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: 20.9 Trip Miles: 893.4 “Almost heaven, West VirginiaBlue Ridge MountainsShenandoah River –Life is old thereOlder than the treesYounger than the mountainsGrowing like a breeze” – John Denver Sunny with a high of 78. Up at 6:15, on the road at 7:35. Got to the trail and did some stretching. Researched back stretching. Will see if any of it helps. OMG does my pack feel heavy after slackpacking several days. Carrying 2.7 liters of water does not help. We are off at 7:52 on our next big leg of this adventure. The Shenandoahs beckon us. Stopped for a snack…
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Today’s Miles: 19.10 Trip Miles: 872.5 “I was just fifteen and out of control, lost to James Dean and rock and roll. I knew down deep in my country soul that I had to get away. Hollywood was a lady in red who danced in my dreams as I tossed in bed. I knew I?d wind up in jail or dead if I had to stay. I thought happiness was Lubbock, Texas, in my rearview mirror” – Mac Davis Mid-80s, rainy. Up at 6:15. Ate breakfast and got ready to drive to the trailhead. Left at 7:05 and got to…
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Today’s Miles: 0 Trip Miles: 853.4 Nice day off in Waynesboro, VA. Did laundry, flushed the water filter, cleaned gear, and posted a week’s worth of blogs. That last took all afternoon. Overkill and I resupplied at Walmart. Overkill and I walked a mile to a great AYCE Chinese buffet for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality. Really good food. Got all my gear packed and arranged a shuttle to take us to the trail at 7:30 a.m. Technical Notes:
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Today’s Miles: 19.6 Trip Miles: 853.4 Up at 5:00. Packed up all the gear I’m NOT slackpacking with and loaded it in the van to go to Waynesboro. Left the hostel for the trail at 6:20. We got dropped off at 7:15 about 1.1 miles from the trail. There is a private road, Spy Rock Road, that allows hikers access but no vehicle access to the trail. Today will be a tough hike. We have 6000 feet of descents followed by a 6-mile 3300-foot climb up to Three Ridges. 19.7 miles plus the 1.1-mile walk up Spy Rock Road. Temps…
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Today’s Miles: 16.3 Trip Miles: 833.8 Up at 5:00. Thunderstorms and rain last night cooled things off a bit. Should be in the mid-80s and partly cloudy today. That was the first rain in several weeks. Headed out to the trailhead at 6:15. There was a tree down on the BRP as we drove to the trailhead this morning. The 8 of us manhandled it out of the road. Little upper body workout to start the day. And we had to stop to get a baby raccoon out of the middle of the road. Getting good karma this morning. We…