One hiker has carved out a niche for trail lovers in the explosion of podcasting — a form of do-it-yourself radio broadcasting via the Internet.

“TrailCast — Podcasting on Foot” was launched by a technologically savvy long-distance hiker Robert Butler this spring. Its Web address is www.trailcast.com. Programs can be downloaded and listened to for free in mp3 format.

A hiker from Haywood County is featured in one of the podcasts. She describes her first backpacking trip — a trek along the Pinhoti Trail in Alabama — where she gets swept away in the middle of the night by a flash flood and nearly drowns. Her next challenge is staving off hypothermia after losing all her gear. She has gone on to become a great long-distance hiker and hiking book author. She is a regular in Carolina Mountain Club hikes in the area.

TrailCast features several interviews with famous Appalachian Trail hikers — famous to the hiking community at least.

There’s an interview with the Barefoot Sisters, who hiked the Appalachian Trail barefoot — twice. Isis and Jackrabbitt (their trail names) “yo-yo” hiked the trail in 2001. A yo-yo hike means they hiked the trail in its entirety, and promptly turned around and hiked it again in the other direction.

There’s also an interview with Dan “Wingfoot” Bruce, author of Thru-Hiker’s Handbook, the equivalency of the Bible for AT Thru-hikers.

The average hiker is featured as well. In one podcast, Spoonie Love, a northbound AT thru-hiker, talks about late season snowstorms while holed up in a trail hostel in Erwin, Tenn. Another show features a couple trying to create an Appalachian Trail museum, highlighting everything from unusual gear and gadgets used by real thru-hikers to trail journals.

While the AT dominates, it isn’t the only trail featured in the podcasts. There’s interviews with hikers along the 165-mile Ozark Trail in Arkansas and hikers in Louisiana.

Got a good trail story? Email Butler at trailcast@gmail.com and you just might be the next TrailCast feature.

— By Becky Johnson