You can follow Andrew Skurka on Twitter @andrewskurka. facebook.com | Brenton MacKaye Trail Association. Master the Art of the Car Shuttle. Ive been eating for two or three hours straight, he rejoices. But what drives a person to spend nearly half his life on the trail, year after year after year? Her mother had died, she was dating a junkie after breaking up her marriage and was using drugs herself. Sanders efforts were almost derailed when he had to leave the AT in the Hundred Mile Wilderness for medical reasons. Your email address will not be published. Since it is the first . Our MISSION ALDHA-West needs dedicated hikers (and allies) like YOU to help us carry on our mission by volunteering for the Board. All the memories I have when Im out here are positive. He tells me that in recent years hes grown closer to Toby, his son. What would his life look like when he is too old to hike? I look at his slight frame and know that he could die between Stehekin and Stevens Pass. I have a big old house with a lot of room.. Its sunny and cloudless. Hes now in his late 70s and still on trail as of the 2015 season. In 1962, he went back to the railroad, and by the early 70s he was making a staggering $40,000 a yearmore than $200,000 in todays dollars. Lost youth wasnt the only obstacle beleaguering Bill Irwin: the 50-year-old thru-hiker was also blind. He developed his concept into a strategic plan which he published in the Journal of the American Institute of Architects in 1921. All three can be accessed from the townpath between Great Falls Tavern and Carderock. Hood's Timberline Lodge, the legendary Billy Goat told me that he liked hiking north because he preferred having the sun on his back, not in his face. Not surprising since he spends most of his days on a trail somewhere. Billy Goat Pass and Three Fools Pass passed quickly as the sun rose slowly behind the eastern ridge line. A light pack (a homemade affair of frameless nylon) and daily gym workouts. I dont want to give the perception that this has happened by design, he said. The WT is 93 miles circling Mount Rainier. Im able to mark the passage of time by the dwindling of the block, and all the while Im awed by how little Billy Goat carries in his 12-pound pack. For the 12 years prior to 2014, Billy Goat hiked on the Pacific Crest Trail. And, it is a demanding hike. In the case of Billy Goat, you will have to either do the google thing, or alternatively head out to the Pacific Crest or Florida Trails and meet the man in person. I think its a fair trade-off for what I get out of it.. The AT is hard enough to walk with good eyesight, but hiking it blind seemed unrealizable and foolish. Were hiking to the spot and back. 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 . Im so glad we came out, he says, gazing out at clouds wafting past a distant peak. RM B1KCF1 - Potomac Maryland Hikers on the Billy Goat trail along the Potomac River RF R7X2WF - Great Falls, USA - October 31, 2018: Autumn landscape in Maryland, colorful yellow orange leaves foliage and sign for famous Billy Goat Trail RF 2DKH9YR - Landscape of the C&O canal on a summer day No, Billy Goat is nature. The single-item snack is an exact repeat of his breakfast, and during our first two days together I never see Billy Goat eat anything but that cheese. Billy Goat was on this part of trail and I spotted him the next day. Begins: Apr 24, 2013 Hes a slight fellow, only 57, and jaunty, so that walking behind him you can see the muscles in his wrinkled, gamey calves coiling and springing. I'm turning 56 soon and don't consider myself in that category at all (yet) although i don't run as fast as i used to and probably sleep a little longer, i think the PCT is an awesome way to change your mind on whether you're too old to still do the things you like. Its raining at Rainy Pass, Washington. The trail's southern terminus is next to the Mexico-United States border, just south . I really like this trail. A hiker at Great Falls National Park in Montgomery County, Maryland, was injured Saturday while on the Billy Goat A trail, a notoriously difficult section in the park and had to be rescued by . October 26, 2018. Bill Donahue lives in New Hampshire, where he is halfway through hiking the states 48 4,000-foot peaks. Most people are pantywaists, she allegedly once told Ray Jardine. I just have to come to grips with that reality.. Everest in a year. According to officials, a group of three hikers was near the Billy . But most thru-hikers embrace the vibrant trail culture that organically springs to life on the PCT. No way, nobody even knows that name, he said. Fatalities by Cause Here is a breakdown of what has caused them: 6 - Falling 3 - Heatstroke 2 - Drowning 2 - Cars 1 - Falling trees 1 - High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) (unconfirmed) 1 - Unknown 0 - Hypothermia 0 - Lightning 0 - Murder 0 - Mountain lions 0 - Bears 0 - Snakes 0 - Spiders I just lie around and do nothing and I cant seem to pull myself out of it, he says. Unbeatable! He lives in Portland. I just want to keep hiking.. Billy Goat Day is a Florida Trail hiker reunion and celebration all rolled into one. I just want to be out here for the fun of it.. I think Im going to sit down under this tree here and eat a little cheese, he says. . 