An Update from the Trail
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/283118272?secret_token=s-7ffw2″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=false&show_user=false&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”300″ height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Last winter, we received an email from M’Lynn. Her late husband, Paul, had a dream to hike the Appalachian Trail. He never made it to the AT–but, M’Lynn thought, maybe his boots could?
Maybe they could serve as a reminder for all of us to live our dreams while we can. Maybe they could go one step further and pull someone off the couch and onto the trail.
We asked you, our community, to help us make that dream a reality. More than 400 emails poured in, from seasoned thru-hikers to first-time backpackers. We heard a resounding, ‘Let me know how I can help’. We knew we were part of an incredible community, but damn. We were floored.
Today, we bring you an update on the journey the boots have made over the past nine months, introduce you to some of the hikers who carried Paul’s boots and hear M’Lynn’s reaction.
Listen to the first Paul’s Boots episode. Learn more about the Paul’s Boots Project.
None of this would have been possible without the help of our friends at REI.
Music: Original Scores by Amy Stolzenbach • Wake Me Up by Publish the Quest
Tracks provided with permission from the artists.
Just listened…Thank you to Dirtbag Diaries and to everyone who contributed to Paul’s Boots making this voyage on the AT. I’ve been following this story closely and I am cheering you all for supporting M’Lynn and Paul. What a wonderful accomplishment. I never met Paul, but I feel like I know him now, and am a better person for knowing his story. Our time here is so precious. Some of my friends get that; many do not. Thank you for “getting it” and for getting out there for Paul. Time for me to put on my boots and get walking, too.
Michael
Wow! My heart is touched! What an incredible display of love and affection with nothing in return for all these incredible people on that journey. I too wish my late husbands wish of hiking the trail came true, he was tragically killed 5 years ago way to young with a lifetime of dreams and hopes to fulfill. I often wondered about doing it one day with his seasoned walking stick in hand and hiking hat up top my head. Maybe just maybe.
Thank you for sharing this – especially in a crazy world where you sometimes feel all alone. I feel in some way connected to M’lynn and certainly understand!
Carla…..do it! You will never regret it. Life is really too short not to get out there and live!
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what has happened to the boots?
Hold that thought until next Friday…
Oh my! I was literally about to throw my phone through the window.