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PODCAST

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

An overweight, 61-year-old retiree, with zero hiking experience, decided to hike the entire 2,185.3 mile length of the Appalachian Trail in 2014. What could possibly go wrong? As his brother, Mike, commented, "It"s a bit like taking up boxing and fighting Mike Tyson in your first bout." Join Steve and his guests as they discuss all aspects of the trail, from gear to Lyme Disease, then back to trail magic and injury.

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All Episodes

50:45

Episode #264 - Cass Bridges (Nova)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/04/01

Cass Bridges hails from North Georgia and spent a few seasons working at the historic Mountain Crossings before taking on a thru-hike attempt of her own in 2020. Her journey included two months of isolation since she had a start date of February 1st (!) combined with a more brutal than usual winter. However, the second half of her hike included a hugely impactful trail family that made the experience even more memorable. Nova is wise beyond her years and made the most out of her Appalachian Trail

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01:17:26

Episode #263 - Zach Nagy (Just Awesome)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/03/25

Zach Nagy was introduced to hiking and car camping as a kid but a life in the rock business–working with Joan Jett–took him down another path until he met a woman from CT who reintroduced him to trails and revived those earlier memories. His hike of the PCT was transformative, with the community on that trail an unexpected highlight and delight. Now clean, he shares the dark days and the camping nights of his life with a fresh enthusiasm. If you'd like to follow Zach on his upcoming CDT thru-hike,

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01:26:16

Episode #262 - Rue Mckenrick

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/03/18

Self-described "Complete Nature Boy," Rue McKenrick is today's guest. He takes us on a journey around the American Perimeter Trail. It was Rue's vision that spawned the idea and he is the one who is driving it forward. He is soon to return to the trail after an absence of six months. When he left it for a break–in October 2020–he had been out on the trail for over a year. Rue's hiking resume is extensive, including the Triple Crown and the John Muir Trail. But it is the APT that occupies his

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01:19:12

Episode #261 - Ray Kroebl (Sparky)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/03/11

I hadn't noticed how many of my fellow members of the Class of 2019 I'd had on the show until I spoke with Ray Kroebl, or Sparky. Ray is Swiss and, while we never met on the trail, we did hike just a few days apart. He started four days before me and ended five days before I did. And it was feeling such a kindred spirit with Ray that made me aware of how many of my fellow hikers on that trip were similarly kindred spirits. When you share time in such a visceral society, we bond. Ray is from

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01:52:27

Episode #260 - Juliana Chauncey (Chaunce)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/03/04

It's one of our longest ever shows today, with three guests and my book reading. First up, Juliana Chauncey, a fellow member of the Class of 2019, and a fellow podcaster (with Zach Davis on Backpacker Radio), shares her hiking journeys on both the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail. While originally from the Eat Coast, Chaunce knew virtually nothing about the AT before she started; she only found out about MacAfee Knob when she came to it!! However, a combination of stubbornness and grit

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01:41:16

Episode #259 - Brittany Briley (Mooney)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/02/25

Brittany Briley's smile lit up the trail in 2019, and we first met at Woods Hole Hostel. A nurse by training, she felt that the time was right to take a break in her early 30s and hiked the Appalachian Trail as joyously as anybody I met out there. We didn't hike together much but, as is the way of the trail, we often saw one another. Brittany shared part of the trail with the sadly missed Pony Keg and his dog Blue. Eventually, Brittany teamed up with previous guests on this show and she summited

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01:35:09

Episode #258 - Joseph Barnett (Subway Gramps)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/02/18

Joseph Barnett had quite the adventure hiking the Appalachian Trail during the latter half of 2019 and the first half of 2020. He faced a bunch of problems, took days off regularly to explore the towns around the trail with his wife, developed a hernia along the way, yet emerged at Springer Mountain battered but victorious. Along the way, Joseph documented and photographed people, plants, and animals, eventually producing a 500-page book he'd like to share with everybody. Quite how we're going to

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01:18:36

Episode #257 - Dan Gosmeyer (Shoeless)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/02/11

We have another of my Class of 2019 brothers on the show today. I met Dan Gosmeyer pretty early on the trail and recall his quiet determination but, with a tiny hiking budget, I had doubts he'd get to the end. But the trail does something to a person. It reveals character that you may not have even known was there. Sure enough, sometime last year I received a friend request on Facebook from Dan and confirmed immediately. I checked out his page and was delighted to see that I'd been wrong; he did

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01:16:43

Episode #256 - Caroll Coyne (Cheer)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/02/04

Today's guest is another whose thru-hike was the Pacific Crest Trail, yet Caroll Coyne has lessons–and solutions–that are universal to all long-distance trails. In her early 30s, she quit a well-paying job that wasn't fulfilling her and found that fulfillment out on the trail, with the community that she craved. Returning home, her trajectory altered and her project to reconnect with the hiking community was born. You can learn more about Caroll and Thru-R at https://www.thru-r.com/. In our

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01:24:29

Episode #255 - Erik Russell (Lars)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/01/28

