Episode #211 - Cari Pattison (Sprout)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
Release Date: 03/26/2020
Episode 422 - South West Coast Path (Days 1-3)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
The first three days of my South West Coast Path hike are in the books. Unfortunately, my notes weren’t in the books! I somehow lost them, so this first podcast is a little thin on detail, though full of my heart. I hope you enjoy it. I’m using my hike in the UK on the South West Coast Path to help raise money for my absolute favorite charity, Parenting Matters, on whose board I’ve been privileged to serve for over a decade. You can learn more about the hike and the organization–and donate–by visiting . And, maybe, you’ll get a personal picture of me thanking you with...
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Episode #421 - Briana DeSanctis
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
Today’s guest has recently completed a truly epic journey. Briana DeSanctis set out to hike the American Discovery Trail in January 2022. 6,800 miles later, having taken in all the seasons–twice–Briana finished her personal odyssey in February this year, becoming the first solo woman to do so. Having thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail almost a decade ago, Briana considered that it wasn’t enough for her, so she set her sights on this epic hike and worked to accumulate the funds she needed. On the way, she discovered that no woman had completed this hike, so the impetus to become the...
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Episode #420 - Clay Bonnyman Evans (Pony on the Cape Wrath Trail)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
We have an old friend on the show today. Clay Bonnyman Evans completed his AT thru-hike back in 2015, yet his latest hike is the intriguing Cape Wrath Trail. Clay shares his experience in his own inimitable style, even adding an unscheduled walk after the hike from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Because, well, why not? Clay is a contributor to the Trek, and you can follow his blog here He has added further links to illustrate some of the topics he brings up in our conversation to further aid you should you wish to follow this epic route. Also on the show today, the Dude, Brandon Jacob, shares...
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Episode #419 - Sarah Denison Williams
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
A few weeks ago, I met today’s guest, Sarah Denison Williams, at the Appalachian Trail Club of Florida, and was so impressed by her presentation that I invited her on to the show. But it turned out that Sarah had so much more to share than the confines of her presentation that we expanded our recording to cover it all. Sarah shares the work done by the Conservation Foundation here in South West Florida, but also speaks to the local and national implications of that work and other trusts around the country. Additionally, she tells us the seven wilderness survival priorities that she...
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Episode #418 - George Steffanos
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
We have an old friend back on the show today, though it’s the first time I’ve met him! He is George Steffanos, writer of the hugely entertaining blog, now book, Then the Hail Came. I read the book over about 18 months and was constantly gripped by both his recall and his descriptions of the trail. Also, it was 40 years ago that George headed out on the AT, and he shares plans for a future hike in 2025. You can buy the book at Amazon at , while you can learn more about George at . He’s also fairly lively on social media. You can follow him on Twitter (X) at , on Facebook at , and on...
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Episode #417 - Bern Leibensperger (Yardsale)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
Bern Leibensperger discovered the Appalachian Trail when her daughter expressed an interest in section hiking the trail several years ago. Since then, the two of them have racked up over 1,000 miles and, in an attempt to integrate further into our community, Bern and her husband Glen opened a hostel for hikers in PA. We discuss what it is that hikers need and Bern shares her own insights from her hiking. She’s also a fierce proponent of the Hike for Mental Health organization, helping out whenever she can with that awesome mission. You can find Bern and the Lookout Hostel on Facebook at ...
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Episode #416 - Audrey Payne (Glowstick)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
We have another successful AT thru-hiker on the show today. Yet Audrey Payne seemed very unlikely to get the chance to hike the trail a few years earlier. How she recovered, and ultimately succeeded, is a story that she tells here in a conversation with Steve. Now, six years later, Audrey has continued to hike and has just released her book about her hike in 2018. You can find it on Amazon here. She also has an excellent website with great pictures of the AT and her other hikes. . Additionally, you can find her on social media at , and on YouTube at . Also today, Bob Campbell, or Sloggy,...
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Episode #415 - Al Marriott (Lookout)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
We have two returning guests today. First up, Al Marriott, fresh from his AT thru-hike in 2022, followed up with the PCT last year. Al shares his varied life of adventure in a great conversation with Steve. He also tells us a story of how serendipitous the trail can be, with a chance meeting with people he shared an AT shelter with the previous year. Al’s YouTube channel–Adventure Together–continues to show his adventures. You can catch it here. , while he has a bunch of great pictures on Instagram and a wealth of stories on his blog at the Trek . Natisha Webb is our second...
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Episode #414 - Jessie Gehner (Twisted Sister)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
Jessie Gehner, MD, is a thru-hiker from 2008 who then went to medical school. She currently works as an ER physician at Roanoke hospital, and is a member of the faculty of the Wilderness Medical Society, spearheading the Wilderness Medicine Fellowship at her hospital. She has continued her hiking life and, in her work capacity, also hikes to Everest Base Camp each year with a group of medical professionals. Jessie has provided links for both the base camp group, and the Wilderness Medical Society. She can also be found on Facebook at We also finished our Mighty Blue Class of 2023...
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Episode #413 - Daniel Clark (Lucky Colleague)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
We meet another Brit on the show today. Daniel Clark is a listener to the podcast, and he filled in the form to register as a guest on our website, adding rich detail about his 2023 thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. We explore some of his stories. Daniel has a terrific website that chronicles some of his other hikes. You can find it at He is also on social media at Instagram and YouTube at and In our casual series of other hikes, my friend Andrew Cohen shares his recent experience on the TGO Challenge in Scotland. You can catch his YouTube at , where there is a playlist with 23...
info_outlineWe have another pastor on the show today. Cari Pattison is a member of the Class of 2019 (as am I) and she tells the story of her hike as it unfolded last year. She had planned a return to the trail this year but, with the Corona Virus now threatening to overrun most of us, she has had to accept that this year won't be possible for her.
Cari's calm presence on the show may well reassure others as they contemplate their own broken plans. If you'd like to follow Cari on Instagram, you can find her at https://www.instagram.com/follow_thejoy/
Additionally, her fascinating and extremely well-written blog on the Trek can be found at https://thetrek.co/author/cari-pattison/
There are a lot of different opinions on the virus and how hikers should respond. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has had its say (along with the associations of other long-distance trails) and I will be giving my view on the show this week. To add to that, we have a hiker who (at March 25) is currently still hiking north.
Grandma Gatewood continues her struggle north, with Post-WWII America unfolding in front of her.
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Any support is gratefully received.