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Ted Spetnagel, MS CE 72, began hiking the Appalachian Trail in sections in 2000, averaging about 175 miles a year by backpacking one to two weeks at a time.
He added many more miles to his trail total in September, when he reached Mount Katahdin in Maine after a 971-mile hike from Port Clinton, Pa.
Spetnagel said he learned a number of lessons on this hike along the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail. "We all take clean air for granted," he gave as one example. "I had very few days, if any, without a haze of what looks like pollution.
"I learned the importance of water in sustaining life. There were several areas that had no water, not even a mud hole," he continued. "And even in the 'wilderness' I could not hear the sounds of nature without hearing the sounds of humanity — generators, trucks, airplanes, boats and cell phones."
Now Spetnagel has a loftier goal. "My next adventure is to complete 'beyond 6,000.' I have 11 summits to complete the list of 40 summits in the South that are beyond 6,000 feet in elevation."
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