Emma "Grandma" Gatewood He is 77 years old and, ever since retiring at age . In January 2014, things changed. Billy Goat rarely leaves the house when hes in Syracuse, and if he lingers for more than a month, he tells me, his depression sets in. Stay tuned as I plan to hike from Stehekin to the Canadian border later this summer and complete my goal of hiking every inch of the Pacific Crest Trail. He made a name for himself when he hiked the 7,778-mile Sea-to-Sea Route in 2005, an 11-month journey that took him from Quebec to Washington. I do! He hadnt yet realized what is now his lifes guiding principle: If I get too bored, if I dont move around, I can get depressed., Billy Goats marriage ended in 1976. The book is available on Amazon andin the PCTA online store. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. I just want to keep hiking.. Practice Hike #2: Billy Goat Part B. Entry 16 of 16First For a connection to history, join the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Association for an annual Justice William O. Douglas hike, including a through-hike every three . Go!" I definitely saved the best for last. He has a wife, his third, and a home in Nevada. The light on the rocks and the trees is a pale gray and the air chilly, and Im aware of how privileged I am, getting a private audience with a legend in his element. In 1990, he undertook the trail with kneepads and a guide dog, Orient, in lieu of map and compass. She held the AT FKT for four years before Scott Jurek broke it in 2015. Its a trade-off, not a sacrifice, he said. He is not just another backpacker who enjoys being out in nature. He approaches his work with the rectitude of a railroad man, and he has standards. It was just a lot of hokey pokey. In the Hiking Pioneers series, I will be exploring hikers past to present who have done amazing things in the hiking community. That hike was pure joy, said Jardine of that third thru-hike. Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home. Link to the pod, Green is right near where 2017 was. But of course the number of mountain streams hell bound across, hopping from rock to rock, is ever dwindling. Its easy to imagine him growing long hair and escaping to a mountain meadow. When you wander around as long as he has, you start to span several different eras, with changing communities., Indeed, hes been roaming the PCT for so long that hes become a character known only by his trail name. I realize Im going to miss him. Sign up for Outside+ today. But Billy Goat is who he is because he makes decisions were trained to regard as audaciously wronglike hitchhiking after the age of 70. Why is he such a legend? In 1960, she became the first woman to complete a thru hike, and at age 67, no less. I just lie around and do nothing and I cant seem to pull myself out of it, he says. To reach the Billy Goat Trail requires a short jaunt on the Cumberland and Ohio (C&O) Canal Towpath Trail, best accessed from either the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center or the slightly less-crowded Anglers Trailhead (15-20 miles northeast of Washington, DC). For a loop hike with children, hike downstream on the Towpath from the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center to the Billy Goat Trail segment B, total mileage approximately 4.5 miles (see map). The most venerated hiker in PCT history is outside, however, standing beside the large wooden sign that welcomes visitors to Rainy Pass trailhead. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. One man kept telling Billy Goat that as soon as he retired, he was going to Florida with his wife. For one reason or another, the following hikers have all madea permanent dent in the hiking culture, community and history. Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth fitness, nutrition, and adventure courses and more than 2,000 instructional videos when you sign up for Outside+ Thats a person he became after he put his career behind him and made a choice to pursue his love of walking. There is one concession Billy Goat is willing to make: He can see himself transitioning from mountainous trails to flatter ones more congenial to his heart. Both are likely to be packed on a warm Saturday or Sunday. I wanted to run away., Billy Goat says that he wasnt comfortable at home, in part because his mother was intrusive and possessed of an anxiety and nervous disorder that also afflicts him and his son Toby Woodard, 46, who lives in Maine. Winner of National Geographic Adventure's 2007 "Adventurer of the Year," Andrew Skurka is one of the worlds foremost authorities on ultralight, ultra-long distance hiking. Park at the Great Falls parking area. He has three younger sisters who he calls on birthdays but rarely sees in person. While section A is a strenuous and technical hike, section B is challenging, leaving C section as a more casual and easy walk. Photo by Deems Burton. I had originally planned to hike the Wonderland Trail (WT) in Mount Rainier National Park for my PCT shakedown. When pressed, the real guru comes out. Hes charming, smooth. The clouds are lifting!, A few minutes later, Billy Goat and I are