Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis, joined Stephen his guests every week as he staggers from Georgia to Maine.

Hi, welcome back to the show. Thanks very much for dropping by again. This is episode

number four and today I'll be speaking for the third consecutive week with another member

of the class of 2014.

I guess it was always likely that I'd have on people with whom I hiked.

Yet that wasn't particularly my plan.

Indeed, next week I'll be talking with a couple who hiked the AT back in 2001.

Everybody you meet on the trail is special.

This week's guest was my first hiking partner. even though it was only for a couple of days, so Sam Weber or Muffin Man is a special guest, if only for that reason alone.

Several people have commented that I say Appalachian Trail, as opposed to Appalachian Trail or even Appalachian Trail.

To be honest, I always said Appalachian Trail before I went on the hike, and certainly for

the first 30 or 40 miles. That changed somewhere in the northern part of Georgia, when a southern

man, hearing my accent, took exception to not only the accent, but also to how I was saying Appalachian Trail.

He insisted it was more correctly Appalachian and since I didn't want to offend him,

Appalachian Trail it became. He, rather stridently, wanted me to know that only

northerers say it that way I was saying it. It seems that the same South-North divide that I've always known from the UK is a universal thing.

Who knew?

Does anybody have an alternative pronunciation?

I have a couple of five-star comments from iTunes from the podcast, so while the going's good, I'll read them out.

Becky DB5 says, I'll read them out. Becky, DB5, says,

Great beginning.

She continues. I enjoyed this first episode and I'm looking forward to next week's.

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