We have a couple of interesting topics on the show this week. Our first guest, Erik Russell, wrote to me to convey a notable if somewhat jarring, incident that he witnessed while hiking the AT in the 1997. Erik took a lot from both the hike and the incident, and he tells us how those two things contributed to help shape the man he is today. Erik is one of the few guests I've had on the show who had to search high and low for pictures of him hiking! Eventually, he found the only two that he has from

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01:25:18

Episode #254 - Tina Tempest (Chunky)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/01/21

It's lovely to interview somebody you've met and spent time with before. So I was delighted when Tina Tempest agreed to come on the show and share what happened during her 2009 SOBO hike of the Appalachian Trail with her friend. She has always had a desire to travel and fills in her background with one or two of those stories as well. Tina went on to buy a property and start what became one of my favorite hostels on the trail; The Quarterway Inn. Obviously, Covid gave her a hard decision to make,

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01:11:43

Episode #253 - Reid Marshall and Marina Santiago...

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/01/14

This week, we feature a couple who met on the trail in 2019 and have been a couple ever since. Reid Marshall and Marina Santiago are, however, locationally challenged, as Reid is in Australia and Marina is in Denver. I was fortunate enough to have met Reid on my thru-hike and was impressed with his calm and thoughtful demeanor. When we met, near the VT / NH border, Reid was on his own and didn't meet Marina until many miles later. Such is the serendipity of the trail. They share the story of their

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01:23:38

Episode #252 - Mike Current (Energizer)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2021/01/07

We normally focus on the Appalachian Trail, but this week, we're moving across the country to share the hike of Mike Current on the Pacific Crest Trail. Mike's YouTube channel provides a thoughtful and entertaining take on hiking. He and Steve chat about the hike and his intense preparations prior to the hike. Mike is particularly keen to make sure that the 2020 hikers' stories are told, believing that 2020 will become a lost year. If you'd like to follow Mike, you can see him on Youtube at

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01:32:30

Episode #251 - Steve Yale (Walmart 2021)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2020/12/31

We're back to our three-segment show this week, with Steve Yale, or Walmart 2021, as our principal guest. Steve got his name when he first hiked the AT in pretty much all-Walmart gear. He has since worked out better options, but his love of the trail shines through in both our conversation and his devotion to a life of thru-hiking the AT. In contrast to the negative responses that some people experience on Facebook, Steve has been embraced by the Facebook community, gaining support and strength

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01:03:39

Episode #250 - Trevor Hendry (Bear)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2020/12/24

It's a shorter show today, though I think the content is as compelling as ever. This week's guest is Trevor Hendry, or Bear. Trevor's 2020 thru-hike presented him (and his fellow hikers) with unusual problems that he had to encounter and deal with. However, as I've found with some of this class of 2020, his experience–while not the same as previous hiking years–was equally rich as any other. He even found himself slowing deliberately towards the end as he was relishing his adventure. You can see

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01:13:45

Episode #249 - Matthew Norman (Odie)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2020/12/17

We've got an old friend on the show today. Matthew "Odie" Norman is one of those good people of the trail. He lives it, he breathes it, and he shares it, with his Hiker Yearbook that reconnects hikers after the trail. Odie reached out to me recently and wanted to give me a recap of how he sees the hiking season of 2020. As you'd imagine, he has plenty to say that makes sense and wears his heart on his sleeve throughout our conversation. If you'd like to learn a little more about Odie and the Hiker

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01:08:19

Episode #248 - Larry Knight (McGyver)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2020/12/10

This week, Larry Knight shares his Appalachian Trail thru-hike story. It was never really a bucket list item for Larry but, as often happened, a confluence of events culminated in Larry finding himself at Springer Mountain, heading north. Injury curtailed the first attempt, but Larry returned to finish the job the following year. When Larry was finished, he wanted a memento of the trip and started thinking about a map that would be personal to him and his hike. This has developed, and a listener to

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01:45:58

Episode #247 - Stephanie Logan Hall (Puffin)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2020/12/03

Another really full show this week, with four segments. First up, there is a recently minted thru-hiker, Stephanie Logan Hall, who completed her SOBO hike on November 19. I was particularly keen to hear from her and her early impressions–which will doubtless change with time–of the trail and her adventure. Those of you who regularly listen to the show will know how impressed I am by these young women who take on the trail. It is clear to me that the world is in safer hands as they become our

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01:09:28

Episode #246 - Matthew Emerson (Prada G)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2020/11/26

We have a story today of a young man who walked away from a life of extreme poverty to find himself (literally) on the Appalachian Trail. Matthew Emerson's story is now a book, and his visceral experiences set the scene for his journey and a new life at the end. Matthew's insights gleaned from his hike resonated with me, and we share a frank discussion for this Thanksgiving Day. You can find Matthew's book on Amazon. Click the picture of the cover and you'll be taken there. Another

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01:24:40

Episode #245 - Alan Carpenter

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate... ·

2020/11/19

Another full show today, with Alan Carpenter taking up long-distance hiking in his 60s and still going today, well into his 70s. Alan's story is a testimony to his persistence, while his joy at the people and sights of the various trails he has done shines through. He does get a little banged up from time to time. In our conversation, you'll hear about how he got his legs into the state you see below. Ouch!! You can learn more about Alan and his hiking at https://longdistanceadventures.com/, while

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