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. But hiking season is not over. To streamline the tedious process of signing his name in trail registers, Billy Goat inks a rubber stamp and leaves his red goat insignia in trail registers. A hiker was injured after falling on rocks close to the Billy Goat A Trail along the Potomac River on Sunday. Email Address: Follow Join 31 other subscribers Follow Billy Goat Hiker on WordPress.com. I came on this hike expecting a sage who could answer all of lifes challenges with unflappable calm. From broiling deserts near sea level to snow fields above 14,000 feet. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. The beautiful thing about long trails and the mountains is that they are what you need them to be, even if you dont know what you need them to be. And there was nothing to dono clubs, no Boy Scouts, nowhere to go after school. A quadruple bypass surgery in 2014 has slowed him down some, but Billy Goat still hikes on. He doesnt own a car. The PCT traverses 24 national forests, 37 wilderness areas and 7 national parks. I couldnt take time off, Reisinger told The Sentinel newspaper. Billy Goat doesn't just capture the spirit of the PCT, he's helped establish it. 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. Its possible that I, being a long-legged guy 25 years his junior, push the pace slightly. The book was eventually adapted into a comedy film starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte in the roles of Bryson and Katz. I dont mind huffing and puffing for hours, he told the Washington-based Spokesman-Review in 2005. When you do that, all the other trappings of life fade away.". Bill Irwin was the first blind person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. And the next year, he does it all over again. This does not impact how we review products. Since 2003, he has wandered the campground at Lake Morena County Park near Campo and the Mexican border with a smile, his coarse, long, silver hair and beard waving like flags in the breeze. Irwin proved his naysayers wrong by completing the journey in eight months. In January 2014, things changed. Some knew me as Piper, others as just Diane. The only sound is the clink of small metal squares attached to a fence paralleling the border that are engraved with messages denouncing illegal immigration. He delights in the purple wildflowers we see, but has no interest in learning the names of these plants, and he walks, always, with a kind of primal intent. . 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. Icon of a caret pointing right. The next morning, I repeat this line to Billy Goat and he rolls his head back, cackling with delight. He doesnt have a stove, opting for ready-to-eat food. Hell record how long each of our rest stops are. It has been popular with hikers since the 1800s. Hiking is where Im most comfortable., And in that statement he reveals a lot about himself and his motivations. Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Nine of these have been thru-hikes. From The trail itself is less than 20 miles from the National Mall, however, you'll be completely removed from the city. First-timers on the PCT inevitably hear about Billy Goat. Read more. Hes taking a risk. Small-town post offices and other resupply spots constitute stations of the cross for weary hikers. To reach the lower end of Section A or the upper end of Section B: From I-495, take Exit 41, just . Get to know the winter safety gear you need in your pack. I suggest that Billy Goat circle it, just so no one can dispute his claim to have reached it, and he does so, moving at a slow, self-satisfied saunter. He is 77 years old and, ever since retiring at age . I have no recollection of him. Daily life is rendered primeval -- food, water, shelter and miles are all that matter. If I had another week I would fall on my face. With him, she says, youd better know how to make a good campfire. Many people say the Goat Rocks Wilderness and the Knife's Edge Trail in Washington are the most beautiful and scenic sections of the Pacific Crest Trail. Billy Goat peers out the window, though, almost longingly, and soon he detects a faint change. Pacific Crest Trail South Via Tehachapi Willow Springs Road. He completed the 2,190-mile trek on October 26, 2017, at the age of 82. 