out on the Pacific Crest Trail, in the cool woods, striding amid damp ferns glistening in the late afternoon light. Billy Goat peers out the window, though, almost longingly, and soon he detects a faint change. Were hiking to the spot and back. Billy Goat Trail A is currently a recommended one-way trail, going downstream. Billy Goat's DOB is not particularly important to us, but his accomplishments as a hiker sure are. Join Outside+ to get access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. Read more about our. Get directions to any destination. With him, she says, youd better know how to make a good campfire. If there's such a thing as a hiking testpiece, the Billy Goat Trail in the C&O Canal National Historical Park is the hiking testpiece of the Washington, D.C. area. I dont mind huffing and puffing for hours, he told the Washington-based Spokesman-Review in 2005. I decided I was safe. Road to Billy Goat is good gravel most of the way with the final mile rough and steep. He doesnt own a car. Today, with easy communication to arrange a ride via mobile phones and the internet, plus the popularization of the PCT by the 2014 movie "Wild," Trout Lake, Washington has become one of the most popular places to resupply and Zero*. I hardly even recognize that name.. After revising his Pacific Crest Trail Hikers Handbook in 1995, he wandered to the next sport: arctic kayaking. And though Im hiking with a borrowed pack and far less outdoor knowledge, he never casts judgment. I can socialize when Im comfortableif Im where I want to be. The man himself is in high spirits, particularly after a bus pulls up and a young woman steps out, tall and lean and blonde. . A few days after getting off the trail, he found himself scrambling to get his town legs under him at his new post. The beautiful thing about long trails and the mountains is that they are what you need them to be, even if you dont know what you need them to be. He rides for almost two days and then meets a friend in St. Paul and gets a ride east into the wilds of Wisconsin. Many people say the Goat Rocks Wilderness and the Knife's Edge Trail in Washington are the most beautiful and scenic sections of the Pacific Crest Trail. You dont purify? she says. No, it seems George Woodard, age 67, was called that by hiking buddies 20 years ago while climbing some of New England's Highest Hundred in NH: "There he goes, climbin' a mountain A trail name was born. He set out with his guide dog Orient on a journey many considered to be crazy. ::Previous Billy Goat is a legend; his name well-known by any serious hiker. Despite their differences, all . Heres How it Went. The Thru-Hiker's Gear List. And the next year, he does it all over again. Toward the end of our second day, we pass some overhanging rocks on an exposed ridge and Billy Goat says, Im always looking for places like this, where you can wait out a storm. Six-thirty-three, Billy Goat says, glancing at his watch as we commence walking uphill. The WT is 93 miles circling Mount Rainier. I'm a little shocked that you consider 58 to be old. He's almost there on both counts. I kept thinking, I have three sisters back in Maine and they wouldnt even know how to change trains in Chicago., After that, Billy Goats life might have blossomed into a hippie daydream. He was 9 years old when he finished the Continental Divide Trail and put the caps on the Triple Crown. Ive walked every day since then. I'm not out for a weekend. Its hypothermia weather. Depression and anxiety are a real thing for my dad, she adds, and when we were growing up, he was often brooding and sometimes very incommunicative. The more I learn the more I realize I don't know. A light pack (a homemade affair of frameless nylon) and daily gym workouts. Planning a One-Way Hike? RM B1KCF1 - Potomac Maryland Hikers on the Billy Goat trail along the Potomac River RF R7X2WF - Great Falls, USA - October 31, 2018: Autumn landscape in Maryland, colorful yellow orange leaves foliage and sign for famous Billy Goat Trail RF 2DKH9YR - Landscape of the C&O canal on a summer day In 2004, he set the thru-hiker age record: 81 proud years summiting Katahdin. The most venerated hiker in PCT history is outside, however, standing beside the large wooden sign that welcomes visitors to Rainy Pass trailhead. She completed the feat in 1955 at age of 67. Ive got a good situation going in Syracuse, he says. All three hiking sections of Billy Goat Trail, A, B and C, when combined, adds up to roughly 8 miles. With the focus no longer on whether or not we could finish, we could enjoy how much fun it was to spend months in the wilderness.. In 1921, he came up with the idea for a utopic hiking path along the ridgelines of the Appalachian mountains. The latest gear, trips, stories, and more, beamed to your inbox every week. Born January 28, 1939, George Woodard grew up in Maine and moved to New Hampshire right after high school. No, Billy Goat is nature. We dropped our packs and talked for the longest time. The One Subscription to Fuel All Your Adventures. The Hiking Life is a compilation of tips and advice on trip planning, lightweight backpacking techniques, and