What If the Hero's Journey Is the Wrong Story? With Heather Hansman

Heather Hansman is an award-winning outdoor journalist, an Outside columnist, and the author of Downriver and the bestselling Powder Days. Her new book, Fierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America's Love for the Wild, is out now.

In this conversation: the therapist who mapped the heroine's journey, and the very famous mythologist who told her women don't need one; Georgie White swimming Grand Canyon rapids in 1945 in tennis shoes and a couple of hard candies; why there always seems to be exactly one available spot at the top for a woman, and what that has to do with the way we talked about Rachel Entrekin winning Cocodona outright; topophilia, or what happens when the love of your life turns out to be a landscape; and whether the American myth of the lone tough guy summiting the mountain is, frankly, a pretty boring story.

This episode is brought to you by LMNT. Go to drinklmnt.com/UltraSignup for a free sample pack with any order.

Featured race: the Bear Canyon Trail Run in Sandy, Utah, on Saturday, October 10. Formerly the Corner Canyon Ultra, now with a new name and a new course. The 11 Mile Classic climbs over 4,000 feet in five miles, the 20 Mile Challenge runs that loop twice, and there's a 5K if you'd like to keep your quads. Every dollar raised goes to an individual or family facing serious hardship, nearly $70,000 to 13 recipients since 2013. Registration closes Wednesday, October 7. Sign up at UltraSignup.com.

The Trailhead is part of the UltraSignup Podcast Network.