Ronelle lives in Oklahoma and is 59 years old. She retired 2 years ago from a 30-year federal government career working for our service members, veterans, and their families. She has always loved the outdoors. She and her husband spent a lot of time outdoors while raising their two boys that included camping and hiking around their acreage. As Ronelle approached her 50th birthday, she decided she needed to get more active. She started running, riding bicycles, going kayaking and hiking. Through her adventures she has made so many super friends and great memories.

Ronelle first attended a Women's Retreat in 1995 and did not attend another one until she was in her 50s. At the retreats, she heard so many stories from women about their fun adventures. A class at a Women's Retreat sparked an interest in backpacking. In 2017, she experienced her first backpacking trip with her friends that involved camping on the trail. After the trip, they decided they liked day hiking and started what they like to call Slackpacking. Ronelle discovered an organization, Adventure in Good Company, that offers Slackpacking Section hikes on the Appalachian Trail.

In 2019, she joined a 12-women group hike for the section of the AT which goes through the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It was a life-changing experience. She decided she wanted to aspire to section hike the entire AT with the AGC organization. Early in 2020, she and two of her friends signed up for the Fall AT Georgia trip with AGC, but COVID messed up their plans.

Instead of the AT, they decided to section hike the Ouachita Trail which is 223-miles long and is a continuous hiking trail through the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma and Arkansas. She, along with her husband and friends, has completed Section 1 (23.7 miles) and Section 2 (27.9 miles) by planning weekend Slackpacking trips. Her goal is to section hike the entire OT by her 60th birthday in September 2021. She is always looking to her next outdoor adventure.

Guest Links- https://nothinglackinginslackpacking.blogspot.com/

Connect with Anna, aka Mud Butt, at [email protected]

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Music provided for this Podcast by The Burns Sisters "Dance Upon This Earth" https://www.theburnssisters.com