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

Episode #540 - Days 28-30 Appalachian Trail 2026

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

Steve Adams

Sports, Wilderness

4.8599 Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dana came to visit me for a zero day this week. The Smokies are over and a record I hoped to beat while I was there remains intact!!

Even with a relaxing zero with my love, I still had to prepare for my return to the trail the following day, so there is always plenty to do; even on zeroes.

i managed to record Dana's reaction to seeing me as well as a conversation I had with a young German couple  

I'm using Polarsteps to record my AT thru-hike this year. If you'd like to follow my progress between episodes, as well as photos of my journey, please go to https://www.polarsteps.com/mightyblue and click on the follow button.

I used my hike in 2024 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 Hike with Steve - Empowering Parents, One Step at a Time | Parenting Matters %. 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 Woods Hole Weekend - Trailer 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. Come on the show!

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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

0:06.1

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.

0:34.1

Hey guys, welcome back to the Mighty Blue podcast. I'm really sorry for the delay and get this out to you all, but the service has been particularly tricky recently, and I'm only now in hot springs getting access to Wi-Fi.

0:45.9

I'm afraid you're going to have to bear with me a little bit because for the next three days, and it's now Thursday, I'm going to be in the woods and I will eventually be at a

0:55.9

hostel on the Monday afternoon. So hopefully I can get it out that Monday evening. But, you know,

1:02.6

it's just the way it goes. I'm sure you're bearing with me and hopefully, from what I hear from

1:10.4

you, you're kind of enjoying it.

1:13.0

The recap today is mainly about my time with Dana, though, of course, there was hiking

1:18.4

either side of that day. The zero came in at a good time for me because about about one month

1:26.0

into this and I feel that I'm getting a little lonely out

1:28.2

here. Several of the people I met earlier on are either in front of me or behind me and I'm

1:33.7

definitely not in a bubble right now. Obviously there are lots of people around and some I haven't met

1:40.6

and some I've briefly been introduced to or spoken with.

1:46.8

But I often go several hours before seeing anybody, literally anybody.

1:51.6

It's kind of surprising to me.

1:52.9

And I know that Dave, Santee last year had an issue with this.

1:57.3

You suddenly gets this position where there are people behind you, people in front of you, but not anywhere near you.

2:02.6

It's kind of, you know, I know it happens in hikes,

2:06.9

and I think I'm prepared for it.

2:09.5

The arriving in Hot Springs has given me an opportunity to reconnect

2:12.6

with the previous guests on the podcast, Paul Curtin or Magnum,

2:16.8

and I'll be having a beer with him tonight,

...

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