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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Rough July 4 in Yosemite as I push hard for Kennedy Meadows North.
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Struggling through Yosemite with sore Achilles .
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Departed Tuolumne Meadows and hiked deeper into Yosemite.
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Short hike into Tuolumne Meadow in Yosemite. Good food, small resupply, and goodbye to friends.
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Climbed past Thousand Islands Lake and ascended Donohue Pass into Yosemite.