Episode #515 - Jennifer Cole (Indy 5)

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

Steve Adams

Sports, Wilderness

4.8 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This is indeed the season for hearing from successful thru-hikers, and we have another one joining us today. Jennifer Cole, or Indy 5, was looking for a great adventure and a bit of independence. She certainly found both on the Appalachian Trail.

She has been a stay-at-home-mother to five children over the years, and decided to hike the AT back in 2015, planning ahead ten years for the last of her children to graduate. True to her word, she hit the trail earlier this year and reached Katahdin at the end of September.

You can see more of Jennifer's on-trail photos on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jenniferwcole/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.whitlowcole

We also hear the second installment of my accountability blog, covering my preparation for my own hike on the AT in March next year. Writing this has focused and encouraged me more than I ever thought it could. I'm always happy to hear from any of you who have suggestions on how I could improve what I'm doing, so email me at steve@hikingradionetwork.com if you can help.

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 https://www.hikingradionetwork.com .

Additionally, you can join our membership at http://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 talk 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.
0:33.6	Hey guys, we're back again. This is episode number 515 of the Mighty Blue podcast, and I am Mighty Blue.
0:39.8	It's been a great week as I try to stand track with my preparations for my upcoming 80th through hike next year, and I'm leaning into the process.
0:46.9	I've made progress in both my physical preparation and my gear preparation. I'll be sharing that after our main guest today.
0:53.5	And our main guest is a recently minted through hiker once more. Let's face it, this is the time to be catching new through hikers while they're still in the afterglow, so to speak. And today we're going to be meeting Jennifer Cole or Indy 5. I stay-at-home mum for years who wanted to do something for herself and cunted up this great adventure. I was cracking up talking with her in our pre-recording conversation and you're going to hear
1:14.5	why in a moment. She's a very practical, unfazed woman who simply got it done. Just before we
1:20.6	meet her though, I wanted to let you know that in our monthly Zoom call for Buy Me a Coffee
1:24.5	members, I brought up a bunch of suggestions to add segments to the show
1:28.0	suggested by my friend Emily of Emily's Escapades. We discussed most of the ideas and I hope to be
1:33.9	incorporating some of them into the show in the next few months before I head out on trail next March.
1:38.7	And talking about that, by the way, I've registered my start date at Amacolola as March the 10th,
1:43.9	so I feel kind of locked in and
1:46.0	happy to have committed to that. If you're interested in joining our meetings and directing the
1:50.8	way in which the podcast goes, you can sign up for a membership at buymea coffee.com forward
1:55.5	slash mighty blue. So now let's turn to our main guest, Jennifer Cole or Indy 5, who turned out to be a very
2:02.5	tolerant woman, as you'll hear.
2:04.5	We had a lot of problems with her internet and laptop, so he ended up recording over the phone.
2:09.2	Fortunately, it didn't work out too bad, but apologies if it interferes with your enjoyment.
2:12.9	Here's Jennifer.
2:17.0	Today, we've got a previous Woods Hole weekend attendee and now a successful
2:23.1	through hiker from this year, 2025.
	...

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