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

For our 52nd episode–which commemorates the fact that we've been podcasting for precisely a year–I caught up with Jessa Hackman, otherwise known as Attie. Jessa was first introduced to listeners of the show in Episode #16. She had written to me requesting Grizz's hiking preparations spreadsheet and, as I sent that to her, I wondered if she would be a candidate for a project I'd been considering. I wanted to follow a hiker in their preparations for the hike, then continue to hear from them throughout their journey. Jessa had just qualified as lawyer, she was very articulate, and it seemed to me that she had the potential to really give the Appalachian Trail a determined try. We discussed the idea and I immediately gave her an "out." I wanted her to be sure that this show would be something that she could commit to and, after a weekend's thought, she agreed. Later hearing from her mother, Joan, about Jessa's many achievements already in her young life, I knew that we'd found an exceptional woman. Moreover, involving both Joan and Jessa's fiance, Nick, in her journey seemed to give extra impetus to the project. For this week's pictures, I asked for one of Jessa as a lawyer and one of her at her skankiest as a hiker. Typically, Jessa obliged by giving me a neat set of "kind of matching" images. For me, this is something of a sad farewell, as I've thoroughly enjoyed my weekly chats with Jessa. That said, we now have a permanent record of her hike that, in some small way, this show has helped bring to fruition. Hopefully, guests, listeners and I feel some part of that success and can share in the feeling in the picture below.

Daryl Fleischer is aware that his thru-hike, hopefully with his lovely wife, is several years in his future. He has work and family responsibilities, like many of us. Yet his joy at being a weekend or occasional day hiker shines through in our conversation. He is a self-confessed trail addict and is prepared to work for his hiking fixes, including sleeping in his car overnight to get a good spot on McAfee Knob the next morning. If you'd like to follow our weekend warrior, you can connect with Daryl through Facebook. John Boyet returns to feed us another serving of information. This time, John is talking about food and the various options available to hikers. You can always reach out to John for more advice at [email protected]. Don't forget to return to the show next week. I will be celebrating my one year of podcasting and will mark it by talking with Jessa after her successful return from Katahdin.

Mike Skelton is another listener who wrote into the show and immediately intrigued me. I'd asked for a few examples of the transformative nature of hiking and Mike provided me some thoughtful notes and personal examples. He is a hiker who has spent a lot of time on both the Appalachian Trail and other trails of America. He gave me some useful advice on how to avoid altitude sickness but, as you now know, my body refused to cooperate when I got above about 9,500 feet. Mike is selfless in his desire to get others into the woods and he told me that he led a group to the Appalachian Trail recently. It was a thrill for me when he told me that they listened to my podcast on the drive to Springer. The picture above, on the left, is of that group, while the other is Mike with a bunch of buddies at Glacier National in 2014. The photo below is Mike on his last trip to the AT. You can connect with Mike on Twitter, where he goes under the name @beardedskelton, or email him directly at [email protected]. This week, John Boyet turns his attention to tents. I wish somebody had warned me that I was going to be sharing my tent with my backpack, so my advice is always going to be this; choose a double if you can. Funnily enough, I think John agrees with me on this one. Ask John anything you'd like at [email protected].

Lynne Savino wrote to me and gave me some funny examples of the differences between a section hiker and a thru-hiker. I have a lot of respect for section hikers and the way in which they have to rediscover their hiking legs EVERY time they go out into the woods. I love to hear these different perspectives so I invited Lynne onto the show. She told us about how she was introduced to camping as a child by her father through adventures in a GMC Motorhome. The picture below is of Lynne and her brother, by the GMC, somewhere out west in the 1970s. She even tried to replicate that spirit, using the very same GMC, with her own family. While she muses that one day she'll be able to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, Lynne is currently content to hit the trail any time that she can and bite off sections. She can be found on Facebook and Instagram, though she confesses to being a little behind with her Instagram account and promises to do better!! In our conversation, I learned that Lynne is a physician and she shared some important information regarding the almost industrial-scale consumption of Ibuprofen, or Vitamin I, on the trail. She referred to a recent article in the New York Times and sent me a link to it. As I used to ship in four of these wonder drugs every day, I'll be reading it with interest. Now that I'm back home, I've caught up with Jessa once more, so John Boyet's excellent advice series has been pushed back for this week. Speaking with Jessa proved to be a lovely recap and her progress really lifted my spirits. Finally, thanks to everybody who pledged to support me on my hike. While I was unable to complete it–and thus reach out to you to collect your pledges–I'm gratified at how generous some of you were. Stuff like that really warms my heart.

When Edwin Thullen decided to hike the Appalachian Trail he had several challenges to overcome. His sheer size made gear acquisition a formidable process, but he gathered what he could and headed for Georgia. The previous winter had been spent living out of his car, so he was expecting Georgia to be warm. It wasn't. Watch the astonishing physical and mental transformation that Bear undergoes as he learns how to do a thru-hike on the fly. Follow Bear's journey as he constantly readjusts his expectations for his eventual finish and modifies his gear to meet the many challenges along the way. His is a story of resilience that will make you laugh, bring a tear to your eye, and fill you with admiration as he battles on toward his goal. The fact that our conversation has a happy ending is a bonus that will please all of you. John Boyet returns this week with advice on what to look for when you are deciding upon which backpack to buy. You can ask more of John by emailing him at [email protected] Don't forget that you can still pledge a few bucks for my Last 10,000 Feet Challenge to support Family Partnership Center here in Bradenton, Florida. My John Muir Trail is being dedicated to this great cause. Email Bridget Harry at the center at [email protected]. Thanks so much for the support.

