Episode #336 - Kelly Thomas (Spotter)
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
Steve Adams
4.8 • 599 Ratings
🗓️ 25 August 2022
⏱️ 78 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
I found Kelly Thomas, or Spotter through my rather unhealthy habit of cyber stalking the Appalachian Trail Facebook pages. She had just summited, and her proud Dad recorded that fact. I reached out to him and eventually spoke with Kelly.
For me, her demographic, of a mid-30s female, was under-represented on the trail in past years, but I've noticed it growing in recent years. I wanted to talk with her about that.
You can follow Kelly on her YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/UnboundCrow
Today, we also speak with Katie Westling at the end of her successful hike of the Appalachian Trail. She hiked with a buddy of mine, Hugh Ickrath, from her last shelter, then met her family at the finish. Here is a picture that Hugh took of Katie with her daughter and her grandson as she "crossed the line" at the end. Marvelous!!
Also today, an announcement of another podcast on the network. Paul Collins introduces the Hammock Hangers Podcast. I hope you give it a try. You can find it at https://www.hikingradionetwork.com/, along with all our other great shows.
If you'd like to find out more about "Then The Hail Came," check out George's website at https://georgesteffanos.webador.com/. You can also find George's book on Amazon at this link. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QFG4ZR6.
If you like what we're doing on the Hiking Radio Network, and want to see our shows continue, please consider supporting us with either a one-off or monthly donation. You'll find the donate button on each Hiking Radio Network page at https://www.hikingradionetwork.com
If you prefer NOT to use PayPal, you can now support us via check by mailing it to Mighty Blue Publishing, PO Box 6161, Sun City Center, FL 35751. Any support is gratefully received.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You are listening to the Hiking Radio Network where we talk the walk with shows by hikers |
| 0:05.3 | about hikers for everybody. Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis, |
| 0:23.8 | joins Stephen his guests every week as he staggers from Georgia to Maine. |
| 0:33.6 | Hey guys, good to be back with you all on the last Mighty Blue podcast |
| 0:37.1 | before I head to California tomorrow morning you all on the last Mighty Blue podcast before I head to California |
| 0:38.4 | tomorrow morning to take on the TSX challenge. I'm pumped about it though. I'm a little nervous |
| 0:43.9 | because most of you know that my Achilles heel is altitude and we're heading up pretty high. Still, |
| 0:49.1 | I'll never know till I try it will I. The plan is to get this episode up and another one today. It's just a minute |
| 0:57.4 | before noon as I speak this on Wednesday the 24th before I go. Our guest today is Kelly Thomas |
| 1:06.0 | or Spodder and I met her through cyberstalking your dad who who posted about a Catarden summit several weeks ago. |
| 1:12.4 | As you're going to hear, he didn't get straight back to me, |
| 1:15.1 | but I eventually heard from Kelly and she agreed to come on today. |
| 1:18.7 | Also on the show is the end of the road for Katie Wessling, |
| 1:21.8 | after two seasons battling through the AT. |
| 1:24.7 | We already knew that she planned to finish last Saturday morning, |
| 1:26.9 | and I was |
| 1:27.7 | determined to be speaking with her as she finished. It worked out. Then we have quite an announcement |
| 1:34.1 | with a conversation with a previous guest Paul Collins who goes by the glorious trail name |
| 1:39.8 | of Skunkap. Paul is on after Katie. Finally today I can announce that I'll be finishing a massive |
| 1:48.2 | chapter six of then the howl came by George Tophanos with a 20 minute slug today, then the |
| 1:54.3 | balance next week. So with so much to do, let's meet Kelly Thomas or Spodder. Here she is. I saw today's guests in a |
| 2:07.6 | post on Facebook just a couple of weeks ago. Her proud father let the world know that his daughter, |
... |
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