Episode #224 - JC Van Etten (Catmando)

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

Steve Adams

Sports, Wilderness

4.8 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 25 June 2020

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, we have JC Van Etten, or Catmando. Not only did JC recently win our six-book giveaway, but he was also part of the very tight "tramily" that Togs and Lucky referred to a few weeks ago. I wanted to hear JC's side of the story and, as I'd anticipated, he brought his own slant to the journey that they all shared.

JC retired early from work and hopes to fill his retirement with further adventures, though the Appalachian Trail was the fulfillment of a dream many years in the making.

As part of this dream, JC raised money for a charity close to his heart, Paws of War. You can learn more about them at their website, https://pawsofwar.org/contact-florida-chapter

on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PawsofwarFlorida/

and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pawsofwarflorida/

Kate, or "Phoenix," has had a tough few days and is pushing on in the heat of Connecticut after a zero in Kent, CT. She's having to pull on all her reserves of grit and determination as she continues to recover from her ankle injury and the tough terrain.

Grandma Gatewood, after summiting Katahdin, had to deal with an inordinate amount of celebrity in the immediate aftermath. As she is going through this, a new plan is forming in her mind.....

In this week's show I also referred to the excellent discussion that Anna Huthmaker had on her latest podcast with El Miller and the issue of hiking while black. It is a thoughtful, insightful look at something I'd never truly considered. You can find it on https://traildamespodcast.libsyn.com/episode-57-el-miller-bear-spray

I also mentioned my own fundraiser for hikeforH2o, a charity that helps fund the construction and maintenance of wells in Africa, giving villages access to clean water for the first time. I'm currently 30 miles into my 45 miles-in-a-week challenge. You can still sponsor my effort at https://runsignup.com/MightyBlue

If you like what we're doing on the Hiking Radio Network, please consider supporting us with either a one-off or monthly donation. The donate button is on the Mighty Blue podcast page at https://mightyblueontheat.com/the-podcast/

Any support is gratefully received.

Music for the "A Woman of a Certain Age" segment is by permission of Kate's friend, John Jensen. You can see and hear it in full on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlP7g7qivo4

Thanks, John.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You are listening to the Hiking Radio Network, where we talk the walk with shows by hikers
0:05.2	about hikers for everybody. Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis, joins Stephen his guests every week as he staggers from Georgia to Maine.
0:34.3	Hi guys and welcome back to the show. This is Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis,
0:40.6	and I am your host, the aforementioned Mighty Blue or Steve Adams.
0:44.3	Each week we try to bring you somebody new who can tell you their personal story
0:47.9	on usually the Appalachian Trail, the heart to anybody who's gone on the wrong walk.
0:52.5	For me, the great thing about doing this show is that it
0:54.9	proves that literally everybody who's done this has a different story, even if they spent time hiking
1:00.9	with previous guests. It's actually one of the reasons I went again in 2019, because my podcast
1:06.0	has shown me that all of our journeys are different, and I knew that I'd have a different hike to the one I had in 2014.
1:13.1	So a few weeks ago we had Toggs and Lucky, a couple of great people who found each other on the
1:17.8	trail and a Tramly that was so tight that I wanted to talk with another member of that Tramley.
1:22.8	So this week we have Capando or J.C. Van Etton.
1:26.9	We heard about J.C. from Toggs and Lucky, but we didn't hear from him, so he will be along shortly. We've also got Phoenix Mac on, and this week, frankly, she's struggling a bit. I hope she pushes through, but she makes a really interesting observation on the terrain that one encounters if one decides to do a flip-flop and start
1:44.7	at harbour's ferry. I hadn't really thought about it, but it certainly made me think.
1:49.0	Phoenix or Kate will be on after JC. Now you may have thought that Grandma Gate was journey
1:54.3	was over after she summited Catalan last week. Certainly not. There are still four chapters
1:59.1	to go, though this week and next week are both fairly short chapters.
2:02.8	Today we hear an immediate aftermath and a growing celebrity.
2:06.9	So let's get on with it and listen to J.C. Van Etton or Kathmandu.
2:14.8	I'd like to introduce you to somebody who you've kind of already met on the show.
2:19.6	This is J.C. Van Etton or Capando.
	...

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