Category Archives: Uncategorized

Oh, The People You’ll Meet.

I met David, a 26-year-old combat veteran, on May 27th, 2022, just four days after his six years of service as an Army medic ended. He’d come to the Appalachian Trail to sort through his experiences and to think about … Continue reading

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The Final AT Series Post: One Son, Two Sons, Three Suns, and We’re Done.

As the last of in a series of posts about my experiences on the Appalachian Trail this summer, this entry attempts to capture some of the beauty my two older sons and I passed through during our recent three-day, 43-mile … Continue reading

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The AT Series: Missing My Father

Time alone on the Appalachian Trail changes people. I know this from my experience and from those of the hikers I met along the way. In the woods, the persona I project in my workaday world cracked and I became … Continue reading

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The AT Series: Gravity Wins…Sometimes

After both knee replacement surgeries, I returned to consciousness with a yellow tag on my wrist labeled “Fall Risk.” Fair enough. I was wobbly and anesthetized. But to this day, friends and family joke that I need to wear that … Continue reading

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The AT Series: Trail Daze

A common practice amongst long-distance hikers is to record their journey, day by day. I carried a yellow, waterproof, pocket-sized notebook and planned to fill it with observations: names of people, places, and things; overwrought descriptions of scenery; and insightful … Continue reading

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The AT Series — Meet “New Knees”

Gosh. Keeping a blog on this section of the AT is proving too difficult, so I’ll post on Instagram as @ncwalker01 and Malcolm W Campbell on Facebook. I’m recording stories and look forward to sharing them. One quick one: AT … Continue reading

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In my grandfather’s footsteps…

My mother’s father owned this book and inscribed his name inside the cover in 1924. He was too busy as an attorney and in his other pursuits to spend a lot of time hiking with us in the summers on … Continue reading

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The AT Series: A Weighty Matter

Many devoted long-distance backpackers — of which I am not — talk about gear weight with the same passion a violinist might display when speaking of a Stradivari. These are people who weigh their toothpaste on kitchen scales, zeroing in … Continue reading

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The AT Series: A Good Traveler

Nine days remain until May 24, when I begin my seven-day/70-mile walkabout on the Appalachian Trail. I’m excited and want this adventure to begin, but I have much to do. Time is abundant, time is fleeting, and while I ponder … Continue reading

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With A Nod To Mahatma Gandhi

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