Ed Riggs

Steve,
I enjoy your show, and wonder if my story is worthy. I finished the AT in 2014 at the age of 59. I had started in 2013, intending to thru-hike. Alas, I was forced off the trail in New York with a heart arrythmia. You can imagine how devastated I was. Well, I got the heart fixed, and went back in 2014 to finish it. Though I was not a thru-hiker in the official sense, I still feel that I thru-hiked...I just had 354 consecutive zeros! I started working as a docent at the AT Museum in Pine Grove Furnace, PA in 2014 after I got my heart fixed, and it saved me. I still work there when I can. I still hike, with a couple of section hikes a year, but I don't know if I can finish the trail with sections before I am too old. But I will keep trying. I have given 32 talks over the last eight years about my experience, and one of my favorite things to do is talk about hiking! I also write a bi-weekly column for our local newspaper called "On the Trail".
If you want to chat, let me know.
Phys Ed (Ed Riggs - Gettysburg, PA)