Paul Misko is an avid Catskills hiker, who –– true to his Boy Scout roots –– is always prepared. As spring rolls in and we pull out the hiking boots (maybe shaking out some nuts and nesting material from winter mouse habitation), Paul offers a refresher on what to pack for our walks in the woods, plus some best practices for hiking with kids and leading a group.

For more, check out Paul's blog, Catskill Forest Adventures.

And if you'd like to hear John Burroughs' own account of that ill-fated hike on Slide Mountain, we just happen to have an audio edition of his famous essay -- "The Heart of the Southern Catskills" -- on our audiobook titled Afloat & Afoot.

---

Thanks to our sponsors: Briars & Brambles Books, Hanford Mills Museum, Ulster Savings Bank, and the Mountain Eagle.

Kaatscast is made possible through a grant from the Nicholas J. Juried Family Foundation, and the support of listeners like you!

If you've been tuned in to local media for a while, you might Remember Paul Smart, writer for the Woodstock Times and author of the 1994 book, Rock & Woodstock. Paul lives in Mexico now, but he's still writing about the Catskills. And The Strange Recital, "a podcast about fiction that questions the nature of reality," published Paul's latest novel through their very own book imprint.

This week, I sat down with Brent Robison and Tom Newton, both of The Strange Recital and Recital Publishing, to talk podcasting, publishing, and writing.

Following our interview, stay tuned for a "podcast takeover," and hear the full Strange Recital episode featuring Paul Smart's Overlook.

---

Thanks to our sponsors: Briars & Brambles Books, Hanford Mills Museum, and the Mountain Eagle.

Kaatscast is made possible through a grant from the Nicholas J. Juried Family Foundation, and the support of listeners like you!

Dubbed the "first lady of radio," Mary Margaret McBride was a welcome voice in millions of homes in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, pulling in 6 to 8 million listeners daily! Mary Margaret interviewed 30,000 guests, from Eleanor Roosevelt to the neighborhood plumber, and produced 15,000 shows –– no repeats! Oh, and she was a radio pioneer, broadcasting some of those shows from her converted Catskills barn. When I learned about Mary Margaret, I picked up a copy of Susan Ware's biography, "It's One O'Clock and Here Is Mary Margaret McBride," and reading about her life in journalism, her passion for audio storytelling, and the heartfelt connection she made with her audience, I was awestruck. Join Susan Ware and I for a fascinating conversation about this Catskills broadcast legend.

---

Thanks to our sponsors: Ulster Savings Bank, Briars & Brambles Books, and the Mountain Eagle.

Kaatscast is made possible through a grant from the Nicholas J. Juried Family Foundation, and the support of listeners like you!

---

Thanks to Ray Faiola at Chelsea Rialto Studios for bringing McBride's TV pilot to light. See Mary Margaret in her West Shokan home, interviewing actor Eddie Dowling.