Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
This show is about what it was like to hike the AT in 2014 as a fat 61-year-old with zero hiking experience. Guests join me to share their stories and insights all the way from Georgia to Maine. At the end of each episode is a chapter from the latest hiking book that I'm reading.
Episodes
This week, we have a little change of pace. I attended the Woods Hole weekend last week as a presenter, and I came away with friendships, more knowledge, and a decent amount of humble pie as I savored the experience.
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Glenn Sweitzer, designer and filmmaker, is our guest today. Glenn’s fascinating back story takes in working with Disney, designing artwork for Tim McGraw and others, then telling stories through film, before ending up on the Appalachian Trail, discovering and sharing stories along the way.
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Sandra Katerina Schmelzer Alvarez, or Peaches, completed her Appalachian Trail thru-hike last month. She is a single mother who managed her autistic son’s reaction to her hike by preparing him for a year before she left.
Roxanne Strine completed her Appalachian Trail thru-hike just a few weeks ago, at the sprightly young age of 70. She proved her mettle after her original plans fell through at the last minute, deciding to modify those plans and just go for it.
Darrell Eck, or Old Stag, is this week’s main guest. Darrell retired as a teacher in 2022 and fulfilled his dream of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. He had kept a picture of the AT behind him in his classroom, so the completion must have been sweet indeed.
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Mike Wetherhold, who was in the running to be part of the Mighty Blue Class of 2025, is our guest today. Mike went ahead and started the Appalachian Trail at the end of February, and finished mid-July. As you’ll hear, he is a resilient kind of guy.
Our guest today is Mike Innes, or Bobcat, who hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2007, just before the explosion of technological marvels that help hikers these days. It was also the era when lightweight gear was about to become an obsession, so it was interesting to speak with Mike about his experi...
This interview was four years in the making, with Maddie Boehm our main guest, four years after we first made contact. It was worth the wait, as Maddie talks about her somewhat tricky start with backpacking on the Appalachian Trail.
Welcome to episode 500 of the Mighty Blue podcast, with Jessica Hawkins, or Dixie, as our main guest. Jessica has been a guest several times before, but in this conversation, we focus on recent life events and her hiking within a family structure.
Our 499th episode features Charlie Rogers, a fellow member of the AT Class of 2019, and an all-round good guy who gives back to the trail as a trail maintainer and shuttle driver.
Brigid Bell set out on a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail just two years ago, and had the most extraordinary encounter in the Smokies. That she lived to tell the tale–and continued her thru-hike–is testament to her resilience and the calmness she gained as a 911 dispatcher.
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Our guests today are Jim and Sarah Klepzig, a couple who lost their 22-year-old son, Tristan, in a terrible car accident five years ago. Tristan is on the left in the picture below, taken just two weeks prior to his accident.
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We meet Charles Bruce, or Tracker, this week. Charles is a member of the Appalachian Trail Class of 2022, and he fulfilled a long-held bucket list item when he completed his thru-hike.
Charles is from the northeast, and one of his pa...
Our guest today is an old friend of the show; Dr Lynne Savino. Lynne always has an interesting take on medical issues related to hiking, and this week, she discusses older hikers on trail.
She brings her normal passion for hiking and medicin...
This is it; the final days on my Camino trip in Spain. We cover the final four days, as well as interviews with Dave, plus Beth and Andrew from the Appalachian Trail. Next week, we'll be back to normal!
Almost there, with the trail now full of people since Sarria. I should be finished this weekend.
Also, Dave is well past the 1200 mile mark and feeling the full effects of Pennsylvania. It hurts!!
We’re closing in on the end and I’m not sure Im ready to be done. We’re back into the mountains and views are opening up all around us.
Beth and Andrew have been joined by more friends to hike with for a few weeks.
I’m back in the rhythm and within a couple of weeks from the end. I’m meeting new people, reacquainting my legs with hills, and eating relentlessly. I love hiking!!!
Dave has passed Harper’s Ferry and pushing into Pennsylvania and the rocks!
Today rounds off my last hike into Léon before taking a scheduled break to visit my family for a birthday party, followed by a long detour back to the trail via England, where I watched my beloved Mighty Blues in their unexpected play off final.
we also hear again from Beth and Andrew as they take on the first part of the Virginia Triple Crown; Dragon’s Tooth in the rain.
The first half of my Camino hike is done and I’ve arrived at Léon for my scheduled break with family (and a soccer match).
Dave is near the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail and has recovered his mojo.
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