How To Find Us Online


We are currently back in SoCal for the winter season teaching a wilderness class!

Upcoming Plans
Thanksgiving '25: Bonaire Dive Trip
Christmas '25: Palau Dive Trip
Spring '26: Bibbulmun Trail + Cape to Cape (Australia)
Summer '26: Yukon River 2,000 Mile Paddle (Alaska)
Fall '26: American Discovery Trail Moab -> San Francisco
Spring '27 Wales Coastal Path
Summer '27 Hextatrek (France)
Fall '27 TBD
Summer 2028 North Country Trail?
2029+ Lots more things unless I'm dead 

YouTube: First Church of the Masochist Hikes
Instagram: @mattonamtn
Email: matthew.hengst@gmail.com (or message me on Instagram)

Ways to support our adventures

Patreon
PayPal
ULA Equipment Affiliate Link
Amazon Affiliate using this link

Want to physically mail us something? Just ask!

About Us

All About Matthew "Masochist" Hengst & Jen "Tasty Taters" Blackie

Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS) & Henoch-Schönlein Purpura (HSP)

How I make these videos on trail

Hitting SOS on the CDT


Major Video Series

176 Episodes, lots of days, 3,000 miles

75 episodes, 75 days, 2,400+ miles

(aka Florida Trail, Pinhoti Trail, Appalachian Trail, and several sections of the International Appalachian Trail ending at the northern tip of Nova Scotia)
116 episodes, 302 days, 5,000 miles


Condensed Trips / Highlight Reels

These are made the same content as the daily trip videos above but shortened so each day is usually just a minute or two. We love these and they're our favorite way to look back at our adventures.


Shorter Thru Hiking Trails

25 videos, 25 days, 304 miles

19 videos, 19 days, 290 miles

6 videos, 6 days, 77 miles

10 videos, 10 days, 110 miles

51 videos, 58 days, 810 miles

29 videos, 30 days, 407 miles

7 videos, 91 miles

10 videos, 10 days, 155 miles

5+1 videos, 5 days, 67 miles


Shorter Hiking Trips

These are generally shorter trips we've done in between our bigger adventures but still in the daily vlog format

7 episodes

6 episodes

14 episodes
Aborted due to snow levels. Turned into Grand Enchantment after that


3 episodes


Shorter Paddle Trips

12 Episodes, 12 Days

8 Episodes, 8 Days

3 Episodes, 3 Days



Scuba Diving Trips

12 Episodes

8 Episodes

8 Episodes

9 Episodes



Older Writeups



This is an older abandoned route in the Sierra Nevada originally intended as a western alternative to the John Muir Trail

Podcasts I've appeared on



My Favorite Thru Hiking Camp Shoe: The Walmart Special All Foam Flip Flop


 
The search for the perfect backpacking camp shoe is one of those topics that seems to generate a fair amount of online postings. Some folks proudly do without or just run around in loosened trail runners while others justify various specialized (and usually expensive) options from vendors like Xeros or ZPacks.

After trying a number of different solutions this is what currently works best for me: $5 -ish Walmart foam and cloth flip flops.