An Old Timey Podcast - 79: Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail (Part 2)

Episode Date: November 5, 2025

Emma Gatewood was embarrassed. Her first attempt at solo hiking the Appalachian Trail had been a disaster. But she was nothing if not determined. So, Emma tried again. On her second attempt, the 67-year-old grandmother was better prepared. Although the trail proved challenging, she kept going. Soon, the media took notice. If she completed the 2,000+ mile hike, Emma Gatewood (aka Grandma Gatewood) would become the first woman to solo thru-hike the Appalachian Trail.Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Brown, Andrew. “Skyline Trail from Maine to Georgia.” National Geographic, August 1949.Huston, Peter, dir. Trail Magic: The Grandma Gatewood Story. 2015. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/237744.Montgomery, Ben. Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail. Chicago Review Press, 2016.New York Times. “Overlooked No More: Emma Gatewood, First Woman to Conquer the Appalachian Trail Alone.” October 7, 2021. https://archive.is/kp2au.Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

Hear ye, hear ye. You are listening to an old-timey podcast. I'm Normie C. And I'm Kristen Caruso. And in this episode, Grandma Gatewood starts her walk. Mm. Okay, I am ready. Last week's episode, don't mean to critique you, was a bit of a bummer. I'm sorry. I'm ready for her to slip on her Keds, was it? Keds canvas. Yep. Hey, adorable shoe. I wore them for many years in elementary school.

Very cute. Shout out to kids. I don't know how they're going to do on the Appalachian Trail. Kids, if you want to sponsor this episode, please reach out to us. Kristen? Yes. Oh. Oh. Do you have a plug for us? Yes.

Or am I going to sit here twiddling my thumbs? I came prepared today and look at me go. Hey, everyone. You seem like you want more of us. I can tell. I can smell it in the air. I can feel it coming in the air tonight, I say. Hold on. Yeah.

Oh, right. Oh, man, you were just improvving, weren't you? You were just playing along. Damn it, I got thrown off because, you know, this is all in a script. Folks at the video level on Patreon, I'm going to need you to confirm that you're watching me read this script. Kristen's a little frazzled today, I feel like. She's been a weird day, Norm. I don't even know the words to say, but I will say these words to you.

I don't know. to www.w.w.com slash old-timey podcast. It's not 1994. You don't have to say W-W-W anymore. I think it's funny to say it. Head on over to the worldwide web. www.w.

Patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. Why would you do this? It's for you, baby. At the $5 level, you get into our Discord. You get a monthly bonus episode of this very podcast. You get video version. You get to see us up close and personal. But if you're really ready to take your relationship with us to the next level,

then guess what? You better get on that pig butter investor tier. That's where you get ad-free video episodes of every single ding-dang episode that we put out there. Also, you get a card and stickers with our autographs. Wow. Oh, my gosh, the value. The value. It's insane.

You also get monthly. monthly trivia with us. It's a good time. It's a great time. All right. Patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. You really sold it this week, Kristen. I know. I know. Yeah, we want you all to be exclusive with us on that $10 tier. So you're going to have to get rid of all your other podcast subscriptions. You've got to be just with us. That's a great way to make friends with other podcasters, Norm. Listen, dog eat dog world out there, you know, the podcast and world. No, I'm just kidding. Kristen, you ready to dive into part two of our story on Grandma Gatewood?

I am. You know, out of context, if you just heard in this episode, Grandma Gatewood starts her walk, you might think, boy, this sounds really boring. Uh-huh. Yeah. But did I mention the walk is on the Appalachian Trail? Boy, we're really having a battle of Appalachian versus Appalachian. It's the same thing. Okay.

You just say it differently. It's a regional dialect. Norm? Should I prepare it? myself for a bear attack in this episode. No. No bears. Snakes?

There better not be a snake in this story. We'll see. Norman, God damn. But first, we have to recap part one, Kristen. Previously, on an old-timey podcast. Oh. So I decided to switch it up a little this year. Yeah.

We learned about the early life of Emma Gatewood, the first woman to solo through hike the Appalachian Trail. And boy, it was not pleasant. Emma Gatewood was born on October 25, 1887 in Gallia County, Ohio. Hey, she just had her birthday, Kristen. Congrats. I swear I don't plan my topics that way. I feel like in like previous episodes, I have covered something.

And then they're like, oh, hey, did you know it was like Robert Small's birthday? And oh, now it's Emma Gatewood's birthday. I don't plan it that way. Everyone, he's just this good. It comes naturally. That's right. Sorry that you all have to like try and shit. Norm doesn't.

Mm-hmm. Emma Gatewood grew up in a poor farming family, and it was a big family, too. She had 14 siblings. Her father was a Civil War veteran with one leg who struggled with drinking and gambling addictions. They lived in a tiny cramped cabin where folks just peed right off the front porch. Oh, I'm so glad this is included in the recap. Listen, I'm trying to give you a sense of how rough it was. And when you're pissing off the front porch...

No, it's rough and stinky. We all agree. Everyone in the family was expected to work on the farm, including Emma. She did just about every chore you can imagine. There is no time for school. Emma only reached an eighth grade education. But there were moments of happiness. Specifically, Emma loved nature.

