were you what was the gap, or did you know your gaps? And you just were like, I'm gonna go out and find some gaps, and then I and know that I need to learn that for before. Yeah. Hey, the biggest gap is climbing high mountains, steep mountains with a pack on, you know, and I do use poles, but the these are things I wouldn't normally necessarily so like adapting to that and utilizing the poles, which has been incredibly helpful. And I will, of course, use them in great like daily,

Gear Dial In And Field Practice

Polly Mertens 56:08

I'm sure, daily. And then when you just kind of like get used to your gear, especially like I have new gear, I did upgrade a lot of stuff in order to try and shave weight. So I have a new tent, so I had to learn my new tent, right? I have a new stove, so I had to learn my new stove, I have a new water filtration system. So you do all of that in advance. You do not wait until you are out in the wild and going, wow. And I'm saying this because I literally just had a guy at REI the other day, God bless him, who's about to do the PCT trail, and he called the store and said, I just bought this tent. I have no idea how to set it up. And he came into the store and I cleared the whole area, the area of the climbing area, and we set up his tent. He didn't know how to do anything, not even how to put a stake in the ground to hold the tent in place. First, I was like, Don't you have YouTube? The manufacturer, I'm sure, has a little so nervous and so anxiety ridden and so stressed, and so so really it was talking him off the ledge from all of that, right? Like, what am I gonna do when it rains? What am I gonna do with this? You know, like these were the conversations we're having. And I'm like, pretty sure I just saved your life. Because if you just went out there winging this, this was not gonna end well. No, no, you're just trying to go, where's the instructions or you know, holy smoke. Totally. You don't have reception, you can't be on YouTube. There's no reception. I'm gonna be literally completely off grid. I do have an SOS, it's called a Garmin InReach Mini that is my life-saving device. And I did purchase rescue insurance. So to me, those were really big, important elements, a not just for my own safety, but for my loved ones to know she's alive. I can see she's a spot there, slowly moving across that mountain or whatever. And if something happens, I will get rescued and it will be covered by my insurance. So that's important too. Good, good, good. So you did these training backpacking. Did were they just one-nighters and did they go flawlessly, or did you like go, oh crap, I gotta like, because yeah, you said you've upgraded some things. Did you find that out this year, or you just kind of knew going in, like, I don't have a good water thing, or I don't have whatever? Yeah, I just knew going in based on Tatalina and just my general knowledge now, or I guess it's not generalized, I'm getting pretty damn good at this shit, but like understanding gear and what's required and all that stuff that to go that many days, yeah, what I had was not gonna be the right solution. And then the tent ultimately was just too big and bulky. Yeah. And I mean, I got a tent that weighs half as much, and it's so small and it's so streamlined, and it's just like ridiculous. And the other thing I'd say to be a gear nerd, because I have turned into one apparently, who to thunk? Because normally I'd be like, I don't give a shit. Old t-shirt, running shorts, right? It's all good. Let's go. Ultra runners, we barely even want to put clothes on, right? Yeah, we don't want to do anything. So becoming a gear nerd has been fun. But what I have found along the way, and I say this now to people that I do work with at REI on their adventures, is like you gotta love your gear. And so what I found, um, I even actually changed my pack, which was a huge commitment and challenge for me, massive. And I wavered and wavered and wavered and wavered on it, but I didn't love my pack. I liked it, it was good enough. It was a big investment, right? So, like changing that was gonna be no joke. But the pack I have now, I'm like, who are you? Oh so in love, it spits me like a freaking glove. It's a German brand. I would have never even considered it. So again, these are just me learning and exploring and being curious and you know, investigating and whatever. So loving your stuff, even when I go, like I can take almost no clothing, right? Like I have an outfit, okay, and then I have a couple extra pairs of socks and something to sleep in. Like, so picking what I'm going to wear, yeah, which in the past to me would have been like, whatever. Right. I'll wear a sports bra and just trompse up and down these mountains, right? No, no, you will not do that. So picking the very specific, like this feels so good on me. For how many days you're gonna live in it, right? How many days I'm gonna stink in it, yeah, and then also just how it maybe doesn't rub me here and it fits like this. And so I had to try shirt after shirt after shirt, and I was like, what? Right? And it was the little things. It was like, this isn't quite long enough, that's not quite long enough. I don't have enough sun coverage, this is sliding up on my back, this sports bra is digging in, like things that I otherwise would have been totally tuned out on. Yeah. Well, and I think one of the things I've thought about for you is when you're either in a race or you're just training at home or in your comfortable, like nearby, like you just kind of go, Oh, I'll I won't do that again. But you're out so far away from any sense of like change, you're like, I guess this is what I got. So you gotta like make damn fucking sure like that dude. Trying to find the right pairs of socks. I'm like, this this sock thing's getting expensive. Socks and hats and all, yeah, the shoes and the sunglasses, like every piece of it. Like, I I totally get that now. Yeah, yeah, the devil's in the details. Yeah, and once you have it, that's what you have, and that is what you have. Yeah, okay. Yeah, and tough shit if something is not ideal at that moment, it is too damn late. I mean, I am blessed with this coming in and out opportunity to see my husband, so I will change my shoes somewhere along the lines on one of those. Um, which is great that I have that opportunity, but generally I you wouldn't. This that would not be a thing, you know. Yeah, yeah. I just want to ask you a couple of so is there anything more about logistics or training that no, but people can call me. You kind of train, I'll trade after I get home. You want to get trained for this? I'll train you in a heartbeat. This is so fun. So fun. You know how to, you're gonna know how to well, you know, already know, but you're gonna be able to train people on how to survive and and get out there. You know, I mean, you already give away, let's say, free advice when you're at RDI, but like somebody that's wanting to do this and is like, all right, I need the the guide that's been down this road. Like you've done all, you know, and like you said, like somebody you could say, oh, you should get this backpack, but that's not the backpack for them. Like, no, you should find the backpack that you love. No, you should find a bra that fits you just right and whatever. But you can help them with the just like I remember you've helped me when I was training for Iron Man. It was like, oh, just train this way, not this way, you know, things like that. So just a couple little so what are I was gonna say, what are you most afraid of, but what are you most uncertain about out there? Like what like what is like a black box? Like, I don't know what's gonna happen here. What are you like, what sets like uncertainty in your mind? What is there anything that your mind's like, hmm, I wonder, either from like a you know, there is one

