Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis

• Now that I've returned to Florida and had a week off from the podcast, I felt ready to answer a few questions from listeners. There turned out to be so many of them that I had a good friend–and star podcaster–Glenn Hebert doing the honors. Glenn has a way of eliciting nuggets from people and he certainly kept me on my toes the whole time.

While I didn't expect to be able to articulate precisely how I was feeling after another 2000+ mile hike, I tried to be as honest as possible in this debrief. I hope that it gives you more insight into the ups and downs of an Appalachian Trail thru-hike.

The regular show will return next week, with another guest to entertain and amaze you about the trail that we all love.

If you have further questions, about my hike or about the podcast, I'd really love to hear from you at [email protected].

I wanted to share my last day on the trail with you all. The sound is often distorted through wind and even our paces. That said, I hope you gather from the show my enthusiasm and delight at getting this job done.

Don't forget, we'll be back to normal service next week, with another guest telling their story, as well as a new book that I'll be reading for you.

With the worst mountains in the 100 Mile Wilderness begins us, Trigger and I had to put in some long days to meet our goal of summiting Katahdin by Friday.

The rocks and roots, abetted by some very dubious weather, tried to throw us off our game plan but we persevered.

Make sure you listen to the last episode in this series as we try to scale Katahdin. Watch out for that episode in the next 24 hours.

Given how lucky we've been with the weather so far, I suppose it was only inevitable that the 100 Mile Wilderness gave us four straight days of rain.

Rocks and roots are tricky at the driest of times; after rain they can be lethal.

Despite this, we have a plan and are currently following it perfectly. Next time you'll see how it held up through the entire Wilderness.

We've covered a lot of ground to get here and are now in Monson, ready to hit the 100 Mile Wilderness.

The path here hasn't always been straight (or even northbound), yet we've covered every mile and have longed for these final days. There is something almost surreal about what we're about to do, as climbing Katahdin wasn't really at the forefront of our minds six months ago. But we're here and ready for it.

Hopefully, that will inspire others to follow us down this whimsical path.

Slackpacking the tougher mountains has been a feature of these past four days.

With the Saddlebacks, the Crocker's, then the stunningly beautiful Bigelows, we've been treated to (mostly) great weather.

Now, past 2000 miles, we're refining our options for the end of our journey. Hard to believe, really.

It's been a while (again). We're making progress but the miles are taking their toll and I'm often too tired at the end of the day to record.

That said, the miles continue to melt away and we're closing in on 2000 miles.

The Baldpates are the hiking highlight of this episode and we get to meet Yukon and his geodesic sphere.

My first, faltering days back from illness led me to Mahoosuc Notch on Day 3. To be frank, I think that I should have stayed another day or two with Gary and Cathy as I clearly wasn't ready to get back to it.

That said, Maine has continued to wow us and is very much not a disappointment after the wonders of New Hampshire.

There is an interview with Michael Thorp and his dog, Fecteau. If his story moves you and you'd like to help out with a donation, go to www.pawws.org

In a marked contrast to yesterday's show, this one is a little bit of a doom and gloom episode, with those earlier doubts all coming back to haunt me as I come down with an infection.

The trail is an extended lesson in life that will test you throughout. I may be near the end but I'm as susceptible to self-doubt as much as anybody.

Seeking sunshine in my cloudy mood, I discover true trail angels and the meaning of real trail magic. If nothing else, that discovery has made the past few days worthwhile.

With four days of glorious weather forecast, we couldn't wait to get stuck into Franconia Ridge and the Presidential Range, highlighted by summiting Mt Washington.

We were entertained in a log cabin, driven down, then back up Mt Washington, and experienced the area exactly how I think it should be experienced.

This episode has me at my peak on this trip. Join me again tomorrow as I tell you about my unexpected, yet rapid, decline.