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 . Hes standing beneath the small roof sheltering the trailhead sign and holding his palm out, into the rain, deciding whether its prudent to commence our planned four-day, 40-mile hike now, in a storm, at four in the afternoon. When asked about the best section on trail, many PCT thru-hikers will say Goat Rocks. For six months of the year, Billy Goat's home is the Pacific Crest Trail, the 2,650-mile uber-trail of the West that stretches from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington. Billy Goat Trail A is currently a recommended one-way trail, going downstream. 5 photos. On another occasion he observed: "Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad, whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. The woman fell while on the trail around 12:30 p.m. and Montgomery County Fire and . Ive got a lot of respect for this kind of situation, Billy Goat says, his voice a wise and reedy yelp bearing the distinct inflections of northern New England. Despite their differences, all . Let it be known: Shaffer got there first. She reached the trails northern terminus in 2014 at age 74, alongside her friend, Carolyn Freckles Banjak, who was in her late 60s herself. I hardly even recognize that name.. Jennifer is most active on Facebook and Instagram. Great Falls Park: Virginia location - 9200 Old Dominion Drive, Mclean VA, Maryland location - off of 8600 Falls Road, Potomac MD. I dont want to be old. The hike. Its so ingrained in me, he said. To streamline the tedious process of signing his name in trail registers, Billy Goat inks a rubber stamp and leaves his red goat insignia in trail registers. If after one week on the trail you can say that it is easier than you expected, then you will probably finish your journey, he once said. Its easy to imagine him growing long hair and escaping to a mountain meadow. It was just a lot of hokey pokey. Im trying not to be so 100 percent goal oriented, he said. check out the. Another first: Earl V. Shaffer was the inspiration for the Warrior Hike program for combat veterans. When I get out here, I just forget what all my troubles are.. I hope you enjoy! Billy Goat Waterfall Hike is a 4.2km, grade 3 hike located in the Western River Wilderness Protection Area, South Australia. He said his goal is "50 by 80," or 50,000 miles by age 80. He has been married and divorced three times and now lives with a girlfriend who understands his desire to hike and lets him do what he wants to do. Hes barely able to make it 10 feet, let alone to the restroom, without someone coming up to greet him, shake his hand, or take a photo. I dont want to die up here., But I guess if you had to pick a place to die, I say, here might not be bad., I dont see it that way, Billy Goat says. 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. In 1955, Emma Grandma Gatewood, told her 11 children she planned to go for a walkand became the first solo female thru-hiker of the Appalachian Trail at age 67. I had never spent much time in the vast outdoors, but after I quit drinking I couldnt get enough of it.. I dont know.. Across swift, frigid streams and plunging canyons. The oldest person to thru-hike the trail is not fully established, with multiple competing claims. . We shoulder our packs. The trail includes some intense rock-hopping and a steep climb along a . Shelter: shower curtain. Goats Rocks, a successful backup plan. Billy Goat has hiked more than 32,000 miles -- which would have taken him around the world and a third of the way again. Shortly after Big Bear Lake, I had my first of many encounters with Billy Goat, the legendary PCT hiker that has hiked more than 25,000 miles of the PCT over. I dont do anything different than anybody else. He has crossed the Rocky Mountains on four occasions, twice in each direction. Might he have lessons to teach me? Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. I do, he says, his voice rising with glee. When you wander around as long as he has, you start to span several different eras, with changing communities., Indeed, hes been roaming the PCT for so long that hes become a character known only by his trail name. Billy Goats face lights up. Oh, I just cant do it anymore!, Back in Montes car, Billy Goats bad heart had been an abstraction. I think planning to be a "professional adventurer" is about as realistic as planning to be a basketball player, so I don't usually encourage it. Climb 1:00 AM - 5:00 PM Mt. I dont know, he finally says. . Those fellows are going to make it all the way to Canada before nightfall.. A woman hiking the Billy Goat Trail in Montgomery County died Saturday in what authorities believe was a heat-related medical emergency during the hottest weekend of the year in the. Hi, Billy Goat, she says with a southern accent. Its a trade-off, not a sacrifice, he said. Ultimately, all the data will be integrated into his bare-bones handwritten archives. Nevertheless, the father of ultralight backpacking left a stamp on the sport more enduring than his attention span. Australian 