Hi! I am Chuck, also known as Orange Man. Welcome to The Retired Hiker, a blog about my life in retirement focusing on hiking, long-distance backpacking, and the adventures of Dana (a.k.a. Pitcrew) and Chuck in our Travel Trailer.
I retired after my wife died in 2021 and jumped into hiking and long-distance backpacking as a way deal with what I call “Life Part II”. I have thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and have a multi-year plan for the Pacific Crest Trail, the Colorado Trail, and numerous other long-distance trails.
As a reward to myself for completing the Appalachian Trail, we purchased a Travel Trailer in late 2024. I base out of the trailer on short multi-day hiking trips. Dana and I take the trailer on long weekends and week-long regional trips. Our plan is to tour the country in the trailer once Dana retires in a few more years.
Until a that time, I plan to do as many long-distance hikes as I can manage while not completely abandoning Dana for the trail! Hence our blog’s tagline “Side Trials of Retirement Bliss”.
Recent Trail Journals
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Today’s Miles: 8.73 Trip Miles: 36.52 Day 3 – Four Pines Hostel to Pickle Branch Shelter Tuesday March 31, 2026. Up at 7:30. Sunny going up to mid-70s. I slept very well. My heels are hurting this morning but the rest of me feels decent. Thought I would feel worse. Should be a good day! The hostel crew made us a nice breakfast. I decided that my pack was way too heavy due to excess food. I sorted my food bag and left a lot of food at the hostel. I left 2.5 lbs of food! That leaves me 3.5…
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Today’s Miles: 18.19 Trip Miles: 27.79 Day 2 – Lambert’s Meadow to Four Pines Hostel Monday, March 30, 2026. Up at 7:00. Cloudy and 45 degrees. Showers in the next few hours going up to 70. Slept decently for the first night on the trail. My back is very stiff but not nearly as bad as it could be. Had breakfast, checked the weather, and got packed up fairly quickly this morning. We wanted to beat the rain that could start by 8:00. We started the 940-foot ascent to Tinker Cliffs at 8:00. The ascent up to Tinker’s Cliff was…
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Today’s Miles: 9.6 Trip Miles: 9.6 Sunday, March 29, 2026. Up at 8:00. Sunny and 34 going up to mid-50s. Sunrise: 7:08 a.m. Sunset: 7:41 p.m. Had a big breakfast in Blacksburg, VA with Ed and our friend Jon. Dropped my truck off at our friend Don’s house for the week and drove to Ed’s brother Stuart’s house to drop off Ed’s car. Stuart drove us to the trailhead. Thanks a lot, Don and Stuart. We really appreciate the support. We got on the trail where the AT crosses US 220 near Daleville, VA at 12:30. We are headed SOBO.…
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Ed and I are slowly section hiking the entire AT. Since my AT thru-hike in 2024, I have a goal to section hike the entire trail again over the next few years between big thru-hikes. In addition, this hike will serve as a shakedown hike for my upcoming PCT thru-hike starting on April 24, 2026. The goals of a shakedown hike include: I have been training for the PCT for the past several months. Day hiking with 20+ lbs and/or working out in the gym 4-5 days a week. We have had some wild winter weather for Maryland including the…
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Thursday, October 16, 2025. Up at 7:25. Windy, cold, 38 degrees, going up to 60 with sunny skies. Annoying…I have ash stuck all over my tent from the very smoky fire last night. Chatted with Javelin and wished him happy trails. Packed up and got on the trail at 8:40. Very cold wind this morning. Nasty gusts. Summited Mount Marshall at 10:00. Cold and windy. Stopped at 11:45 and 7.13 miles on Compton Peak for an early lunch. I chatted with a group of youngsters and their chaperones about the AT for a bit. It’s still quite chilly and windy. Not…
Recent Blog Entries
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I plan to start my PCT thru-hike on April 24, 2026, without my Sierra Mountains gear. Since it is a very low snow year, I do not need Micro-Spikes or an Ice Axe for Mount San Jacinto. I will ship my Micro-Spikes to Wrightwood, CA, as I expect to need them to summit Mount Baden-Powell. That adds 13 ounces to my gear. I will ship the Micro-Spikes home once I got to the next town, as I will not need them again until I reach the Sierras. I will ship my Sierra gear, including my Bear Can, Ice Axe, and…
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Unlike the Appalachian Trail and many other trails on the east coast, the PCT requires a permit to hike the trail. “If you plan on hiking or horseback riding 500 or more miles along the PCT in a single, continuous trip, the Pacific Crest Trail Association can issue you an interagency PCT Long-distance Permit.” Those permits are not easy to get for a desired start date. The PCT Association uses a lottery system to assign permits. You can only apply for one permit once per hiking season. Between October 22 and October 31, 2025 you need to register for a…
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“… Sometimes the light’s all shining on me Other times I can barely see Lately it occurs to me What a long, strange trip it’s been” – Grateful Dead Before and After I waited 10 months before finally writing up this epilogue. It took me that long to really get a handle on my thoughts and my emotions. I still feel depressed and miss the trail at times. Not sure if/when those feelings will ever go away. I can attest that post-thru-hike depression is a real thing. The first 2-3 days home felt strange but not too much different from taking…
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Today’s Miles: 0 Trip Miles: 2101.5 “Homeward bound I wish I was Homeward bound Home where my thought’s escapin’ Home where my music’s playin’ Home where my love lies waitin’ Silently for me” – Simon & Garfunkel Up at 7:30. Packed up and got my backpack into the duffel bag Dana sent me. Shuttled to the airport at 8:45. Drove from Millinocket to Bangor. I-95 in northern Maine is just a bit less busy than in the mid-Atlantic! Got to Bangor International airport at 10:00. Nice little airport. Got checked in and had breakfast before heading through security. Had a…
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I started my thru-hike on April 14, 2024 with my cold weather gear. I planned to ship the cold weather gear home when I got to Damascus, Virginia. I decided to start my hike without any cap shoes in order to save weight. Overall, my base weight was 21 lbs and my total weight with 4 days of food was 31 lbs. Half-way through the Smokies, I stopped in Gatlinburg, TN on May 9, 2024 and shipped a few items home. Overall I got rid of 2lbs 11 ounces of gear. I did pickup a pair of cheap flip-flops at…