Twenty years after he hiked the Appalachian Trail, Jeff Alt’s expedition lives on.
Alt hiked an average of 17 miles a day, for nearly five months in 1998, to walk 2,160 miles, from Springer Mountain, in Georgia, to Mount Kadahdin, in Maine.
Hiking the Appalachian Trail was not only a personal goal but also a way to support people with developmental disabilities, including Alt’s brother, Aaron, who has cerebral palsy.
Because of that commitment, as fellow hikers in his group quit, Alt persevered.
He made a trek of an estimated 5 million steps, overcoming everything from extreme weather and scary wildlife encounters, to persistent aches and pains.
The achievement since inspired the Sunshine 5K, Walk, Run and Roll which just celebrated its 20th annual event in Greenville, Ohio, and has raised more than $500,000 for people with developmental disabilities. It benefits the Ohio-based Sunshine Communities, which supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as they live, work and play on their terms. It’s also where Alt’s disabled brother lives.
Alt will be in town this week to share stories and sign the 20th anniversary edition of his best-selling memoir, “A Walk for Sunshine,” on March 29 at 7 p.m., at Barnes & Noble Carrollwood,11802 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.
The renowned hiker shared a few of those stories and anecdotes from his long, arduous 147-day journey in a recent interview with The Laker/Lutz News.
Born, raised and still living in Ohio with his wife and two children, Alt has several familial ties to the Lutz and Carrollwood area. These family members served as his support system during the adventure.
His brother, Larry Alt, of Lutz, greeted him at the beginning and end of the Appalachian Trail.
His sister Stephanie Pitts, of Lutz, served as his “unofficial, official public relations person,” updating friends, relatives and media throughout the journey.
Her husband, Dan Pitts, of Lutz, joined Alt in hiking the final leg of the Appalachian Trail.
And, his stepfather, Ron Almendinger, of Northdale, often shipped supply boxes to Alt on the trail.
Each gesture kept him motivated and boosted morale, Alt said.
“Everybody played a role…so I could focus on the journey. They were like my cheerleading squad,” Alt said.
He recalled his adventure getting off to a shaky start.
On the very first day, Alt had to wrap his feet in duct tape, after several blisters formed on both feet, as a result of placing his boot orthotics on the wrong feet.
“One blister is extremely painful,” he said. “But, this was excruciating.”
Alt gave himself the self-deprecating nickname “Wrongfoot” to bring a bit of levity to his own error. “I just reminded myself that I just needed to laugh it off,” he said.
The next day, Alt was close and personal with a skunk on top of his sleeping bag. Luckily, he was able to shoo it away without getting sprayed.
That wasn’t the only “hair-raising” encounter with Mother Nature.
He was charged by a mama bear in Maine, before it abruptly dashed off into the woods with a pair of baby cubs.
Another stress-inducing — and painful — moment came while traversing the Great Smoky Mountains. That’s where Alt suffered a bad ankle sprain in the middle a 12-foot snowdrift, while trying to balance his 55-pound backpack on one leg.
“I thought at that moment, ‘My journey just ended.’ That was the only time that I didn’t think I was going to make it,” Alt said.
He took a few days off, to reduce the swelling, then resumed his journey.
Every day was painful, Alt said, joking that ibuprofen is referred to as as ‘Vitamin I’ in the hiker community.
“Literally, when you took your pack off at the end of the day, your body would say, ‘What did you just do to me? You’re going to feel this all night,’” Alt said.
Cold and hungry
The majority of fellow hikers that year quit because of frigid temperatures, which sometimes dropped to 20 below zero.
“It was so cold, at one point, if you took your boots off at night and didn’t put them in your sleeping bag, they would freeze in the position your foot was before you took it off, and then the leather would cut your feet open because it was still frozen in the morning,” Alt said.
He had never-ending food cravings.
“Your appetite quadruples,” Alt said. “I could eat a half gallon of ice cream as a snack. I could eat a whole pizza and then go eat dinner.”
Even so, he lost 30 pounds, which he refers to as “the Appalachian Diet Plan.”
He also has many positive experiences on his trek.
He marveled at the friendliness and kindness of people he met along the trail.
Complete strangers would invite him into their homes, and would offer something to eat and drink, and the use of their shower.
“It left a very warm feeling in my heart,” he said.
Along the way, he crossed paths with military folks, recent college graduates, a wealthy stock trader, to name a few.
He met a man who had abruptly quit his job to hike, and a fair number of homeless people, too.
“You meet all kinds of people. It’s America, really,” he said.
He also observed there was something to appreciate about each of the 14 states he walked through, including breathtaking views and varying geology.
Even after walking 5 million steps, Alt said the expedition wasn’t truly complete until he could share the news with his brother Aaron, back in Ohio.
His brother doesn’t speak, but he does communicate through gestures and smiles.
Seeing him, Alt said, ended his journey — “knowing that he understood and smiled.”
Jeff Alt book signing event
What: Jeff Alt will share stories about his Appalachian Trail journey and sign the anniversary edition of “A Walk for Sunshine.”
Where: Barnes & Noble Carrollwood, 11802 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa
When: March 29 at 7 p.m.
Info: (813) 962-6446
Appalachian Trail Facts
- The Appalachian Trail spans 14 states, covering 2,190 miles, from Georgia to Maine.
- The Appalachian Trail was inspired by Benton MacKaye in 1921.
- Earl Shaffer became the first person to walk the Appalachian Trail from end to end in 1948.
- Emma Rowena Gatewood, also known as “Grandma Gatewood,” became the first female solo thru-hiker at the age of 67 when she first hiked the trail in 1955. She hiked the trail three times.
- Each year, an estimated 2,000 hikers to 3,000 hikers attempt to walk the entire Appalachian Trail in one season (during a four-month to six-month time frame). Just one in four succeed.
- Hikers carry backpacks weighing 30 pounds to 75 pounds and supply in towns along the way.
- Hikers burn 4,000 calories to 6,000 calories a day, comparable to running 2 marathons.
Jeff Alt’s Appalachian Trail statistics:
- Carried a pack that weighed 50 pounds
- Went through three pairs of boots
- Averaged 17 miles a day
- Had 22 boxes of supplies shipped to him along the way
- Slept mostly in three-walled shelters, though did carry a tent
- Completed the trek in 147 days (nearly five months)
- Lost 30 pounds
Published March 28, 2018
