The Trail Less Traveled Podcast By Mandela Leola van Eeden cover art

The Trail Less Traveled

The Trail Less Traveled

By: Mandela Leola van Eeden
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About this listen

Dedicated to documenting humanity by gathering stories & sounds from the most remote locations around the world. The goal for the show is to take you, the listener, back to mankind's earliest form of entertainment: story telling. Therefore, every week features an interview with an adventurer in their natural habitat in order to provide an audible journey packed with adventure (and conservation) information & inspiration. Everyone has a story & different perspective, we aim to share the stories from the world’s diverse cultures & unknown lands. Get bonus content on Patreon

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Social Sciences
Episodes
  • The Long Way Home: Veterans Reclaiming Their Lives
    May 26 2025

    The Missoula Housing Authority offers housing assistance to veterans through programs like HUD-VASH, which combines rental assistance with VA case management and supportive services. MHA's Valor House provides 17 one-bedroom units for permanent housing for homeless veterans, featuring communal amenities such as a kitchen, meeting spaces, and laundry facilities. In 2023, MHA received funding to expand permanent housing options for homeless veterans and their families.


    Established in 1990, Veterans Inc. is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Massachusetts, serving veterans and their families across New England, Montana, and North Dakota. It provides holistic supportive services, including housing, employment and training, case management, food security, behavioral healthcare, suicide prevention, and programs for women veterans. Veterans Inc. has assisted over 100,000 veterans, achieving an 85% success rate in transitioning them out of homelessness.


    Valor House is a 72-bed transitional housing facility operated by First Step House, offering housing and supportive services to veterans experiencing homelessness. The program provides structured support to help veterans transition to permanent housing.


    Show notes:

    00:04:32 - Journey from Alcoholism to Recovery

    00:07:55 - Importance of Seeking Help

    00:11:45 - Supporting Veterans and Community Programs

    00:13:34 - Understanding Homelessness Among Veterans

    00:17:22 - Finding Support and Rebuilding Life

    00:25:15 - Opening Your Eyes to Change

    00:26:42 - Supporting Veterans in Need

    00:29:01 - Embracing Support and Community

    00:30:36 - Journey to Self-Sufficiency

    00:33:47 - Life at Valor House

    00:35:04 - Update on Eye Surgery and Community Care

    00:36:30 - Conservation Tips for Baby Birds

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    40 mins
  • South Pole Summits and Class VI Turkish Whitewater: Adventures with Skip Horner
    May 25 2025

    Step into the extraordinary world of Skip Horner, a veteran adventure guide whose 50-year career spans over 100 countries and countless epic expeditions. Skip Horner is a legendary American adventure guide, mountaineer, and expedition leader with a career spanning over five decades. He is renowned for being the first guide to lead clients to the summits of all Seven Summits—the highest peaks on each continent—including Mount Everest, where he became the 420th person to reach the top. His extensive guiding experience encompasses more than 100 countries, with expeditions in 62 of them, ranging from mountain treks to river descents and wildlife safaris.


    Horner's adventurous spirit has led him to accomplish numerous firsts in the world of exploration. He has led first descents of 12 major rivers, including the Yangtze, Zambezi, and Indus, and has navigated the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon 38 times. His mountaineering feats include 33 ascents of Kilimanjaro, eight of Mount Vinson in Antarctica, and six of Gunnbjørnsfjeld in the Arctic. Additionally, he has skied to the North Pole and participated in 11 expeditions to Antarctica.


    Alongside his wife Elizabeth, Horner operates Skip Horner Worldwide, Inc., based in Victor, Montana. Together, they design and lead bespoke expeditions to some of the world's most remote and culturally rich destinations, including camel treks across the Sahara, Himalayan climbs, and Amazon rainforest explorations . Horner is a certified alpine guide by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) and a Fellow Emeritus of the Explorers Club.


