Episode #371 - Zach Cross
Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis
Steve Adams
4.8 • 599 Ratings
🗓️ 27 April 2023
⏱️ 92 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Zach Cross is starting his NOBO thru-hike from Springer on May 1. That he is even attempting this hike is something of a miracle. Three years ago, as Covid hit us, Zach weighed about 400lbs. His journey since then, aided by hiking and nature, has brought him to contemplating an epic undertaking.
The simple act of committing to a daily hike up and down a mountain in Georgia speaks of his determination to not only feel better about himself, but also to inspire others, and that initially small actions can have such powerful repercussions.
You can follow Zach on his journey at https://instagram.com/hikingzach?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=, as well as on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@AT_Zach. You can hear his brief interview on CNN at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2g7jkLDd9c
Our Mighty Blue Class of 2023 is thinning out a little this week.
We say goodbye to Erin Conrad (and her Mom), and Sonny Blackwell, while Dale Shotkoski is still out there, lovin' his life.
As we say goodbye to Erin, here's a pic of the two of them at the top of Springer.
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 taught the walk with shows by hikers |
| 0:05.3 | 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. |
| 0:33.7 | Hey guys, thanks for coming back to the podcast. You've found Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis. We're up to episode number 3171 with a fascinating guy as our main guest this week. You may even have seen Zach Cross on various media platforms in the past few weeks. He's got an extraordinary story and we've got the time to tell it. I've noticed that the TV interviews are so short and sweet yet they barely scratched the surface of his journey over the past few years, previewing his new journey just ahead. |
| 1:03.6 | We'll hear from Zach shortly. |
| 1:06.1 | Our class of 2023 is at last taking a few hits, sadly. |
| 1:10.2 | This week we're here from three of them. |
| 1:11.8 | I won't give it away now, but we're going to be saying goodbye to somebody or somebody's today. |
| 1:17.0 | Just so you know who we're going to hear from, first up will be Aaron Conrad, |
| 1:20.4 | whose mother left the trail after Springer while Aaron continued on her own. |
| 1:24.6 | And then after some ridiculous technical difficulties, when I had to hold my |
| 1:29.0 | phone up to the microphone to speak with our guest, I'm going to be speaking with Dale Shokoski. |
| 1:34.5 | Finally, we'll be chatting with Sunny Blackwell, who had a few issues in the smokies. |
| 1:39.6 | Then in our book, Then the Hail Came, George is back to his pre-rest-at-home best with Connecticut, his home state, |
| 1:46.7 | easing him back onto the trial. |
| 1:49.1 | So let's get started and introduce you all to a currently untrial named Zach Cross. |
| 1:57.9 | I saw a story the other day that really touched me, so I reached out to the guy in the story and invited him to come on our podcast. |
| 2:04.6 | This is Zach Cross. Hey Zach, thanks for doing this. |
| 2:07.6 | Hey, Steve, thanks for having me. |
| 2:09.6 | Well, funny enough, your story has certainly had some legs recently where you've been on the TV in several places, including speaking with |
| 2:19.1 | CNN's Frederica Winfield quite recently. So I'm particularly pleased that you've agreed to come on |
| 2:23.7 | and chat with me. But let's start out with telling people that you haven't hiked the Appalachian Trail |
| 2:28.6 | or any other long-distance trail yet. But your life has been utterly transformed by hiking. Is that a fair assessment? |
... |
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