Bears, Intuition, And Real Safety

Polly Mertens 1:03:14

thing and one thing only, weirdly enough, and it is the bears. So we don't have grizzlies, but we have black and brown bears. They love food and the smell of humans, so that's why we have a bear canister, and all smelly things go into the bear canister, but you smell too. So you don't get into the bear canister at night, okay? You're in your tent, and I'm by myself. So realistically, there is plenty of opportunity that I will see bears and mix and mingle with bears to some extent. I have many times in the past, it's not a new thing for me. I've been trailing ultra running a long ass time. I've seen no shortage of bears, and I'm not afraid of them per se. But like you can't carry bear spray, you can't carry any kind of there's no way for protection-wise. You basically just have to get very big and very loud and try and scare them off. And generally they all scare off. But, you know, if they want that smelly thing in the middle of the night, they're going to get it. They're an animal. It's a thing, you know. So I am a little bit reading like the bear reports and stuff like that, not trying to make myself too crazy, but there is the far out app that's what I'm going to be using. That's where my map is downloaded. So I don't have to be on the app, even though I can use it for small periods of time if I need to, but the map, that's where my map sits. Um, and I have a paper version too, just in case. Just in case. But on there, it has up-to-date reports, bears, in-camp grounds, and stuff like that, and issues with water sources or fires. Like lots of times, people do the PCT or they do these trails. And if there's a fire in the area, you detour you need to know about it. You need to get the hell out. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, and that's where some of those road angels help, you know, people that have come from somewhere. And you know, there's always like trail talking, you know. So um, we didn't go into much of that. Maybe we'll come back because I know there's gonna be stories. So, like the the after of this in August 2026 is gonna be like, tell me all the stories. Who did you meet? How who was the coolest? Like, you're gonna come back with like your phone's gonna be blown up with all these people following you and loving on you, and you're loving on them because that's just who you are. And that we haven't talked much about that because this is like okay, the survival of it, but there's also the humaning and the connection that you're gonna have too, right? Sure. I'm really doing this as an introspective pilgrimage, right? So the other black box, not in a bad way, there's no fear associated with it, whatever, but it is what probably drives me most to do things like this is that internal journey I'm about to have, right? So it, yes, I love nature and I love hard things and the experience and the beauty and all that stuff, but what the hell's going on inside this human? You know, and I expressed it to you before. It it feels very much like a leveling up of Sam Pruitt. So, yes, physical, of course, mental and emotional, but in other ways, spiritually, soulful, whatever, however you interpret all of your things, how you relate to the universe here. That shit's about to go down.