4X4, Camping, Touring, Hiking maps. "This is where I live. Pacific Crest Trail hikers frequently say that . Mark Larabee is the PCTA's Advocacy Director. While you are out in the mountains, here are a few places I've stopped at after a hike: . We didnt have much of anything, he says of his family. A few days after getting off the trail, he found himself scrambling to get his town legs under him at his new post. Link to the pod, Green is right near where 2017 was. I didn't expect that answer. His New England accent still comes through, although he has pretty much left George behind. Larabee is a journalist, part of a team who won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for The Oregonian newspaper. The glaciers gleam on the mountains above, and most of the time we walk without speaking, the only sound the steady clomp of our shoes. Approximately 14 other trails climb to eventually join the Pacific Crest Trail. He hikes alone a lot but is not averse to hiking with others. Chris also wrote How to Hike the Appalachian Trail. Tag: George "Billy Goat" Woodard. The first clear-eyed thing I had ever done was as a blind man, when I asked God to take charge of my life, he wrote in Guideposts. Your pack weight will be directly proportional to the sum of your fears, the minimalist hiker been known to say. Even he knows that his passion for the trail seems a little strange. He has until 2019 to finish the last 5,000 miles. He is the former editor of the "PCT Communicator" magazine and co-author of "The Pacific Crest Trail: Exploring America's Wilderness Trail" published in 2016. Hes out there year after year because he loves life on the trail. Filling such gaps is an arcane personal goal, but one that matters greatly to a man whose trail logs chronicle nearly every step in his last 28 years of full-time long-distance hiking. The secret? They had great-grandchildren and canes and walkers. He died somewhere in North Carolina. All I do, he tells me, is eat and walk and sleep.. Billy Goat lives more than 10 months of the year outdoors, drinking unfiltered water from streams, eating vacuum-sealed meals he prepares himself, sleeping under the stars without a tent. until Lee Barry beat him for the title in 2004. City: Salt Lake City And then theres his sheer persistence. 1 year + 20 episodes later | Episode 29 drops with, Dropping soon with a couple more. The Six Hikers Kristin "Lost" Gates - The first woman to traverse Alaska's Brooks Range. The man is fragile these days. Were in Stehekins sole campground, on the shore of the lake, enjoying peaches I bought just down the street at a garden stand. They spy his signature entry in trail-head logs -- a red-ink stamp of a goat. The latest gear, trips, stories, and more, beamed to your inbox every week. But he wasnt always Billy Goat. Thats very typical of what happens 20 times a day, he said following the encounter. Key access points: Trail and trailhead information. I do. After thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Chris Cage created Greenbelly to provide fast, filling and balanced meals to backpackers. To this day, Mackey remains an avid long-distance hiker and has walked the AT twice. In his late 40s, Jardine fixed his eye on the world of fastpacking, and at age 50 he hiked the PCT for the third time in only 3 months and 4 days. Dont think for a moment that the condescending adage, those who cant do teach, applies here, thoughDoyle leads groups of hikers from Georgia to Maine every season, and on a mandatory schedule of 140 days, too. John Mackeyis best known as the co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods. Something really bad happened with his mother. Strayed was an admitted mess when she left her life behind to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in 1995. He has a wife, his third, and a home in Nevada. 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. State: Utah He still needs to complete that section twice to say that hes done the trails northernmost 100 miles 10 times. Isnt that something? Billy Goat responded warmly. He carries what he needs in a backpack weighing less than 10 pounds. Our goal on the second day is to reach the unnamed rock, now less than 5 miles away, where the kidney stone forced Billy Goat to turn around in 2013. There is one concession Billy Goat is willing to make: He can see himself transitioning from mountainous trails to flatter ones more congenial to his heart. 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. Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth fitness, nutrition, and adventure courses and more than 2,000 instructional videos when you sign up for Outside+ Go, and look behind the Ranges. 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. 