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

Every night in the woods this time. After publishing the last show at Chestnut Knob Shelter I've made it the 55 miles to Woods Hole Hostel. Characters are becoming family and we're caring about their lives as well as our own. Plenty of opportunities for copious eating and even the chance of a dip in a river. We're nearly 30% of the way through and I continue to be surprised at my progress. Here's...

I've spent the past four days hiking with my Buddy, Clay Bonnyman Evans. I trimmed back the mileage but have continued to feel better and better as I hiked. We even met some alpacas. As you can see from the pictures, the scenery remains glorious and the view from Chestnut Knob Shelter has to be one of the finest so far in the trail.

Three hard hiking days out of Damascus proved the perfect antidote to two days lying on my bed watching sport on TV. I was lucky enough to address some students studying the Appalachian Trail (yes, it's a thing) while in Damascus. I rested and healed. When I got on the trail I fell right back into it and hiked more than 50 miles in three days, with the last day an impressive–and my first on this t...

It's been an exhausting few days and my body is telling me to rest. I'm taking a double zero in Damascus, though I'm still getting in some good mileage days. I've visited a couple of great hostels recently and also had a night back in my tent. Tennessee has been wonderful but we're now into Virginia for the next month and a half. When I move into West Virginia I'll be nearly halfway there.  

Another diverse few days, with tiredness, bailouts, glorious views, wonderful people, and poignant stories filling my days. From a sun-filled Carvers Gap I crossed the balds and revealed in both the physicality and the beauty. Then, a totally unexpected evening that filled my heart with joy with a bunch of new friends thrown in. A chance meeting with a listener led to another new and solid friends...

More miles and experiences under his belt, Steve is planning ahead to ensure that he extracts the best parts of his hike when the weather is cooperating. He has met up with a listener, spent time with several new people, witnessed the sunset from Beauty Spot, and is coping better and better with big climbs. He reached Carvers Gap today and is relishing a day of balds tomorrow.

Another great few days, with weather extremes influencing the hike. Eventually, Steve learned–yet again–the importance of hiking your own hike. He has put in some fairly long days and found himself to be completely exhausted. Eventually, a plan was hatched and he is now in a far better frame of mind.

A short few days and a cloudy Max Patch. Getting the mileage up to 14s and 15s but still feeling tired, either through lack of sleep, lack of food, or both. Now in beautiful Hot Springs and enjoying the hospitality at Sunnybank Inn, or Elmer's. Life is still good.

This is the Smokies Part II episode. With five days the cover the mileage may seem unimpressive. However, within those five days, there are two "nearos" and a "zero." This has been a pretty brutal few days with snow, bone-jarring cold, warmth, slush, and a seemingly endless climb down out of these iconic mountains. In retrospect, I think that, while I'm glad they are over, the Smokies will stay in...

It's Smokies Week on the show and plenty of uphills on the way to Clingmans Dome. I became part of, and lost, my first tramily, and loved my time with them. I also met the very sweet Little Foot (follow her YouTube channel "Hike with Little Foot") and the enormously positive Posi (@MattBurnsFat on Facebook and Instagram). I even hiked with Ryan Hopkins and his buddy Chris. Ryan is the man putting...

Another few days with varying fortunes. The week started disastrously with the loss of a vital piece of equipment. The views continued to make the heart fly and the Smoky Mountain got closer and closer. Along the way, the humanity of hikers was on full display, especially one night in a very full shelter (Picture thanks to Ashley "Boomer" Enders). These are the evenings to relish and the ones that...

Another three-day stint between stops in town took Steve from Franklin to Nantahala Outdoor Center. Before he even left Franklin, however, he started with one of the finest breakfasts that he has ever had. Listen to what he had. Another view, this time with Rowemer in the foreground, was taken from about 5,000 feet elevation. The rain has stayed away and an opportunity to catch a perfect sunrise c...

The trail has been testing this past four days. Steve left Dick's Creek Gap last Thursday morning and has now reached Franklin NC after three nights in the woods. 48 hours of rain and not enough food has been testing but he has managed to push through. He is already learning how different his two journeys are going to be, with new challenges making him manage his clothing a little differently to l...

It has been an emotional three days for Steve as he faced up to his first real adversity. He knew it would happen, he was even expecting it, yet his emotional reaction took even Steve by surprise. It just reinforced his belief that the Trail impacts us all in different and often unexpected ways. He has now reached Dick's Creek Gap, at Mile 69.2, and has zeroed to reassess his pack and to restore h...

Now six days in, Steve is getting into something of a rhythm. His toes are hurting a little, though nothing too serious. He is constantly on the lookout for individual stories but only includes one today because he lost touch with his next intended "victims" in the bad weather today. With frigid weather in the forecast, he will be planning the next few days to carefully consider his options.

Steve is on his way and trying to adjust to his new lifestyle. So far, he has kept to the schedule he gave himself and finished day three in Suches. It has brought back memories from his first thru-hike, with a bunch of new characters already emerging. He is listening to other people's stories and is starting to bring them to the show. There is also a magical moment when a young woman plays the vi...

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...

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 E...

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 wing...

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 finis...

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 h...

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 fort...

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 slackpack...

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 bo...

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...