Writing a book, want to help?

[Greenlight]

I'm 30,000 words into a book "Appalachian Trailblazers: Fifty Legends of America's Iconic Footpath."

I want to solicit input from White Blaze members to 1. Make sure my list is an accurate reflection 2. Make sure I don't miss someone who should be on the list, and 3. avoid relying too much on newspaper and magazine articles in fleshing out the short biographs. The content I have so far hits all the bases except perhaps "third base" which would be a vignette from someone who knew them. They aren't all thru-hikers, the list includes well known trail angels, shuttle drivers, obviously some of the planners and maintainers, too. Several of them are dead, so I don't expect slice-of-life stories on them, I already have them well covered.

Here's the list:

Benton McKaye

J. Frank Schairer

Myron Avery

Walt Underwood

Mary Kilpatrick

Earl Shaffer

Gene Espy

Emma Gatewood

Bob Peoples

Ed Garvey

Warren Doyle

Ron Strickland

Mary Goldthwaite

George Woodard - Billy Goat

Bill Bryson

Miss Janet

Pat Hastings - Miss Daisy

Bill Irwin

David Horton

Ron Brown

Baltimore Jack - Baltimore Jack

Walter Wehner - Tipi

Jeff Alt

Sunny and Bear

John Mackey - Strider

David Miller - AWOL

Anna Huthmaker - Trail Dame

Scott Smiles

Lee Barry - Easy One

Shug Emery - Shug

Andrew Skurka

Kristin Blacklock

Michael Vermeulen

Paul Stutzman

Jennifer Pharr Davis

Zach Davis

Reed Gjonnes - Sunshiine

Ryan Linn - Guthook

Neva Warren - Chipmunk

Christian Thomas - Buddy Backpacker

Scott Jureck

Heather Anderson

Stacey Kozel

Jessica Mills - Dixie

Karl Meltzer

Will Robinson

Dale Sanders - Gray Beard

The Holford Family

M. J. Eberhart - Nimblewill Nomad

Jeff Sylvester - Sly

To keep from trashing the threads, you can go here to participate. Thanks!

Jim

[Lone Wolf]

i know/knew 18 of them

[Greenlight]

That's impressive. Did you click my link to participate in the forum? I'd love your input.

[Lone Wolf]

That's impressive. Did you click my link to participate in the forum? I'd love your input.

yes. nothing happens

[Greenlight]

It worked. I see that you got in. Thanks.

Jim

[Last Call]

Where is Ward Leonard?
One of the most interesting characters I've read about the AT, and used to hold all the records

[Lone Wolf]

Where is Ward Leonard?
One of the most interesting characters I've read about the AT, and used to hold all the records

still in Ct. i believe. i met him in 1989 and saw him many times over the next 12 years or so

[Mike Steger]

Seen Ward Leonard on a sunny day in November of 2014 we were at High Rock in Maryland he was headed north and me south....from what i understood he was doing Connecticut to Harpers and then back to Connecticuti

still in Ct. i believe. i met him in 1989 and saw him many times over the next 12 years or so

[wyclif]

Glad to see that you have Baltimore Jack on the list. I hiked with him a lot in the late 1990s when he was doing his first three trips. It's absolutely scandalous that he's not in the A.T. Hall of Fame. In my opinion, he was one of the top ten American outdoorsmen of all time when he was younger.

Of course, his chapter of the book will be easy for you...possibly the easiest of all, since there's so much lore about him and so many hikers knew him. He was just about omnipresent on the trail when he was at his peak.

[wyclif]

Looked at the list again and noticed you have it divided into two columns with the hiker's real name on the left and their trail name on the right.

Baltimore Jack's real name was Leonard Adam Tarlin. He was not actually from Baltimore, but rather from Boston. The Baltimore reference is to Bruce Springsteen's song ​Hungry Heart.

[Greenlight]

Where is Ward Leonard?
One of the most interesting characters I've read about the AT, and used to hold all the records

Thanks for the heads up, I'll look into him.

Jim

[Greenlight]

Glad to see that you have Baltimore Jack on the list. I hiked with him a lot in the late 1990s when he was doing his first three trips. It's absolutely scandalous that he's not in the A.T. Hall of Fame. In my opinion, he was one of the top ten American outdoorsmen of all time when he was younger.

Of course, his chapter of the book will be easy for you...possibly the easiest of all, since there's so much lore about him and so many hikers knew him. He was just about omnipresent on the trail when he was at his peak.

Sometimes what appears to be easy can end up being difficult. Adam was considered by many to be an irresponsible character who abandoned his family and wasted his considerable talents by not holding down a desk and living the 9 to 5 standard. Others who associate him with the trail and everything it means to those who love it strike closer to the truth. My opinion. I never met him. In his own words, and in those of his ex-wife's... he didn't abandon them. I get the impression that she truly understood him. As for the ten "lost years" between their break-up and his appearance at Springer Mountain in '98, there is a small corpus of works emerging. It isn't anything overly dramatic, and probably won't hold up much space in the book. The crux or it, as many on here probably know, was that he worked at a video store for awhile and after getting kicked out of his apartment, vowed that he'd never pay rent again. So it seems that he lived a quiet life similar to many today who work in the service industry. Voracious reader and library visitor? Deep love for good stories, whether in print or film? Nearly encyclopedic knowledge of such things? Opinionated as hell but with a charm that still drew people to him? I'm focusing more on how he most certainly wanted to be remembered: As a main character in the trail's story. He certainly was that.

Was he any corporate entity's hero, even a non-profit one? Probably not. But damn, look at the posts on here and listen to the stories from people who ran into him once or called him a good friend. Was it a shame that he wouldn't take care of his health after his knees gave out? Yeah. Tragic really, but he lived the life he wanted to live, and it was all about the AT.

Jim

[Greenlight]

Looked at the list again and noticed you have it divided into two columns with the hiker's real name on the left and their trail name on the right.

Baltimore Jack's real name was Leonard Adam Tarlin. He was not actually from Baltimore, but rather from Boston. The Baltimore reference is to Bruce Springsteen's song ​Hungry Heart.

Absolutely correct. He went by L.A. for awhile before he hit the trail, too.

Jim

[rhjanes]

consider an additional two thru-hikers/authors. JR Tate (Model-T) and Bill Erwin.

[Dan Roper]

Lori Potteiger, who worked for the ATC for so many years and seemed to be the face or the organization
David Brill, 1979 thru hiker (plus another thru) and author of "As Far as the Eye Can See," possibly the finest book written about the AT.

[chknfngrs]

Speed record holders

[Captain Blue]

How did Stacey Kozel make your list of legends? Have you thoroughly researched her claims?

[Ankle Bone]

I would also consider adding:

Lone Wolf
Dorothy Hansen - Through hiked, then ran Neels Gap tore for years.
Cindy Ross and Tod Gladfelter
Mic Lowther - author of one of my favorites "Walking North"

[TwoSpirits]

Larry Luxemberg
Neville Harris

[Greenlight]

How did Stacey Kozel make your list of legends? Have you thoroughly researched her claims?

CB: Multiple sources. Haven't begun deep research into Stacey. What's the downlow?

Jim