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

When Megan (from the UK) and Mark (an American) started their respective hikes on March 5, 2018, neither could have imagined how their lives were about to change. They met that first day–Megan was the very first person who Mark met on the trail–and started hiking together the following morning. Their meeting and the unfolding of their hike reflects the serendipity of the Appalachian Trail and they summited together five months later.

When they had finished, Mark put together this short video of their hike at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAHFsEhANt0 while Megan blogged about their journey at https://megdolmanat2018.wordpress.com/

Bruce Matson came on the show to share news of his successful fundraising efforts on behalf of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and shared some news of his upcoming book to add more funds to the ATC.

If you'd like to see more of Bruce's hike and efforts, go to http://www.rtkchallenge.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgs4kgtMJPGslFSwHkgkesQ/featured.

This is the last show in its current form and, from next week, I'll be on the AT. If you'd like to follow along, why not check out these sites. I'm on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HikingRN/, Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hikingradionetwork/, and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpTCOIGPxoau_6aGohYpUPg/videos

For now, though, I'd like to leave with our young couple who found love on the Appalachian Trail; Megan and Mark.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is THE critical component in a healthy trail for hikers, both now and for the future. Suzanne Dixon is the President and CEO of the ATC and in this week's show, she tells us about the exciting new initiative that the ATC has recently launched.

Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail is lucky to have the first media interview about this initiative, called The Wild East. The poster below will give you some of the flavor of the Wild East and there is a new website specifically about the project.

https://wildeast.appalachiantrail.org/

Suzanne has worked in conservation for much of her working life and is a passionate advocate of both the ATC and this initiative. Listen to her as she tells us about the Wild East and learn how you can assist in preserving the trail for future generations. Then, to find out more about how you can help, visit www.appalachiantrail.org

Lisa Rana tells us about her recent journey on the strenuous Grafton Loop Trail. If you'd like to see more of this trail, check out the two videos that Lisa has linked us to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvvO-xOQLFw&t=6s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiaTo8lVeN8&t=678s

Finally, we have reached the last few chapters of The Year We Seized the Day, by Elizabeth Best and Colin Bowles. I hope that you enjoyed hearing me and my lovely niece Laura over the past few months. When I return from this year's attempt on the Appalachian Trail I'll be reading Paul Stutzman's great book–a personal favorite of mine–Hiking Through: One Man's Journey to Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail.

As soon as I started speaking with Paul Maguire I knew we'd get on well. He has that cheeky Irish lilt to his voice with a smile just under the surface, ready to make an appearance at a moment's notice.

Paul retired and was looking for something to do when the AT caught his attention. Unlike some, though, he didn't go straight to the trail. He hiked in Ireland for a while before spreading his wings and touring Europe with a kayak, his bike, and his backpack. He even took a major detour up Mount Kilimanjaro.

Eventually, Paul made it to the East Coast of the US and headed north. What he found was a delightful surprise, as I'm sure he was to his fellow travelers.

We also have Margi Miims this week, the eighth and final member of the Mighty Blue Class of 2019.

Margi and all our class members are hoping to beat the odds and complete the trail by the end of this hiking season. I hope you stick around and follow our journeys.

For now, though, let's finish with a beaming Irish Paul.

Another two members of the Mighty Blue Class of 2019 this week. Lea Ann Hogan and Lotta Anvret have given to others all their lives. They are a nurse and a special needs teacher respectively and feel the time is right to do something for themselves.

Lea Ann (on the right below) has a calm determination to succeed and Lotta (on the left below) is flying in from Sweden in the hope that she can finish within her six-month visa. She is hoping that she meets a friendly Homeland Security agent at the gate!

The awesome Tyler Lau is a man on a mission. Not only has he completed a Calendar Year Triple Crown, but he is also working for more diversity on the trails of America. An Asian American, he volunteers to support his various social projects and truly walks the walk. He started a Go Fund Me page to sponsor the various causes. You can find that at www.gofundme.com/8000milesto8000smiles.

He hasn't had the chance to fully absorb the scale of his walking achievement and is slowly adjusting to life back with other people.

Tyler's experience is considerably different from many others, with the sheer size of his hike pushing him to eschew the traditional end of one hike as he heads to another. That he took on this task to be a catalyst for change is a fine example of using his outdoor skills to benefit others.

You can follow Tyler on several platforms:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HikingProdigy-202569297197744/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hikingprodigy/

He has a website currently under construction which will be available soon: http://www.hikingprodigy.com/

Similarly, his YouTube channel is under construction and will be at hikingprodigy when it is available.

If you'd like to reach out to Tyler, his email address is [email protected]

We return to my non-preparation for my upcoming hike of the AT. Listeners have offered their input and some decisions are hardening. Hopefully, by the time I get onto the trail, I'll be ready.

When Randy Forrest reached out to me so that he could tell his own story of hiking the Appalachian Trail as a member of the Class of 2018, I knew straight away that I'd found a man changed by the experience.

Like many people, Randy came to the trail via YouTube, comments made in passing, and the end of his career. The challenge appealed to him, so he planned accordingly.

