Based on the events of this year’s Odyssey, an update has been made to the Road-Walk Tutorial. Find Nimblewill’s new insights by selecting Roadwalk Tutorial (Update).

The trip from Alabama to Pennsylvania (then back), to attend the 2023 Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame induction ceremony proved a whirlwind of activities. Thursday afternoon, the 7th of September, Barry Riddle picked me up here at John Nelson’s in Weogufka, Alabama, and we drove over to Above the Clouds Hostel in Suches, Georgia, where Lucky Lee greeted us, took us in, provided supper, then breakfast next morning.

Friday the 8th, we drove on up to Luray, Virginia, to Open Arms Hostel. There, Alison Coltrane hosted and cared for us.

Saturday the 9th, we headed on up to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame event was being held. As fortune would have it, I’ve a good friend whose father lives in Carlisle. During my 1998 Eastern Continental Trail trek, and while hiking the Appalachian Trail that year, I met and hiked a good bit with Lorax. His father, Huddle, invited Barry and me (and other friends) to stay with him, not only Saturday night, but also Sunday night!

Returning to Alabama turned out to be another excursion down memory lane. Leaving Carlisle we headed for (Tillie’s) Woods Hole Hostel on Sugar Run Road near Pearisburg, Virginia. Woods Hole is one of the oldest hostels anywhere along the Appalachian Trail. I had the pleasure of meeting Tillie some 50 years ago during my Appalachian Trail section hike. I’ve since passed by three other times. So I’ve gotten to know Tillie’s granddaughter, Neville Harris, who now runs Woods Hole Hostel. We were her guests. It’s a very special place!

Tuesday, we headed on south, down Old Asheville Highway to Flag Pond, Tennessee, and Nature’s Inn Hostel, run by Taft Ring and his sister, Amy Riffe. We’re their guests. So good to see them both once more.

Wednesday morning and leaving Nature’s Inn we head for the Blue Ridge Parkway, a very picuresque section—the tunnels and highest Parkway point. Wednesday evening, we roll into Hikers Rest at Hickory Hollow, near Cosby, Tennessee, a relatively new hostel run by Julie (Wilson-Freeman) and Jon Freeman. I got to know Julie during my 2021 Bama2Baxter Odyssey. She shuttled me all over the place and we became friends. Thursday the 14th was hammer-the-interstate on back to Alabama—and “home.”

What an incredible time it turned to be, my induction into the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame – 2023. Many dear friends attended to share in the joy—having come from far and wide! The well attended event took place Sunday, September 10th, at the U.S. Army Museum & Heritage Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, just a magnificent, first-class venue.

Of course, and as expected, when presented my certificate and traditional Hall of Fame hiking stick, I was ushered to the podium to speak. There, I did manage to blubber out a short tearful thank you to the museum folks and all dear trail community friends. It was a very emotional time, the most amazing moment in my life…

More assorted photos from the day…

The A.T. Museum will be honoring Nimblewill Nomad as a 2023 A.T. Hall of Fame inductee. The 2023 Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame class honorees are M.J. Eberhart of Olean, Missouri; Lester Kenway of Bangor, Maine; Brian King of Molers Crossroads, West Virginia; and the late Harry Rentschler of Reading, Pennsylvania.

Follow this link for more information about all of the inductees:

https://www.atmuseum.org/news/2023-appalachian-trail-hall-of-fame-inductees-announc

Nimblewill and his companions Dan Sims, Bart Smith, and Barry Riddle have left the building! Well, they left from the Alamo on March 4th (I just realized there is a pun there) for this year’s Odyssey up the Ol’ Chisholm Trail. Please follow along by clicking here.