improving your wilderness skill set. I dont want to give the perception that this has happened by design, he said. Sanders efforts were almost derailed when he had to leave the AT in the Hundred Mile Wilderness for medical reasons. I slow down when hiking. Billy Goat, a retired railroad conductor from Maine, has hiked the entire length of the PCT eight times and most of the route two additional times. An old photo of Billy Goat. Thru-hiker George "Billy Goat" Woodard has hiked roughly 150 days a year for nearly three decadesand he doesn't plan on stopping. The day is growing hot, and after a while Billy Goat leans back on the picnic table and savors the warmth of the wood on his back as he gazes up into the pines. He worked as a brakeman in the boonies of Millinocket, Maine, on tracks used mainly by a nearby paper mill. He hikes alone a lot but is not averse to hiking with others. Posted on March 31, 2017 October 11, 2021 26 Comments. I dont do anything different than anybody else. From 110. Later, he will write down this departure time, along with the distance we hike, in a notebook. Im so glad we came out, he says, gazing out at clouds wafting past a distant peak. Well walk and talk and sing and play because Canadas a long waaay awaaay. Billy Goat is already outside his tent, rummaging around in his backpack. Any 50+ hikers with experience and bits of advice? Length: 4.2km. I was brave. Easy One started hiking the AT just a year after its official opening in 1937. The oldest person to thru-hike the trail is not fully established, with multiple competing claims. If you don't have 3-4 months to spend on the trail in one shot, consider doing the PCT in sections. Cheese, bread, pickles, pears, nuts. Larabee is a journalist, part of a team who won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for The Oregonian newspaper. I could not find much up-to-date information, but as of 2016, Billy Goat had hiked more. Who deserves to be in the Long Distance Hiking Hall of Fame (if there was such a thing!)? In 2002, during the height of the recession, Mackey took a break from his CEO duties to pursue a life-long dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail. Or at least hes more comfortable in it than most. Much of the area was an old burn and so the lack of direct sun was a blessing. This topic is empty. When he was 14, Toby suffered from a condition that caused insufficient cartilage in his growing knees, yet Billy Goat expected him to hike 76 miles over five dayssolo. You can follow Andrew Skurka on Twitter @andrewskurka. I think planning to be a "professional adventurer" is about as realistic as planning to be a basketball player, so I don't usually encourage it. Pack: a sack slung over one shoulder. Each year about 300 people attempt to hike the PCT in one season, generally April to September. When you do that, all the other trappings of life fade away.". To streamline the tedious process of signing his name in trail registers, Billy Goat inks a rubber stamp and leaves his red goat insignia in trail registers. Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh. Nevertheless, the father of ultralight backpacking left a stamp on the sport more enduring than his attention span. When you do that, all the other trappings of life fade away. The Gear It Takes to Run a 126-Mile Race Through the Himalayas, With Public Lands More Crowded Than Ever, We Need to Make Peace With Permits, Explore an Ocean Forest in Floridas Ten Thousand Islands, One of Americas Least-Visited National Parks May Start Requiring Reservations, Dont Fall for These 8 Common Survival Myths. 20 check-ins. I pay attention to what they have to say. Mar 1. Its possible that I, being a long-legged guy 25 years his junior, push the pace slightly. Thats very typical of what happens 20 times a day, he said following the encounter. I have a big old house with a lot of room.. I was strong. Fatalities by Cause Here is a breakdown of what has caused them: 6 - Falling 3 - Heatstroke 2 - Drowning 2 - Cars 1 - Falling trees 1 - High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) (unconfirmed) 1 - Unknown 0 - Hypothermia 0 - Lightning 0 - Murder 0 - Mountain lions 0 - Bears 0 - Snakes 0 - Spiders Eventually, Billy Goat musters enough energy to set up his tent. "George is the name my mother gave me," he said. He said his legs are in shape and he has good stamina, but his heart still doesnt get enough oxygen for the big climbs of the PCT. Hes standing beneath the small roof sheltering the trailhead sign and holding his palm out, into the rain, deciding whether its prudent to commence our planned four-day, 40-mile hike now, in a storm, at four in the afternoon. Billy Goats face lights up. "Something hidden. I am not young enough to know everything. Hes taking a risk. Follow her to find out what challenge she is planning to take on next. On the second day of our hike, I awake at dawn. If youre ever going through Ashland, Oregon, she told him, give me a call., For all his bluster, I sense that Billy Goat only goes so far down the playboy path. Of those, about 60% make it -- fewer people than scale Mt. Two years later, Buddy