    Show notes:

    00:04:48 - Reflecting on 40 Years of Adventures

    00:08:07 - Memorable Adventures in Burkina Faso

    00:10:48 - Determining the Highest Arctic Peak

    00:14:19 - Life's Journey Through Travel Chapters

    00:16:39 - First Descent on the Çoru River

    00:19:25 - Preparing for the River Challenge

    00:21:57 - Preparing for Class Five Rapids

    00:23:36 - First Descent of the Choroo River

    00:25:35 - From Turkey to Antarctica Adventures

    00:27:28 - First Ascent of Vinson

    00:30:02 - Climbing Challenges at High Camp

    00:32:27 - Facing Mistakes in Mountain Climbing

    00:34:33 - Overcoming Failure on Mount Vinson

    00:37:13 - Movement as a Key to Problem Solving


    • Follow the adventures and interviews in real time at TrailLessTraveled.net and be sure to check out our visual series on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
    • The radio version of the show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) on the Trail 103.3 FM
    • Why listen to the radio version instead of the podcast? Well, because the radio version includes music selected by the folks we interview!
    • Please help us keep the podcast ad free by donating $3/month via PATREON. We really need your help, as of right now we are only brining in $79/month in donations.


    #travelpodcast #adventurepodcast #conservationpodcast #podcast #whitewaterrafting #antartica #skiphorner #travelpodcast #travel #adventuretravel #missoula #missoulamontana #montana #storytelling #mountainclimbing #whitewater

    Get bonus content on Patreon

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    40 mins
  • The Climate Crisis in Polar Regions with Dr. Jim Halfpenny
    Apr 23 2025

    Dr. Jim Halfpenny is a renowned polar ecologist, expedition leader, and expert in cold-climate ecology with decades of experience studying the extreme environments of the Arctic and Antarctic. With a background in wildlife biology and ecology, Dr. Halfpenny has led and participated in numerous scientific expeditions to the polar regions, where he has conducted groundbreaking research on climate change, snow ecology, and the adaptation of wildlife to some of the planet’s harshest conditions.


    Dr. Halfpenny's firsthand accounts paint a vivid picture of climate change's impact: shrinking glaciers, thawing permafrost releasing dangerous methane, and indigenous communities forced to relocate due to shifting wildlife patterns. His upcoming book "The Last Cold" documents these profound changes, while his research using ice cores reveals how current CO2 levels far exceed anything seen in the past 800,000 years.


    Despite passing certain environmental tipping points, Dr. Halfpenny emphasizes hope through action and the importance of individual contributions to combat climate change. From infrastructure challenges in Alaska to the transformation of the Northwest Passage into a potential trade route, this episode offers crucial insights into our warming world.


    Don't miss this essential conversation about one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Listen now to understand why the Arctic's story is everyone's story.


    Show notes:

    00:02:48 - Climate Change Observations in Greenland

    00:06:05 - Impact of Climate Change on Icebergs

    00:09:27 - Future of Coastal Towns and Trade Routes

    00:11:14 - Understanding Historical Climate Change

    00:14:13 - Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change

    00:17:05 - Tipping Points and Climate Action

    00:19:22 - Impact of Permafrost Thawing

    00:22:43 - Challenges of Northern Train Travel

    00:24:09 - Impact of Climate Change on Northern Communities

    00:26:50 - Impact of Climate Change on Species

    00:30:15 - Impact of Climate Change on Wildlife

    00:34:44 - Impact of Climate Change on Wildlife

    00:38:06 - Impact of Climate Change on Bears

    00:40:12 - Grizzly Bears and Climate Change

    00:41:32 - Advice for Mitigating Climate Change


    • Follow the adventures and interviews in real time at TrailLessTraveled.net and be sure to check out our visual series on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
    • The radio version of the show premieres Sunday nights at 6 MST, streaming live online at Trail1033.com & locally (Missoula) on the Trail 103.3 FM
    • Why listen to the radio version instead of the podcast? Well, because the radio version includes music selected by the folks we interview!
    • Please help us keep the podcast ad free by donating $3/month via PATREON. We really need your help, as of right now we are only brining in $79/month in donations.


    #travelpodcast #adventurepodcast #conservationpodcast #podcast #conservation #storytelling #adventure #travel #traillesstraveled #adventuretravel #climatechange #climateaction #climatecrisis #yellowstonenationalpark #polarbears #polar

    Get bonus content on Patreon

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    47 mins
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