Ted Spetnagel reached Mount Katahdin, the end of the Appalachian Trail, in September.

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."