Samantha Pruitt 1:06:18

Okay.

Polly Mertens 1:06:19

And that is pure magic. It only happens when people really do very hard things in nature, in my opinion. This is where that is an opportunity for all of us. And that is awaiting. I can't wait. I have no idea what's going to happen in that arena. I love it. I was going to ask you, what are you most excited about, but that might have answered it, you know? Oh, totally. That's what you're saying. Unknown on the internal. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I get it because it's like the stillness, the silence, all of that. So, what do you most want people to know either from a survival standpoint or a training standpoint, or like set yourself on fire by having epic goals standpoint? How not to die. What do you want most people most to know? Yeah. What's your advice? On the how not to die side of it, the biggest thing I see, and I I see this a lot, even just on daily hikes. For real, dude.

Samantha Pruitt 1:07:17

Yeah.

Polly Mertens 1:07:17

Is that people are just not equipped. I'm sorry. Like they don't have the basics. And you don't go into the wild, even if it's a two or three mile trail from your house, or much extreme beyond that, without the basics. Like I'm always shocked. I see people all the time, and I'm like, damn. And then unfortunately, I'm rescuing people a lot. You know that. I always have rescue stories, you know? And it's like, this is this could have gone really bad. And there's no reason for it. And then, of course, we have friends that have, you know, been in Peril's way and somehow miraculously survived. And there's plenty of people that have not, of course. So I think that how not to die is please just do the basics. Just start with the basics, right? And that's just so simple. I mean, at REI, for example, we do these hiking basics, running basics, backpacking basics. Like these classes are free. Just freaking get some free training. And if you don't want to do that because of whatever ridiculous idea you have in your head when someone's willing to give you this information for free, just get on the freaking computer and look at YouTube and look at videos and figure the shit out. So that, that, that, that, that. I can't say that enough because the safety is the number one thing. Totally. Like you're you it's the goal is not to start it, it's to finish it. You know, it's like like like you're doing this thing, right? Not to end up with statistic or something. Yeah. And then the other element of that, and it's more, you know, personal, is you sure the hell better know how to trust your gut. Your instinct, your intuition, if you don't have that developed in you, and you go into a really challenging, yeah, dangerous, yeah, wild situation, never mind the everyday stuff. Like you put yourself really out there, the risk goes up very quickly. And so you not knowing yourself, your skills, your capabilities, and then not trusting that, that's the other thing I've seen many times is people make really poor decisions sometimes because their gut says a thing, but for example, they want to keep up with these other people or they want to get to the summit because the whole thing is the summit. And so I'm gonna do it at any cost. It's like, have you lost your mind? Is your life worth this? And I do think mostly people know the right decision and they will many times override it. And I will not do that. If something doesn't feel right to me, stop. Okay, reassess, understand what's going on, what needs to happen, if it's taking time out, if it's changing directions. I mean, I have maps to follow, for example, and I plan to stay on this trail, right? But if I need to change and take a different trail and go over here because of whatever the hell, like so there's river crossings.

Samantha Pruitt 1:10:07

Yeah.

