What Happens When the Record Slips Away, with Liz Derstine

What Happens When the Record Slips Away, with Liz Derstine

From Free Outside by Jeff Garmire

March 29, 2026 · 1h 9m

About this episode

Liz Derstine discusses her Pacific Crest Trail effort, the challenges of pursuing a record, and the intersection of hiking and music.

Liz Derstine is back on the podcast to talk about her self supported Pacific Crest Trail effort, the highs and lows of going after a huge goal, and the film that came out of it, Ridgeline. We get into brutal desert heat, night hiking, trying to balance daily trail updates with an FKT effort, and what it feels like when a record starts slipping away but you keep pushing anyway. We also talk about the music side of Liz’s life, how she helped shape the soundtrack of the film, what it is like to write for an orchestra, and why hiking and creating art might not be as different as they seem. This one is about follow through, vulnerability, and going for something big even when there is no guarantee it works out. Watch Ridgeline on the Mountain Hardwear YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSWTddKCbf4 Follow Liz online: https://www.instagram.com/pinkfeathers/ Support our Sponsors: Sawyer: https://sawyerdirect.net/ Janji (code: Freeoutside): https://snp.link/a0bfb726 CS Coffee: CSinstant.coffee Garage Grown Gear: https://snp.link/db1ba8ab Subscribe to Substack: http://freeoutside.substack.com Support this content on patreon: HTTP://patreon.com/freeoutside Buy my book…

People in this episode

Host: Jeff Garmire

Guest: Liz Derstine

Topics covered

  • Pacific Crest Trail
  • self-supported hiking
  • record attempts
  • art and hiking
  • vulnerability
  • music composition

Keywords

  • Pacific Crest Trail
  • Liz Derstine
  • Ridgeline
  • FKT
  • hiking
  • music
  • art
  • vulnerability
  • desert heat

Sponsors

Sawyer, Janji, CS Coffee, Garage Grown Gear

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mountain Hardwear

Books & works: Ridgeline, Free Outside, movie about setting the record on the Colorado Trail

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