Since 1996, hiking the AT has been a dream. This 60-plus hiker has walked the Appalachian Trail 17 times since 1972. He's a modern-day John Muir.". By the end of the trip, Irwin had fallen so much that he wore shin guards to protect his legs from the inevitable knee-crushing stumbles. Billy Goat has hiked more than 32,000 miles -- which would have taken him around the world and a third of the way again. Bill Irwin was the first blind person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. The trail includes some intense rock-hopping and a steep climb along a . He eventually settled in San Francisco and fell in love with the Sierra Nevadas. Hood, Sandy Glacier Headwall . The PCT traverses 24 national forests, 37 wilderness areas and 7 national parks. After revising his Pacific Crest Trail Hikers Handbook in 1995, he wandered to the next sport: arctic kayaking. Im not on vacation. Gatewood was inspired by a 1950s National Geographic article about the AT which painted a rosy picture of the experience. I dont like to think about that, he says with stiff discomfort. . Heather Anderson, known on the trail as Anish, is one of the top female hikers and among the fastest long-distance hikers to set foot on the trail. Its almost like its my job, like Im the ambassador.. We have this thing in common that works.. With him, she says, youd better know how to make a good campfire. Youll always be my son.. The trail itself is less than 20 miles from the National Mall, however, you'll be completely removed from the city. Three miles in, as we near treeline at dusk, he collapses trailside, complaining of chest pains. One of his motivations for hiking was to walk the Army out of my system. Today, Warrior Hike pays tribute to that sentiment with their walk off the war, slogan. Then, shyly, faltering, she asked, Are youare you Billy Goat? Another hiker we met, trail name Miss Washington, reminisced aloud about a chance Billy Goat sighting shed made a few summers earlier. The hike should take around 1.5 hrs to complete. It was just a matter of getting the numbers lined up. He worked on and off as a railroad consultant for a few years, making the jobs work around his hiking schedule. The triple-crowner has logged over 32,000 miles and has become a legend among long-distance hikers. Im feeling weak and dizzy. One-way travel prevents hiker "jam-ups" at the Traverse and other narrow areas of the trail, protects natural habitats, and reduces the number of encounters with other visitors. Expect the worst. Master the Art of the Car Shuttle. Toby says simply, She henpecked him to death and he couldnt wait to get out of there. It dates back to 2010, when Maw-ee and Paw-ee got together with Chuck Norris and Tigger to bring a vanload of hikers off the Florida Trail and into a Golden Corral to meet legendary long distance hiker Billy Goat and surprise him for his 70th birthday. Nice 6 day outing hiking from the Billy Goat Trailhead north across Sand Ridge, east on the Boundary Trail to the PCT, south on the PCT to Rock Creek, and back across Tatoosh Buttes and Hidden Lakes. Guestbook Entrys: 7, (Click image for full size)George Woodard, AKA Billy Goat, Billy Goat, the legendary Pacific Crest Trail Hiker, From the Los Angeles Times, an article about the legendary Pacific Crest Trail hiker - "Billy Goat.". Direction: Northbound, Journal Stats Timing is everything: The desert must be crossed before it becomes dangerously hot, while the window for traversing the Sierra's snow is relatively narrow. That really knocked me down, he said of the operation. He credits his faith for his perseverance as well as his motivation for recovering from alcoholism and getting outdoors in the first place. Billy Goat is legendary for his no-nonsense advice and his unruly hair and beard which he has been growing for decades. Australian 4X4, Camping, Touring, Hiking maps. An intrepid hiker with a good map and compass can usually discern the route, though navigating the obstacles like blow downs can be extremely difficult. Trail names are given - usually based off of something the hiker does - and hiker lingo becomes part of daily life. Theres a lot of give and take when you hike with a partner. The trail, marked by blue blazes, features fun rock scrambles and spectacular views between the C&O Canal and the Potomac River. Billy Goat Trail is a moderate 4-mile hike located in Maryland, just minutes from Washington, D.C. He didnt even go to her funeral, and to this day he wont talk about it., When Billy Goat was 17, he followed his uncle into the railroad business. I met you hiking in 2012, one gushing fan exclaims, putting an arm around him while the cameras click. I hardly even recognize that name.. Who did we miss? Its sunny and cloudless. until Lee Barry beat him for the title in 2004. "Something hidden. Billy Goat enjoying the PCT from Glen Pass, 2005. Photo by Julia Trebilcox. Any 50+ hikers with experience and bits of advice? Iro. I have some discomfort with other situations in life, loud music and this rat race we all live in, he said. He hiked the AT for a third and last time in 1998, 50 years after his first thru-hike. "This is where I live. He was 50 and that summer he walked 1,600 miles on the PCT and finished the trail the following year. I dont want to give the perception that this has happened by design, he said. In my opinion, the more fast-paced and overstimulated the world becomes, the more important it will be to take a walk in the woods. We had to hike every day and not take breaks. Reisinger also credits good health, previous experience (shes logged over 6,000 miles on the AT alone), and an active lifestyle complete with canoeing, gardening, and tap dancing. Lost youth wasnt the only obstacle beleaguering Bill Irwin: the 50-year-old thru-hiker was also blind. October 26, 2018. This unionled to the creation of the Appalachian Trail Conference, now known as the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Each year about 300 people attempt to hike the PCT in one season, generally April to September. http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=174724, One Pan Wonders ~ Backcountry Cooking at its Finest, http://www.ula-equipment.com/pottytrowel.asp, If this is your first visit, be sure to