Polly Mertens 1:10:07

And it's actually a big safety peril that I will experience is snow on mountains where there is no trail, and I'm basically sliding up and down mountains with spikes on, but still, that's dangerous. And then additionally, these water crossings and me being solo water crossing is very, very dangerous because there's nobody to save me, right? So it's a very particular skill set. You have to be very careful. And there will be cases, I'm sure, where I cannot cross. And I have to either wait for humans behind me to eventually come that will be aiding me in my safety, and I could sit there for hours, or I have to go all the way around. And if I have to go all the way around, it just adds gazillions of miles and whatever. Tough shit. Rather than me just being an idiot and saying, I'm a badass, I can do this, I can get across, I can see the other side. It's only gonna take five minutes, you know, like just being a Yahoo. Don't be a Yahoo. Or not listening to your gut, like I should wait, you know, something like that. Totally. And I would I want to add to that, I think, too, is we haven't touched too much upon it, but like I know you were doing these training. It's like uh, you know, I remember when I before I did Iron Man, like uh three weeks before or something, I had I did another triathlon, you know, just to have the full-on experience. It was like, okay, I had all this training, but I was like, go through the whole damn thing, get in the water with other people and do the biking with other people and all this stuff. So, like, you know, do a practice run or runs of this, right? Don't just like this guy, like, I'm doing the PCT and I've never set up my tent. What the like, I'm sorry. Go for a couple of nights nearby, go in your backyard, even like do the whole experience, you know. That's what I said. I go, you can go to a park where there's grass, you know, and you can put these stakes in the ground. I mean, like, there's you know, it doesn't have to be out, you know, miles hundreds of miles from another. I said, Hey, when you come back, I didn't say if, come on by and tell me how it was. I just want to check in on you, make sure you're good. All right, my dear. Wow. So any parting words of just any last things you want to say, like this is your last sort of recording, not on all social media, but with our podcast for before you go. What else is on your heart? Not really, except that I will share the story afterwards, and I will share it possibly along

Sharing The Story And Final Thoughts

Polly Mertens 1:12:31

the way on my social and everyday awesome that will basically be when I leave the trail to resupply, I'll do a post. Basically, a lot of people want to know is she's still alive and that kind of thing. Um, and maybe share some cool stories and pictures there. But then afterwards, I will put together some kind of compilation for sure. I'll put it up on YouTube or whatever, because it's a must. Like, this is just gonna be an exceptional experience. I can't wait. And I really want to inspire definitely these, you know, my fellow 50 plus females, that anything is possible, physically, mentally, emotionally, all of this wilderness stuff, just life, right? But frankly, anyone, and I know I am. Like, I have coworkers that are 20 years old at REI, they're like, damn, you're basically the age of my mother. You know, like if you can do this, like I need to step up my game here, right? And so that's really fun too, to sort of have hear that and see that and feel that. Get after it, get after it, sister. Well, thank you so much for sharing all this. I can't wait to celebrate your birthday, to celebrate your your you know, your 250-mile journey, and just hear all about the the after coming out the other side. So thank you for sharing what you've been putting, you know, these last two years of your life. You've just worked so hard, and I commend you and I acknowledge you for the inspiration that you are to me as your partner, and all the women out there, and anybody listening to this, thank you for being the most you you can be. Thank you.

Samantha Pruitt 1:14:05

I love you, I love you too.

Polly Mertens 1:14:07

And you know, you mirror that to me, and I mirror that to do to you. That's why we're in this together. And I think the more we all put mirrors up to each other in this way, right? That's what it really is. Yeah, that's what it really is. Look what's possible. This is what's possible, yes, because it recalls us to our possibility, totally exactly. Epic summer, my friend, epic bucking summer, epic life, dude. Epic life, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, what's our what's our closing thoughts, my beautiful humans? Well, you might not recognize me when I come out the other side because I'm not sure what's gonna happen with this hair or this body. So just if I look different, don't be surprised. Um, I definitely will be different, but in my core beliefs is still what I believe that how your life feels is not as important as how it looks or how you look. And every day is your opportunity to find your awesome.