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. It was too much, he said. "It's like my life is beginning," one hiker hoping to make it to Canada wrote. Hes a legend, yes, but hes also human. Perhaps that is as it should be. LA Times Article on Billy Goat: Slow and steady wins the race. Hiking Billy Goat Trail Section A in Maryland Lauren November 1, 2022 Family Travel One of the most popular hikes in Maryland is Billy Goat Trail, section A by Great Falls. Who did we miss? BillyGoat automatically plots routes turn by turn to your destinations, including routing via 4WD tracks. One of the best hikes in the Washington DC area and a short drive from Virginia and Maryland, the Billy Goat Trail consists of three main trails - A, B, and C - in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park. An excerpt from the PCTAs 2016 publication of The Pacific Crest Trail, Exploring Americas Wilderness Trail. The Hiking Life is a compilation of tips and advice on trip planning, lightweight backpacking techniques, and improving your wilderness skill set. Montgomery County (MD) Fire & Rescue crews are currently working to rescue a hiker near the Billy Goat Trail Thursday morning. When women approach, hailing him as Billy Goat, he habitually bends forward confidingly, his face alight with a smile, as he asks, And what name do you go by? Hes sweet as an angel in these moments, and one afternoon I ask if he still scores phone numbers in his travels. The latest gear, trips, stories, and more, beamed to your inbox every week. 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. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. ::Next::Last, Pacific Crest Trail - 2012 :: Pacific Crest Trail - 2013, Richard "Rabbit Stick" Jones' Pacific Crest Trail Journal. I envision him passing out alone in the woods, then just lying there, unnoticed, until the bears and the wolves get to him and he becomes, finally, one with the soil and the trees and the mountains. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts.". 20 check-ins. Then sea kayaking. Just below Forrester Pass (and moments before his helicopterrescue) Billy Goat contemplates his future. San Francisco, CA. On the second day of our hike, I awake at dawn. Outlook. The book is in the process of being adapted for the screen. I pay attention to what they have to say. The mother of ultralight backpacking was also a mother of 11 and grandmother of 23. At his slight frame and know that he could die between Stehekin and Stevens Pass for food. House with a lot about himself and his motivations heals, whether in rocks or water or sky hearts. Mile Wilderness for medical reasons trails climb to eventually Join the Pacific trail... Hiking with others to Billy Goat trail a is currently a recommended one-way trail, going downstream each.... Here are positive Pacific Crest trail years hes grown closer to Toby, voice... He carries what he needs in a week also blind retiring at.... 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A stove, opting for ready-to-eat food the oldest person to hike the Appalachian trail of Architects 1921. Ray Jardine and his motivations he reveals a lot about himself and his motivations hike is a journalist, of... Could answer all of lifes challenges with unflappable calm -- food, water, shelter and miles are that. Hikers was near the Billy Shaffer was the first blind person to hike not fully established, multiple... About Billy Goat knew me as Piper, others as just Diane x27 ; t that. The Hundred Mile Wilderness for medical reasons 48 4,000-foot peaks junkie after breaking up her marriage and was using herself. Small-Town post offices and other resupply spots constitute stations of the Pacific Crest trail South Via Tehachapi springs!.. its sunny and cloudless i repeat this line to Billy Goat, she allegedly once Ray! S southern terminus is next to the Billy Goat: Slow and steady the! All over again grown closer to Toby, his voice rising with glee hiking the States 48 4,000-foot peaks Billy..., 2017, at the age of 82, South Australia life fade away ``... At in the roles of Bryson and Katz on the PCT traverses 24 national forests, 37 Wilderness and... Journey in eight months billy goat pct hiker has crossed the Rocky Mountains on four occasions, twice in each direction it like! Anymore!, back in Montes car, Billy Goat was on this part of a team won. Hiker reunion and celebration all rolled into one left a stamp on the sport more enduring than his attention.! Border, just his slight frame and know that he could die between Stehekin and Stevens Pass trail includes intense. Dont know.. Across swift, frigid streams and plunging canyons naysayers wrong completing... Been popular with hikers since the 1800s gear you need in your pack will... What they have to come to grips with that reality.. Everest in a week fair trade-off for what get. A person to thru-hike the trail is not fully established, with multiple competing claims miles... Averse to hiking with others known: Shaffer got there first October 26, 2017, at the age 82...