Of course it had to happen. With heatwaves across parts of Europe, we thought a podcast episode on dealing with heat while hiking would be a good idea. Then it started raining.

However, it’s still an important subject. The numbers of people ending up in the hospital with sunstroke is on the rise.

So, this week, we’re talking about hiking while hot – what to do, what not to do, the signs and symptoms of heatstroke, and much more.

To do that, we’re joined by Dr. Cheyenne Falat, the assistant medical director of the Adult Emergency Department at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, the academic flagship hospital for the University of Maryland Medical Center. She is also an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

A practicing emergency department physician for about a decade, Dr. Falat's niche and area of special interest is in environmental emergency medicine with a specific area of interest in weather-related injuries and wilderness medicine.

She is also an avid skier and hiker.

To get in touch with the podcast with comments, guest ideas, or for advertising/sponsorship opportunities, email us at jim@walkingpost.com

Francesca Pezza, who will soon be a recent college graduate from Santa Clara, was a hiking counsellor in Colorado last summer, a bucket list item for her.

She attended Camp Cheley in Rocky Mountain National Park for 30 days every summer, beginning in 6th grade. Hiking became her love, and every summer she would get her "hiking patch," and other nature designations. Her dream was to someday, of course, be a counsellor, but specifically a hiking counsellor.

Finally, last summer she reached the age that allows one to be a lead hiking counsellor, 21. Instead of taking internships, she decided that fulfilling her dream of leading groups of young women into the Rockies to discover nature and parts of themselves was more important.

To get in touch with the podcast with comments, guest ideas, or for advertising/sponsorship opportunities, email us at jim@walkingpost.com

Most people would know the definition of a life coach, but what is a travel coach?

An ICF-accredited travel coach is someone who applies International Coaching Federation standards to help clients use travel for personal or professional growth, rather than just booking trips. In practice, they work with people to clarify goals, intentions, and desired outcomes before a journey, then use coaching skills like active listening, powerful questions, and accountability to shape the experience.

The “travel” part means the coach may help clients think through why they want to travel, what they want to get from it, and how to match destinations or experiences to those aims. That could include self-discovery, healing, connection, career change, relocation, education, or general life direction. It is more about transformation through travel than itinerary planning.

ICF-accreditation signals that the coach has trained under standards recognised by the ICF, a major coaching credentialing body. That gives the practice more structure and credibility, and it distinguishes it from ordinary travel consulting or travel agency work.

Courtney Rosiak-Quinto, our guest this week, switched jobs in California to follow her dreams and become an accredited travel coach.

To get in touch with the podcast with comments, guest ideas, or for advertising/sponsorship opportunities, email us at jim@walkingpost.com