Q&A with Cody Hofmockel from QCODE's THRU

In his new podcast THRU, Cody Hofmockel travels from deserts to mountains and embarks on a healing journey of self-discovery. The Pacific Crest Trail stretches for 2,653 miles or 4,270 kilometers from Mexico to Canada and serves as the backdrop for Cody’s 5-month journey on the trail and through the wilderness.

Cody interviews his parents, trail angels, and even some other hikers on his PCT journey but Stephen is here to turn the tables with some questions of his own.

SO: A lot of what we learn early on in the first episode is how close your family is and how much of a support network they provide. How did you manage those relationships and communication with family and friends during your thru-hike, and what advice do you have for maintaining these connections while on the trail?

CH:  Maybe not as well as I should have at first! I had a Garmin satellite communication device that allowed me to send texts even if I didn’t have cell signal, and also allowed family and friends to track my location. I let it die a couple of days in and my Mom was ready to send out a search team… After that I made sure to keep it charged, and I’d check in every other day or so. And whenever I got to town or to a spot on trail that had service, I’d make sure to call family and friends. As for advice: if you can post trail updates in one place, like on social media, it will allow everyone to keep up with you and give them proof of life in a streamlined way. But also, manage expectations and let them know they’ll hear from you sporadically so that you can unplug and enjoy being out in the wilderness.

SO: I’m an avid hiker myself and I’ve learned some tricks along the way so that I’m mostly prepared for that next big thru-hike. That said, 5 months on the trail is a long time. Share some things you did to prepare for your hike.

CH:  I think the smartest thing I did was physically train. I learned what walking 20 miles felt like not only physically, but mentally. I started walking as much as time allowed without a pack, and then eventually added a loaded pack into the mix. In terms of gear and logistics, halfwayanywhere.com publishes an annual PCT hiker survey which is probably the single most useful source of information for preparing for a PCT thru-hike. If I could go back in time though, I would have learned to let go a little of the idea of planning, because you really do figure it out as you go. Yes, make sure you have good gear and the things you need to survive, but truly trust in the idea that over 5 months, you will adapt.

SO: Without giving too much away, tell us about some of the most interesting people you encountered along the PCT.

CH:  Of course, thru-hikers themselves are full of stories and are just the most amazing merry band of misfits, and they’re from all over the world. However, some of the most interesting “characters” are what I call “career trail angels.” These are people who every season provide some sort of service to hikers. There’s one named Grumpy who is known for providing a ton of rides. He wears a shirt with Grumpy (from Snow White) on it, has a business card (also featuring Grumpy), and will gladly wax poetic about his theories of the universe as he drives you to your destination. He also yelled at me on the phone. It was a trip.

SO: What about wildlife? What did you know you’d run into and what were you surprised to cross paths with?

CH:  I knew there would be rattlesnakes - I didn’t know there would be that many rattlesnakes. I feel like I saw 10 or more in the desert, including one massive one that had to be six feet long near Mt. Laguna. I was surprised to cross paths with two lizards fighting to the death and a sooty grouse whose bass-heavy call you could feel in your chest. A bear broke into my friends’ cabin in South Lake Tahoe, that was wild.

SO: We’re going to get into some rapid-fire questions here!

What was your most useful or most relied-upon piece of gear?

CH:  Patagonia Capilene Cool sun hoody - one shirt every day for the entire hike.

SO: What was your least useful or least relied-upon piece of gear?

CH:  Microspikes - didn’t need them once, low snow year. Completely different story for this year’s hikers! 

SO: Did anything break or prove to be pretty useless?

SO: Anything you wish you brought along but ultimately didn’t?

CH:  I maybe wish I would have let go of being lightweight and just brought a hammock for chilling. That and shorter shorts so I could have gotten a sick thigh tan.

SO: Did you have to improvise anything while on the trail?

CH: I lost a couple of sporks and each time had to eat mashed potatoes with a tent stake.

SO: What are two or three recommendations for aspiring thru-hikers now that you’ve hiked the PCT?

CH:  Balance using info from the hiker survey and doing things YOUR way. If you want to bring a carbon fiber backpacking guitar even though it adds three pounds, DO IT. No decision is permanent and you can adapt and change throughout. Try not to think of it as one giant five-month hike. Think of it as a whole bunch of 4-7 day trips. And like, if it’s a decision between a one-person and a two-person tent with a weight difference of a couple of ounces, the extra room from the two-person tent is going to be so worth it.

SO: Did you manage to listen to any podcasts while you were out on the PCT?

CH:  Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker was a go-to. I listened to some audiobooks as well: The Wisdom of Insecurity (Alan Watts) and Atlas of the Heart (Brene Brown) were some of my favorites.

SO: What podcasts are you listening to these days?

CH:  Radiolab and This American Life are my mainstream staples, I’ve been on a “The Daily” kick lately, and Dear Hank and John is a wholesome comfort listen.

SO: What’s next for you? Anything you want to plug?

CH:  I’m hard at work on the long-form narrative docu-series episodes of Thru that will come out later this year. Things to plug: Thru (of course), the exclusive subscriber-only version of Thru available on Apple podcasts or patreon.com/thrupodcast, and my TikTok @codysgoingthruit. 

Cody can be found on TikTok and Instagram at @codysgoingthruit and patreon.com/thrupodcast. QCODE is on Twitter at @QCODEmedia and Instagram at @qcodemedia.

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