The Northern Colorado Trail with Kevin "Sunshine" Silvernale (BPR #316)

In today’s episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by Topo Athletic, we are joined by Kevin “Sunshine” Silvernale. Originally a commercial pilot from Seattle, Kevin thru-hiked the PCT in 2016 and immediately fell in love with the Hiker Trash lifestyle. That passion led him to put his flying career on hold to hike the AT, Colorado Trail, much of the CDT, and most recently, to begin creating a brand-new long trail route, the Northern Colorado Trail. 

We chat about his life as a pilot, including when Chaunce coaxed him into sharing a story about how he joined the mile high club, and how thru-hiking ultimately pulled him away from aviation. 

We go deep into the Northern Colorado Trail (or the NoCo Trail as he calls it), a 300-mile route he’s developing, covering what goes into designing and rerouting a trail, working with public lands agencies, the best time of year to hike it, standout sections (including a hair-raising traverse of the Devil’s Causeway), the wildlife, its growing popularity, resupply and town stops, how to access both terminuses, what he envisions for the trail’s future- and much more.

We wrap the show with the sad news of the drowning death of a 2025 Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, Chaunce talks in depth about how she’s pooing liquid, the triple crown of bodies of water, Chaunce’s car getting broken into of the week, how I voluntarily stepped into a patch of poison ivy, and the best listener email of all time.

Topo Athletic: Use code “TREKSPRING15” at topoathletic.com.

Gossamer Gear: Use code "LT520" for 20% off LT5 Trekking Poles at gossamergear.com. 

Shady Rays: Use code “TREK” for 35% off sunglasses at shadyrays.com.

Betterment: Learn more at betterment.com/trek.

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Interview with Kevin “Sunshine” Silvernale

• Northern Colorado Trail Website
• Northern Colorado Trail Instagram
• Kevin's Instagram
• Kevin's Blog
• Kevin's Youtube

Time stamps & Questions

00:05:16 - Reminders: Sign up for the Trek’s newsletter, apply to blog for the Trek and listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon!

00:08:22 - Introducing Sunshine

00:09:30 - Tell us about being a commercial pilot

00:12:55 - Are you part of the mile high club?

00:14:08 - What are some quirks of pilot culture?

00:15:55 - What’s a go-to pilot movie?

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