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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Mission Creek is a miserably hard section. Unfortunately my health issues got worse as the day progressed and the hike got more brutal. But I didn’t die!
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Long hot day in the desert. Took a 5 hour break from the 100 degree heat until the temps started to drop. Started having health issues in the late afternoon.
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Very hard hot day coming off San Jacinto. The hike through the desert was brutal in the heat. Had a lovely evening at San Jacinto Hiker Haven.
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Nice morning summiting mount San Jacinto. Hard day on the massive descent back into the desert.
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Huge ascent day making our way up Mount San Jacinto. This day almost killed me.