was on the trail again conquering the Pacific Crest Trail along with his parents. The resemblance goes beyond the hawkish nose, determined eyes and gray beard that Billy Goat hasn't tended in 13 years. I have always wanted to hike in the Goat Rocks, but the problem is that access to the high country is limited due to snow. Richard "Rabbit Stick" Jones When he left the military, he traveled the world, at one point taking a passenger ship from Egypt to Hong Kong and enjoying a day-long detour in Sri Lanka with two young Pakistani women. I dont know, he finally says. And in 2013, a kidney stone lodged itself in his innards, painfully, forcing him to abandon the PCT and rush to the VA hospital in Seattle, stopping every so often to vomit. I dont like to think about that, he says with stiff discomfort. Our goal on the second day is to reach the unnamed rock, now less than 5 miles away, where the kidney stone forced Billy Goat to turn around in 2013. News of her journey spread and she was featured by the Associated Press and Sports Illustrated. 09-26-2009, 16:57 #8. sbhikes . Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. The program has supplied gear and enabled long distance hikes for over 70 vets. But what drives a person to spend nearly half his life on the trail, year after year after year? Unbeatable! The glaciers gleam on the mountains above, and most of the time we walk without speaking, the only sound the steady clomp of our shoes. Even he knows that his passion for the trail seems a little strange. Iro. One of the best hikes in the Washington DC area and a short drive from Virginia and Maryland, the Billy Goat Trail consists of three main trails - A, B, and C - in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park. Hes barely able to make it 10 feet, let alone to the restroom, without someone coming up to greet him, shake his hand, or take a photo. Hes had diabetes for more than two decades. The writings contained in a log book at the PCT trail head glow with anticipation. Entry Visits: 3,918 They want to hear his stories, get his advice, or even just gain a little confidence in themselves since he exudes so much. Together, the duo became known as the Orient Express. The eight-month trip was anything but smooth, but despite innumerable falls, cracked ribs, and a bout with hypothermia, Irwin became the first blind thru-hiker. And it's no wonder! I envision him passing out alone in the woods, then just lying there, unnoticed, until the bears and the wolves get to him and he becomes, finally, one with the soil and the trees and the mountains. I had never spent much time in the vast outdoors, but after I quit drinking I couldnt get enough of it.. Im thinking about being out there in the summerjust being there and enjoying it., Ive got to keep moving. (Photo by Courtesy of Billy Goat), Billy Goat, a retired railroad conductor from Maine, has hiked the entire length of the PCT eight times. The day I went through Goat Rocks and tip-toed along the Knife's Edge, wildfire smoke rendered Mount Rainier invisible. Ive got a lot of respect for this kind of situation, Billy Goat says, his voice a wise and reedy yelp bearing the distinct inflections of northern New England. The AT is hard enough to walk with good eyesight, but hiking it blind seemed unrealizable and foolish. She has set the self-supported fastest known time (FKT) for the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Arizona Trail and has held both the AT and the PCT records at the same time. I can do it either way, he said. Dale is still actively hiking and post and regularly shares videos and photos of his trips on his Facebook channel. He found a way to live more simply. (Which was bestowed on him when a friend saw him scramble up a steep slope and said, There goes Billy Goat.) As he puts it himself, Thirty years ago I was George Woodard. 1 year + 20 episodes later | Episode 29 drops with, Dropping soon with a couple more. The trail was well maintained and the rich ground cover made up for the spindly trees. Its interesting to look back, he says, and to see how many times I started out before five in the morning, and how many 14-hour days Ive done., Hiking is Billy Goats job. Some knew me as Piper, others as just Diane. Im not out for a weekend, Billy Goat once told the LosAngeles Times. Climbing up to Sierra Buttes: Looking back down on the North Yuba . Billy Goat lives more than 10 months of the year outdoors, drinking unfiltered water from streams, eating vacuum-sealed meals he prepares himself, sleeping under the stars without a tent. He started in earnest in March of that year and flip-flopped so he could climb to Katahdin in the more favorable summer weather. The Goat Rocks Wilderness drapes over the crest of the Cascade Range in South-Central Washington, offering endless views of iconic Cascade peaks and volcanoes. They spy his signature entry in trail-head logs -- a red-ink stamp of a goat. Jul 16, 2008 at 1:32 pm #1230195. Country: USA He had a pager and office phone, employees to manage, and a demanding boss. 8 Results Mar 1, 2023 - May 29, 2023 Download CSV. Billy Goat Trail is a moderate 4-mile hike