S2E2: Who is Pony?
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We have the privilege today of speaking with the one and only, Pony!
Today we begin the show by wishing we had been recording the "pre-chat" portion with Pony beforehand. As you will find out as we get deeper into the episode, he is a fantastic storyteller and his thoughts and perspectives around hiking and the trail, are refreshing to say the least.
We hop right into the show as Pony brings us through the evolution from Clay Bonneyman Evans to how he defined it as finding his "alter ego" of Pony. We chat about his introduction into the "thru-hiking world" and how it just clicked with his brain and how he operates. We dive into what this means, what does it mean when he says, "it works for my brain?"
Keep your hats on because we dive deep into the perspectives and outlooks on the massively popular (and directly massively unpopular with thru-hikers) books "Wild" and "A Walk in the Woods" by Cheryl Strayed and Bill Bryson. Once again, a truly refreshing take as we chat about the goals of these books, and why they are perceived so negatively by hikers, when in fact they are truly inspirational and great storytelling.
We quickly avoid the hornets nest that is documenting your hike by video on trail, and lightly tread, but just for a moment, upon the thoughts and feelings around this growing activity.
We chat about Pony and how writing is his process for understanding his journey. Not just his hiking journey's, but this journey through life. We talk about his process and how he remains in the moment on trail, while continuing to pursue his passion. We chat about his growth as a writer and author throughout the years.
We go deep into the "Red-Lining" concept. A very deep dive as it is something both Pony and ourselves are passionate about. We chat about the dangers of being too much of a purist, and the growth of the trail community as it begins to tackle this very turbulent concept. We chat about how this concept can be utilized on some trails, while others it is not only impossible, but not even safe. It unravels from here, the threads of this thought continue for many minutes.
We chat about hiking clean and the feelings it invokes in body and mind. We chat about the CDT and bear tub claws on the PCT. We chat about writing and the feeling of being a character in a story, we chat about being in a "snow globe world", we chat about the "Blowdown, Snowdown, Hodown", we chat about connection and relationships off trail while being on trail, we chat about not receiving merit badges for suffering, we chat about his wife and my mother knowing each other in this small world we call thru-hiking (Hi Jodi and Sundance!) and we get wonderfully lost in Pony's gift for storytelling. To name a few.
Truly a wonderful chat with Pony, thank you for sharing some time and your story with us!
FAVORITE QUOTES:
"My brain is at its best when it is on trail"
"I have to write about it, because writing about it is who I am"
"Every footstep you take literally brings you into a new reality"
"The trail is a stage on which I as a human can be fully myself"
To learn more about Pony and read his books click below:
Website: www.claybonnymanevans.com
Email: claybonnyman@gmail.com
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