Trails Worth Hiking

On Trails Worth Hiking, we bring you the most interesting backpacking and trekking routes in the world. Every trail has a story. In the first part of each episode, we tell you the stories behind the trail. In the second part, we tell you how to hike the trail. In each episode, guests who have hiked the trail join Jeremy, our host, to talk about the experience of hiking it. Join us on each episode as we hear the story, then hike the trail.

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Trails Worth Hiking

Ep. 12: Benson Lake Loop

April 01, 2021 • Jeremy Pendrey • Episode 12

Deep in a remote corner of Yosemite National Park in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, there is a rather unusual lake. Many lakes in the Sierra Nevada may have a small strip of shoreline where a tired hiker can sit and soak their feet, but Benson Lake has much more than that. It has a full beach like you would expect to find at any ocean shore. On this episode, Jeremy's daughter Sonya joins him as he narrates their 2018 hike of the 50-mile Benson Lake Loop, and Jeremy's hiking buddy Tony Wong joins the show to talk about their 2013 visit to Benson Lake while hiking a section of the Pacific Crest Trail. Before talking about the Benson Lake Loop, Jeremy brings you the stories of Bridgeport and Bodie California, two towns near the trailhead east of the Sierra, but with two very different stories.

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