Episode #16 - The Final Countdown

With just seven days to go, Bruce and Steve have a longer-than-normal chat about his going-away party, his final thoughts and wishes for his journey, as well as some of the ramifications that his hike may have on the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

While I had found him to be stressed and distracted on his home territory when I visited him in Virginia last Friday, he was completely different when we spoke yesterday (Sunday). He seemed to be thoroughly in the zone and counting his blessings, not least of which were his friends and family who attended last Friday's send-off. As you can see below, he has what he calls a kilt but, to anybody with even passable eyesight, it is clearly a skirt. Nice!!

Bruce knows that the hike is to fulfill a long-cherished ambition, but he also wants to leave a legacy that will go beyond that personal ambition. If you want to support his efforts on behalf of ATC, you can visit his RTKChallenge.com page or simply go to this link on the ATC site and you'll be in the right place to make your donation.

Next week, we'll have our first chat with Bruce on the trail, hopefully at the top of Springer Mountain, with his lovely wife, Cheryl.