Grandma Gatewood: The Unstoppable Trailblazer | E181

The CRUX: True Survival Stories

Bleav + Kaycee McIntosh + Julie Henningsen

Society & Culture, Halloween, Nature, Documentary, True Crime, National, Crime, Wilderness

4.0 • 609 Ratings

🗓️ 1 September 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week's story is about the incredible Emma "Grandma" Gatewood, who became the first woman to solo hike the entire 2,168-mile Appalachian Trail in 1955. At 67 years old, this Ohio grandmother completed the journey wearing canvas sneakers and carrying only a homemade denim bag, blanket, and shower curtain - proving that extraordinary achievements don't require extraordinary gear. After surviving decades of domestic violence, Gatewood found freedom on the trail and went on to hike it three times total, inspiring countless hikers and helping save the Appalachian Trail through the national attention her story generated.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, survivalists. This is the Crux True Survival Story podcast. I'm Casey McIntosh. And I'm Julie
0:14.4	Henningson. And we are medical professionals with a passion for wilderness survival.
0:18.9	Join us as we explore real life survival stories and the critical moments that determine
0:23.6	their outcomes.
0:24.7	Buckle up.
0:25.4	Adventure awaits.
0:26.5	Let's dive into this week's story.
0:30.8	Today we're talking about someone who redefined what it means to be unstoppable.
0:37.6	Casey, when I think of survival stories,
0:39.8	I often picture bear grills
0:42.1	or maybe somebody stranded on top of a mountain.
0:45.5	But today, I'm going to tell you
0:47.0	about a remarkable grandmother.
0:49.7	Not just any grandmother.
0:52.2	Emma Gatewood, though everyone called her Grandma Gatewood.
0:56.5	She was a 67-year-old great-grandmother from Ohio, who in 1955,
1:03.1	became the first woman to solo through hike the entire 2,168-mile Appalachian Trail.
1:12.5	And what makes this story even more remarkable is that she did it with minimal gear
1:17.9	in a way that would shock modern hikers.
1:21.3	And she came from a background that most people today can barely imagine.
1:25.9	So this grandmother was just like, hey, I'm going to go on a
1:29.1	really, really long walk. What the heck? Basically, and pretty literally, that's what she did.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Bleav + Kaycee McIntosh + Julie Henningsen, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Bleav + Kaycee McIntosh + Julie Henningsen and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.