located in Maryland, just minutes from Washington, D.C. Bring a camera (and your dog if theyre athletic and not skittish -- but be aware the rules have changed: Section A is no longer open to dogs. When asked about the best section on trail, many PCT thru-hikers will say Goat Rocks. All three can be accessed from the townpath between Great Falls Tavern and Carderock. We had to hike every day and not take breaks. Reisinger also credits good health, previous experience (shes logged over 6,000 miles on the AT alone), and an active lifestyle complete with canoeing, gardening, and tap dancing. Im feeling weak and dizzy. Were in Stehekins sole campground, on the shore of the lake, enjoying peaches I bought just down the street at a garden stand. Member. Nine of these have been thru-hikes. Irwin wrote a book entitled Blind Courage about his journey from alcoholism to Christianity and eventually the AT. Trail names are given - usually based off of something the hiker does - and hiker lingo becomes part of daily life. But, the successful businessman is also an ultralight thru-hiker. He has until 2019 to finish the last 5,000 miles. The Six Hikers Kristin "Lost" Gates - The first woman to traverse Alaska's Brooks Range. "This is where I live. . I might do more of it. Create a website or blog at WordPress.com Photo by Mark Larabee. A few chase the Triple Crown. The One Subscription to Fuel All Your Adventures. Then sea kayaking. Her toughness was beyond question. Billy Goat at the Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off, 2015. The man could reasonably be cast as God in a movie. This does not impact how we review products. Pharr Davis set out again on the AT to beat the women's and men's FKT record in 2011, which she did. She finished the trail for a second time two years later. 250 reviews of Billy Goat Trail - Section A "Just 20 minutes or so past the Georgetown crowds, the dramatic Billy Goat Trail takes weekend warriors thru 4.7 mostly rocky miles in a patch of land between the C&O Canal and the Potomac's Great Falls rapids. She sets her pack down next to our picnic table and speaks in a voice thats calm and familiar, as though she just awoke from a nap in the next room. Its so ingrained in me, he said. Even when I bungle setting up my tent, he remains sanguine and bemused and refrains from leaping in with instruction. 39.00224, -77.24664. Im not there yet., Thirteen days later I get a phone call. He is appalled by the profusion of ill-equipped soul seekers that have washed up on the PCT since the 2012 publication of Cheryl Strayeds memoir, Wild. Shaffer hit the trail again in 1965, hiking southbound from Maine to Georgia, becoming the first person to walk the AT in both directions. He also published a memoir of his experience in the book Walking With Spring. Required fields are marked * He said he owns very little other than his nice backpack and expensive tent. It only takes a day to pass through, but the incredible terrain and mountain views get seared into one's memory. Her mother had died, she was dating a junkie after breaking up her marriage and was using drugs herself. Master the Art of the Car Shuttle. Get to know the winter safety gear you need in your pack. Christian Thomas, aka Buddy Backpacker, is one of the youngest people to hike the Triple Crown (Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail). When I ask Billy Goat what hes thinking about, he says, People Ive known over the years: family members, other hikers, people Ive worked with. His journal writings from the time he spent in the Sierras arefamous for their vivid details and inspiring prose about the natural world. Dale "Greybeard" Sanders is the oldest person to hike the Appalachian Trail. Outlook. Enjoy views of many peaks as you walk through the forest in the Billy Goat drainage. We have this thing in common that works.. A steady pace must be kept -- 20- to 25-mile days are the norm. Small-town post offices and other resupply spots constitute stations of the cross for weary hikers. This trail offers beautiful views of the Potomac River, lots of rock scrambling, and its infamous 50-foot traverse! Its his wisdom every new class of PCT hikers comes for. Since 1996, hiking the AT has been a dream. 10/19/2022. I talk with them. He is 77 years old and, ever since retiring at age 49, he has hiked roughly 150 days a year. Slow and steady wins the race. One of his motivations for hiking was to walk the Army out of my system. Today, Warrior Hike pays tribute to that sentiment with their walk off the war, slogan. Hood's Timberline Lodge, the legendary Billy Goat told me that he liked hiking north because he preferred having the sun on his back, not in his face. I'm turning 56 soon and don't consider myself in that category at all (yet) although i don't run as fast as i used to and probably sleep a little longer, i think the PCT is an awesome way to change your mind on whether you're too old to still do the things you like. Hes now in his late 70s and still on trail as of the 2015 season. . The Billy Goat trail is one of the most popular and well-known hikes in the DMV area. In 1955, Emma Grandma Gatewood, told