I Tried to Sew My Own Ultralight Tent. He has three younger sisters who he calls on birthdays but rarely sees in person. But he couldnt enjoy the American dream. From Billy Goat Trailhead, beginning at the upper, hiker trailhead, follow Hidden Lakes Trail #477, to the right, for 4 miles, then turn right onto Drake Creek Trail #502A, at 3.1 miles turn right onto Larch Creek/Billy Goat Pass Trail #502 . He is a legend in the small but growing fraternity of ultra-long-distance backpackers, renowned for his stamina and trail knowledge and envied for a single-minded devotion to living outdoors. Ive got a good situation going in Syracuse, he says. "Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home," Muir wrote. We get into big holes, getting married, making babies, and getting a mortgage, he said. But Billy Goat is who he is because he makes decisions were trained to regard as audaciously wronglike hitchhiking after the age of 70. The most venerated hiker in PCT history is outside, however, standing beside the large wooden sign that welcomes visitors to Rainy Pass trailhead. When I get out here, I just forget what all my troubles are.. Chance encounters are described in awed tones in Internet journals. After thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Chris Cage created Greenbelly to provide fast, filling and balanced meals to backpackers. Her toughness was beyond question. January 14, 2017 by Billy Goat Leave a comment. Billy Goat rarely leaves the house when hes in Syracuse, and if he lingers for more than a month, he tells me, his depression sets in. I do! He tells a story about meeting a woman in her 60s while waiting for a bus just two days earlier. Slow and steady wins the race. Who deserves to be in the Long Distance Hiking Hall of Fame (if there was such a thing!)? The hike. If you purchase a product from one of our links below, we may earn a percentage from one of our affiliate partners. A Harvard trained forester, MacKaye spent his life studying the outdoors and advocating for its conservation. And, it is a demanding hike. A steady pace must be kept -- 20- to 25-mile days are the norm. I enjoy helping him, she says, and its nice having him here, too. Mar 1. Of those, about 60% make it -- fewer people than scale Mt. In an hour, Ill take a ferry down the lake, toward civilization, as he preps for his next adventure108 miles south along the PCT to Stevens Pass, Washington. She has set the self-supported fastest known time (FKT) for the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Arizona Trail and has held both the AT and the PCT records at the same time. But, the successful businessman is also an ultralight thru-hiker. I knew that was what I wanted to do. One man kept telling Billy Goat that as soon as he retired, he was going to Florida with his wife. He hiked the PCT across Oregon for a 2005 series for the paper and has been with PCTA since 2010. And the next year, he does it all over again. 197. Road to Billy Goat is good gravel most of the way with the final mile rough and steep. No, Billy Goat is nature. Most people are pantywaists, she allegedly once told Ray Jardine. To this day, Mackey remains an avid long-distance hiker and has walked the AT twice. Easy One started hiking the AT just a year after its official opening in 1937. I realize Im going to miss him. We turn around without pausing and hike for another mile and then Billy Goat stops and slips off his pack. Its hypothermia weather. There are 3 different sections, A, B and C. A couple weeks ago I had the privilege to hike B and C. Part A of the trail tends . I pay attention to what they have to say. Billy Goat Pass/Eightmile Pass Loop Trail. Join. When you hike with Billy Goat, you are constantly reminded of his celebrity. And there was nothing to dono clubs, no Boy Scouts, nowhere to go after school. City: Salt Lake City Larabee is a journalist, part of a team who won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for The Oregonian newspaper. Well walk and talk and sing and play because Canadas a long waaay awaaay. Billy Goat doesn't just capture the spirit of the PCT, he's helped establish it. 'George \"Billy Goat\" Woodard (All photos by Bob Stefko)'. -Billygoat. Park at the Great Falls parking area. An excerpt from the PCTAs 2016 publication of The Pacific Crest Trail, Exploring Americas Wilderness Trail. With nearly a mile of fun rock-hopping, and spectacular views of the Potomac River along the way, this circuit is loads of fun with plenty to see. Jennifer Pharr Davis I'm mighty, mighty glad it's over. Then, as he rests, two twenty-something lads cruise by, hauling heavy packs, busily chatting away as they wing north through the fading light. On the second day of our hike, I awake at dawn. Ive walked every day since then. He's also the oldest person ever to paddle the entire 2,300 miles of the Mississippi River. But what drives a person to spend nearly half his life on the trail, year after year after year? The rhythm of nature is more leisurely. Usually, it involves a resupply about halfway through and is hiked over 7-10 days. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. December 2016. The Goat Rocks Wilderness drapes over the crest of the Cascade Range in South-Central Washington, offering endless views of iconic Cascade peaks and volcanoes. Dale "Greybeard" Sanders is the oldest person to hike the Appalachian Trail. Journal Visits: 11,229 George "Billy Goat" Woodard has been on the trail since 1988, logging over 48,000 miles to date. When I finish a hike, I start thinking about the next year a day after I get home. He has crossed the Rocky Mountains on four occasions, twice in each direction. The secret to the steady progress? Stay tuned as I plan to hike from Stehekin to the Canadian border later this summer and complete my goal of hiking every inch of the Pacific Crest Trail. Key access points: Trail and trailhead information. On this 2016 hike, we start at Rainy Pass so he can knock off that missing link before tackling a longer section to the south. She told her adult children that she was going for a walk and started the thru-hike wearing a simple pair of Keds sneakers, and carrying nothing but a blanket, a raincoat and a plastic sheet inside a homemade denim bag. "George is the name my mother gave me," he said. He said his goal is "50 by 80," or 50,000 miles by age 80. 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