Bethany Varner completed her hike on July 1 this year. She had zero overnight backpacking experience, yet she adapted so well to the challenge that she was even able to squeeze in a cruise with her boyfriend while on the trail. On the way, she rediscovered her faith in humanity, sharing her journey on YouTube with an ever-growing following. She also blogged regularly, at The Trek. You can see some of her photos from the trail on her Instagram account, and if you happen to tweet from time to time, why not follow her on Twitter? Without any updates from Attie, John Boyet has stepped into the breach by providing us with some excellent gear advice while I'm away on the John Muir Trail. If you have any questions for John, just email him at [email protected]. If you'd like to follow part of my hike, I'll be posting on Facebook at When I'm 64. Also, if you'd like to pledge a few bucks to the child abuse prevention agency which I'm supporting on this trip, just email Bridget Harry at the agency at [email protected]. Thanks so much for any help that you can give.

When Robby King and his daughter, Meredith decided to hike the Appalachian Trail, his wife Nancy decided that she could support them far better by driving an RV to various road crossings and providing them sustenance and a bed for the night. While Robby and Meredith covered the standard 2,200-mile length of the Appalachian Trail, Nancy chalked up over 10,000 miles of driving to back up their effort. Their story eloquently demonstrates the importance of familial love and support as hikers take on this daunting challenge. The physical changes, particularly in Robby, show the toll that this hike can take on the physique, yet with each of them encouraging the other, they made it to the end just a few weeks ago for that picture of pictures at the top of Katahdin.. Not only did Nancy feed and house her family on the trail, she took a major responsibility in ensuring that their blog was kept up to date. You can follow them here. This episode features the last interview I'll be able to do with Jessa before I leave for California. She only has a few weeks to go and I'm very proud of the part our podcast may have played in helping her during her hike. I'm also, of course, ridiculously proud of Jessa herself. When I return I'll be doing a complete program with Jessa, her boyfriend Nick and her mother Joan. If you can't wait until then, follow her blog and see how she fares. If you'd like to pledge to support my hike of the John Muir Trail, which I'm doing to support families in my local community, please consider pledging a few bucks for Family Partnership Center by emailing Bridget Harry at [email protected]. Thanks to everybody who has done so already.

This week's guest is another from the Class of 2014; Tim McGann, or Tadhg. He shares his story with us and provides the perfect example of how the trail always provides. Indeed, on his first date with Erica, now his wife, she enthusiastically embraced the idea of his hike and supported him along the way, ultimately summiting Katahdin with Tim at the conclusion of his journey. Tim can be found on Facebook and would love to hear from any old friends he may have met along the way. I was able to catch up with Sarah Williams (Tough Girl) from a previous episode. Sarah is attempting to complete the AT in 100 days and, at Day 50, it seemed like a good time to catch up mark her progress. You can follow Sarah's journey on her YouTube channel, though the posts are currently behind this 50-day mark. I had the chance to speak with not only Attie this week but also Joan, her mom. Sadly, I won't be here when Attie summits Katahdin, but I will be doing an episode in September when I return from the John Muir Trail that will cover Attie's reflections of the trail and of course her conclusion at Katahdin. Don't forget. If you can't wait to find out about Attie's progress, she'll be publishing her blog right to the end. Thanks so much for supporting the show so far. If you'd like to support my John Muir Trail hike with the "Last 10,000 Feet Challenge" for a local child abuse prevention agency, Family Partnership Center, please either email your pledge or contact Bridget Harry at the center at [email protected]. I appreciate everybody who has done so already.

Jan Leitschuh, at the time more comfortable on a horse than hiking through the woods, found herself contemplating a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail following the death of her mother in 2001. To prepare, Jan hiked over 500 miles, including the entire length of the Long Trail. In 2003, she was ready to go. She had already done a trail journal from the Long Trail so it seemed natural to keep that idea alive on the AT. Her journal was all the more remarkable because this was nearly 15 years ago, before the iPhone. Jan used a device called Pocketmail. Reading the journal now gives us a great representation of what it was like to hike the AT at that time. The link above takes you directly to the AT story, though you may find yourself reading her Long Trail journal as well. Jan also produced a book about her Long Trail journey. You can link to that here. You can reach out to Jan via Facebook. I've added a little section about my own return to the Appalachian Trail in the first week of July. We had a blast and I produced this silly little film just for the fun of it. I clearly have waaaaay too much time on my hands. In the picture below we are, from left to right, Lefty Righty, Skeezix, Golden, Sherpa, Skates, Mighty Blue, and Turd Ferguson. Attie continues her quest and is now in Vermont. Her renewed enthusiasm for the trail has been a delight to me. Once again, thanks to those of you who have supported my Last 10,000 Feet Challenge by pledging money to the Family Partnership Center here on the Florida Gulf Coast. It is so much appreciated. If you'd like to support, just send me an email to [email protected] with a figure for how much you'd like to pledge and I'll only be coming back to you for the pledge if (when) I complete my John Muir Trail adventure in August. Returning once more to Jan, today, along with her regular hiking activities, Jan has taken a role in a farm to table co-operative in the Sandhills of North Carolina. It is an interesting website that may be of interest to some of you if you're in the area.

Chrissy is a woman who came to the trail in search of herself. She had endured a difficult personal life and fallen out of love with the person she had become. While the trail can't provide every answer, it can certainly soothe, perhaps even heal, one's soul. She posted several visceral videos on her Facebook page and seemed to be conducting a thorough self-assessment. The trail had several surprises for her, with the latest surprise coming on the day that I posted this episode. Listen to my comments after the interview to do a complete catch up with Chrissy. If you'd like to contact Chrissy, you can email her directly at [email protected]. Alternatively, she would love you to follow her on Facebook. Talking of catch ups, I was delighted to hear from Jessa after missing out with her last week when I was back on the AT with the Fat Guys, and Gals, Back in the Woods. She continues to power forward and I can't help feeling a little paternal about her. Go Attie / Jessa.