We all rely upon good fortune to get us to the end and most of us fear a hike-ending injury. A fractured ankle would normally fall into that category but Randy wasn't to be denied. Ignoring his doctor, Randy hurried back to the trail to pursue his dream and made it all the way, seven months after setting out.

You can follow some of his journey on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXTUWYqN3qb_kQgaE8zG5lg, as well as Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/randy.forrest.79 and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rforrest719/.

In my preparations for my upcoming hike, you'll hear that I'm still second (sometimes third) guessing myself and making about as much progress at this stage as I'd always expected to make, ie, very little.

Dawanna Blue is a self-confessed high-maintenance hiker. She is a member of the Class of 2018 and her hike was five years in the making. Having arrived at the trail, she soon discovered that she preferred a hotel or a hostel to her tent or a shelter.

Despite this aversion to one of the main parts of a thru-hike, Dawanna shaped her walk to make it the best experience for her. She embraced slackpacking and found all the other elements of the hike to be a joy, with new friends to be found throughout her journey. The picture above shows her with previous Mighty Blue guest, Chrissy Funk.

Dawanna had many moments of doubt, often leaving the trail, always to return when the Appalachian Trail called her back. A flip-flopper, she shared the finish of Katahdin with others, aware that she still had about 900 miles to go. Feeling broken by the effort to get to Katahdin, she was revitalized when she returned to Shenandoah to head south, finishing her hike with her son at Springer.

You can see more pictures from her journey on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/wyld_blue_wander/

Don't forget to help Steve prepare for his second Appalachian Trail thru-hike by suggesting gear that he may like. Email him at [email protected] or go to https://mightyblueontheat.com/contact/ to leave a voice message for him.

Dan Harris spent many years in the CIA, little suspecting that he'd one day use those problem-solving skills to take on a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. He has battled cancer and stood at Springer Mountain with just one lung. Undeterred, he pushed forward with a never-say-die attitude that was tested when he sustained a knee injury in the Smokeys.

Dan adapted his hiking gait to accommodate both his knee and his lack of lung capacity, pushing on and accumulating friends and experiences along the way. He shares some of those observations and experiences in our conversation.

Given the treatment he had received in battling cancer, Dan also chose to use his hike to raise funds for the Cancer Research Institute. If you'd like to donate post-hike, head on over to https://fundraise.cancerresearch.org/fundraiser/1578411

Dan also started a YouTube channel to share his story. You can find that here. https://www.youtube.com/c/ThruHikingwithScars.

When he reached Maine, Dan was joined by his wife, Random, and the two of them were able to share the sweet moment of climbing Katahdin together.

This week, I started a short middle section that is going to be an interactive section that helps me accumulate my gear and prepare for my 2019 hike. Please join in and send me a message, preferably through SpeakPipe. Find it here. https://mightyblueontheat.com/contact/

One of our sister shows on the Hiking Radio Network, Returning to Katahdin, featured Bruce Matson's successful attempt to fulfill his 44-year dream of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Greg Behrens accompanied Bruce for much of the last two states in this journey. Each man had a significant impact on the success of the other man's hike.

Greg felt called to the trail and discovered much, not only about himself but also the trail. He formed new friendships, strengthened an already strong faith, and was able to get to the end through a combination of both.

You can see more of Greg's AT adventure on his YouTube channel, GBolt on a Trail, at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCik_4AcN_NPHW7vu3vhRBGA/videos?view_as=subscriber. You can also read his Trail Journal at http://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/577754

Carlton Johnson is the last of our Class of 2019 adventurers. His journey has already started, in that he attempted a thru-hike in 2016 which came to an unhappy end. Read about that as he prepares for the second attempt next year. http://www.trailjournals.com/vagabundo

As you'll hear in the main interview, Greg is a spiritual man, so let's leave him in silent prayer in front of Katahdin's iconic sign.

Choosing what to eat on the trail normally ends in Snickers, ramen noodles, or pasta and rice sides. While these certainly give you instant energy, the long- and even some of the short-term effects aren't exactly optimal. What if you had a healthy alternative that gave you more and longer-lasting energy, weighed less, and gave you a sense of well-being, rather than a bunch of highs and lows?

Jessie Greger believes that she has found that alternative. Jessie was living on a ketogenic diet and found that it suited her so well that she decided to hike the PCT on that diet. While she knew that it would be difficult to do it logistically, she enlisted her boyfriend as her supply buddy and set out.

It worked like a dream. Apart from an irresistible pancake challenge, her keto diet proved to be not only possible but in many ways preferable. She didn't experience those sugar rushes and lows and she found that her energy lasted longer than most other hikers. She probably needed it when she ran into scenes like the one below.

On her return home, she started Next Mile Meals, which provides some of the meals that she took with her, as well as information and recipes for keto eating. You can check out her website at http://nextmilemeals.com/ while she can be found on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/nextmilemeals/

If you'd like to learn more about the benefits of hiking on this diet, read her blog post on the subject https://www.nextmilemeals.com/blog/keto-and-ultralight-backpacking

The latest member of the Mighty Blue Class of 2019 is Katy Amphlett. Katy has quit her job as a kindergarten teacher and has been preparing carefully for her journey. We wish her the best of luck.

Last, let's finish with Jessie and the contrasting pictures of her at the beginning and the end of her PCT journey.