Episode #503 - Mike Wetherhold (Push)

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

Steve Adams

Sports, Wilderness

4.8 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mike Wetherhold, who was in the running to be part of the Mighty Blue Class of 2025, is our guest today. Mike went ahead and started the Appalachian Trail at the end of February, and finished mid-July. As you'll hear, he is a resilient kind of guy.

Mike also had a serious purpose to his hike, raising a considerable sum for ALS research in honor of his Uncle Jay, who died from the disease. He felt Uncle Jay's presence throughout his hike. If this resonates with you, please support his efforts at this link.https://projectals.donorsupport.co/page/mikehikestheat

You can also follow along with Mike's hike through his Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/mikehikestheat/

Two days ago, on August 19, Dave Santi, one of our Mighty Blue Class of 2025 members, finally reached the summit of Mt Katahdin with his Over the Hill Gang, with all seven members at the top together. He had glorious weather for the summit, as these joyous pictures show.

Our other Class members, Beth and Andrew, are now well into New Hampshire and experiencing the Whites. They sent me this picture at the top of Mt Moosilauke. They're loving it.

I used my hike last year on the South West Coast Path in the UK to help raise money for my absolute favorite charity, Parenting Matters, on whose board I've been privileged to serve for over a decade. You can learn more about the hike and the organization–and donate–by visiting https://parentingmattersfl.org/eventer/hike-with-steve-empowering-parents-one-step-at-a-time/edate/2024-04-15/. I hope you want to support this critical mission.

Don't forget. Our entire series of videos from our Woods Hole Weekend in 2022 is now FREE and available at my YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA8ImK4qpNc&list=PLu8u88nsJtgWZxT8DLwEW2yXcz4gT6HXs There, you'll find all sorts of tips and tricks that our guests took away from the weekend that helped them with their own hikes this year. Check it out.

I often ask listeners for ideas on who to interview, and I'm sure several of you say, "I could do that. I've got an awesome story to tell." You're the person we need to hear from. If you'd like to be interviewed on the podcast, just register as a guest on the link below, and I'll be in touch. https://www.hikingradionetwork.com/show/mighty-blue-on-the-appalachian-trail-the-ultimate-mid-life-c/guests/intake/

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 Hiking Radio Network .

Additionally, you can join our membership at https://buymeacoffee.com/mightyblue. It's worth checking out what is on offer for you there.

If you prefer NOT to use PayPal, you can now support us via check by mailing it to Mighty Blue Publishing, 3821 Milflores Drive, Sun City Center, FL 33573. Any support is gratefully received.

Additionally, you can "Zelle" me a donation to steve@hikingradionetwork.com. Or "Venmo" me at @‌Steve-Adams-105. They both work!

If you'd like to take advantage of my book offer (all three of my printed hiking books–with a personal message and signed by me–for $31, including postage to the United States) send a check payable to Mighty Blue Publishing at the address just above.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

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 Steve and his guests every week as he staggers from Georgia to Maine.
0:33.7	Hey guys, it's me again. Steve Adams on Mighty Blue, and this is episode number 503 of Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis.
0:42.8	It's quite a special show today, not only because of our main guest, but we celebrate the finish of our first member of the Mighty Blue Class of 2025.
0:50.8	Dave Santi texted me from the top of Catardin on Tuesday morning, letting me know he had finished and sending me his awesome summit picture.
0:58.1	I always hoped to get a few words with our finishes, dependent upon service of course, but I don't actually expect to be able to speak with them.
1:04.9	Nonetheless, we were able to establish a connection about 10 minutes later and spoke for two or three minutes before the call dropped.
1:11.3	I'm still going to talk with him about what happened after Monson last week,
1:14.2	but I'll be doing that for next week's show.
1:16.5	Anyway, he did it, and we'll hear from Dave for a few minutes after our main guest.
1:21.7	And it's a bit of a coincidence that our main guest today was a candidate for the Mighty Blue Class of 2025.
1:27.2	Mike Weatherhold, who was known on the trailer's Push, wrote to me last year and we talked about his upcoming at 80 hike. In the end, I chose to go with Dave, but it wasn't an easy decision and, as you know, I offered all of those I spoke with the chance to come on the show once they were done with their hikes. Mike flew up the trial and was done in July. He was an impressive guy and I think he'll enjoy hearing from him.
1:47.8	It'll be long in a moment. So with Dave Dunn and Dusted, it leaves Beth and Andrew now well into the whites. We'll catch up with them after we hear from Dave. Thanks for those of you who were kind enough to reach out to me last week, when I mentioned I hadn't felt well for about a week.
2:03.0	Now, make that two weeks. I think I'm on the verge of getting over it, but it has been a bit of a trial and I'm feeling very drained.
2:10.7	I really had to slap myself around the face to record and edit this show, so bear with me if I screw it up at all.
2:16.3	One last thing before we hear from Mike.
2:18.2	Because I've been so rough these last two weeks, I've been unable to focus on getting those of you
2:22.5	who support my show financially into our private Facebook group. I found a quick fix by making
2:27.7	the site visible to the public, but only because I'd like those of you who do support me
2:31.8	financially to go and join the group. It is off-trail with Mighty Blue and I'll look out for you as you join in the next few weeks.
2:38.9	I'll also be instigating my first online Zoom in a couple of weeks, so plenty to look forward to.
2:44.1	But now let's meet Mike Weatherhold or push.
	...

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