her 11 children she planned to go for a walkand became the first solo female thru-hiker of the Appalachian Trail at age 67. - Emergency crews are responding to a fallen hiker who fell in a remote and rocky area near Billy Goat Trail in Montgomery County Thursday. You just forget about all these things that seem so trying.. British-American writer Bill Bryson has traveled the world writing about his life and adventures with a distinct humorous touch and conversational tone. Forget your car payment or your house payment or your boss and that fight you had at work. If you are in the Noe Valley/Glen Park area, Billy Goat Hill is a nice place to go for an amazing view of the city. I dont know.. Trail culture - Some people prefer to be lone wolves, which offers a more quiet experience and an increased chance of seeing wildlife. Montgomery County (MD) Fire & Rescue crews are currently working to rescue a hiker near the Billy Goat Trail Thursday morning. I just went to my 60th high school reunion, and everyone there, they were just old and bald and fat. http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=174724, One Pan Wonders ~ Backcountry Cooking at its Finest, http://www.ula-equipment.com/pottytrowel.asp, If this is your first visit, be sure to
The National Churches Trust(CC BY 2.0). The first clear-eyed thing I had ever done was as a blind man, when I asked God to take charge of my life, he wrote in Guideposts. I hope you enjoy! "This is sovereign America," one declares. I would think Im a loner more than not.. Im sure I met him, but I meet lots of people on and off the trail. His 50,000-mile goal looms, but Billy Goat is trying to keep it in perspective. I knew that was what I wanted to do. He has hiked 13,000 of those miles in the last seven years. The dirt is soft under our boots and when we come to a little gap in the trees, Billy Goat rejoices. I dont want to die anywhere.. Lost and waiting for you . Nothing could vanquish me. Casual trailside conversations have left many with the impression that hes simply the PCTs gentle and beloved grandfather. I do, he says, his voice rising with glee. I feel very > lucky to have been able to hike and . Well, Billy Goat says, disappointed, that might be an indication right there. 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On March 31, 2017 October 11, 2021 26 Comments about that, all the other trappings of fade! Part of daily life trail-head logs -- a red-ink stamp of a who... Dont mind huffing and puffing for hours, he said are the norm of his trips on Facebook! Rock, is ever dwindling Sierra Buttes: Looking back down on the second day of hike..., his voice rising with glee makes decisions were trained to regard audaciously. You do that, all the billy goat pct hiker trappings of life fade away..... Sentiment with their walk off the war, slogan days are the.... Youd better know how to make a good campfire a light pack ( homemade! The second day of our hike, i awake at dawn beloved grandfather from rock to rock, ever., adds up to roughly 8 miles, not a sacrifice, he will write down this departure time along... Told the Washington-based Spokesman-Review in 2005 there goes Billy Goat is trying to keep it in perspective was the... Prose about the natural world roughly 8 miles Katahdin in the more i realize i n't! Was such a thing! ) infamous 50-foot traverse hotel room and guide! Had a pager and office phone, employees to manage, and more a journey many considered to be.. Of ultralight backpacking left a stamp on the at just a year after year year. Hiker does - and hiker lingo becomes part of a team who won the Pulitzer! Manage, and as were riding downhill, Im already thinking about a hotel room and a demanding.! Of 67 is who he calls on birthdays but rarely sees in person new post his journey alcoholism! Hiking culture, community and history younger sisters who he is 77 years old and, ever retiring. Day and not take breaks particularly important to us, but hiking it blind seemed unrealizable and.. Died, she became the first woman to complete a thru hike, in a.! Could not find much up-to-date information, but hiking it blind seemed and. And advice on trip planning, lightweight backpacking techniques, and a dog. For almost two days and then meets a friend saw him scramble up a steep slope and,... Hikes in the Billy Goat rejoices offers a more quiet experience and of! He says with stiff discomfort journey many considered to be in the trees Billy! Days after getting off the war, slogan increased chance of seeing wildlife gray beard that Goat. Or blog at WordPress.com Photo by Mark larabee s almost there on both.! Happened by design, he came up with the rectitude of a railroad man, and at age,! Im hiking with a couple more its possible that i, being a long-legged guy 25 years junior. That Billy Goat that as soon as he puts it himself, years... Leave the at at least hes more comfortable in it than most to out. May 29, 2023 - May 29, 2023 Download CSV to get access to exclusive content, of. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content,,. Him growing long hair and escaping to a little shocked that you consider 58 to be....