She took long walks in the woods. She went swimming in the creeks. She enjoyed learning about all the animals and wildlife surrounding Galea County. It seemed like Emma was always taking care of people. And with that kind of lifestyle, you grow up fast. But at the age of 18, Emma met a man who claimed he wanted to take care of her. Perry, Clayton, Gatewood, aka PC. PC was considered the catch of Galea County.

He was educated. He came from a somewhat wealthy family. He had a horse named Dick. And boy, did PC love riding dick. Again. PC pressured Emma into marrying him. She was hesitant, but begrudgingly accepted. hoping for the best. Unfortunately, it was the worst. PC was physically and sexually abusive.

He frequently went off on the weekends to fulfill his desires and spend all their money. He killed one of their neighbors. As a result, Emma's life got even harder. She had 11 children. She worked every job imaginable on the farm. She navigated her family through the Great Depression, all while enduring abuse from her husband. But in 1940, after a particularly bad fight, Emma finally filed for divorce. Her nightmare was over. After that, Emma had a lot more time to herself. Her children were all grown up, and she sold the farm.

So, Emma did stuff. She traveled the country. She visited relatives. She bought a house and fixed it up all herself. But her greatest personal achievement was, yet to come. In the 1950s, Emma Gatewood read an article in National Geographic about the Appalachian Trail, a 2,000-mile continuous footpath, one of the longest in the world. Emma had always loved walking in nature, and this was the ultimate walking in nature experience. And according to the

article, just about anyone in good health could do it. But even more surprising was, no woman had ever solo hiked the entire trail. And so at 66 years old, Emma Gatewood decided, I can do that. On this episode of an old-timey podcast, Emma Gatewood's hike gets off to a bad start. Oh. I am still very curious about this National Geographic article. Really? How unscrupulous.

It's free to read online, Kristen. But it's outrageous. They're basically saying, come one, come all. Anyone can do this. They did make it seem like it was a jolly stroll through the woods. Yeah. That's really irresponsible. Yeah, I guess so.

What do you mean you guess so? Absolutely. Tell us why, Norm. Here, you're just going to start telling the tale and we'll be like, mm-mm. Okay. Not just anyone can do this. Well, before we get into all that, Kristen, before I spank National Geographic on their little behind,

Let's learn a little bit more about the Appalachian Trail. Hundreds of years earlier, Spanish explorers named the mountainous region that stretches from Alabama all the way up to Canada, Appalachia. They named it after the Native American Appalachian Appalachian, which roughly translates to the people on the other side. Although, I got to say, Spanish explorers, that really didn't make much sense because the Appalachie didn't live in the other side. that region. They lived in Florida. I am so glad this clip is back on the soundboard. It should never leave. Okay, history hose way in on that. I do love that one. They all agree. So yeah, the Appalachia region, those mountains were mostly inhabited by the Cherokee, the Catawba, the Choctaw, the Shawnee, the Chikahominy, the Iroquois Confederacy, and more. But either way, the name Appalachia

stuck. And soon European settlers arrived and they forcibly removed. I mean, they asked the Native Americans to kindly leave. Oh, wow. And you know what? They were like, yeah, of course, no problem at all. But, you know, maybe that was a mistake because farmers really struggled. You know, they could have used some advice from those Native Americans. They didn't know that you got to rotate your crops around here. The land went bad. And so people switched to other industries like mining, lumbering, lumber mills, livestock, and it was rough living in the Appalachian Mountains, Kristen. Residents earned a reputation for being tough and proud. Families lived extremely isolated lives in tough conditions, a full day's drive from any town.

Communities were connected with unkept dirt roads. Of course, there were also negative stereotypes among Appalachian people. Folks thought Appalachia people were violent. Why? Well, there were constant feuds between families, like the famous Hatfield-McCoy incident. I have to admit, that's one of those things people talk about, and I always nod, but I know nothing about it. Well, guess what? Future topic?

Future topic? Okay. Maybe. People also thought Appalachia folk were simple, uneducated. Remember Eunice Winstead, the child bride? I do, everyone. That's a terrible bonus episode. That's an advertisement for our Patreon right there.

Norm did a terribly upsetting bonus episode. Come listen, you have to pay for it. No, it was a very good episode. So they lived in Appalachia. Yeah. Yeah. One thing we know for sure, though, the people of Appalachia were very suspicious of the government, especially when it came to whiskey.

There was the Whiskey Rebellion from 1791 to 1794. That asshole George Washington imposed the very first tax on a domestic president. And it was whiskey. And that pissed them off. And then in the 1870s, President Rutherford B. Hayes tried to enforce another whiskey tax. And moonshiners did not appreciate it one bit. Violence broke out in the region. And it would continue all the way into the prohibition era of the 1920s.

But you know, in the 20th century, Kristen, things really opened up in the region, thanks to the automobile. And that did two things. One, many folks left the region to find work in a better life in the city. And two, it really increased tourism in the area. You know, people wanted to see, oh, look at these beautiful mountains. Let's go explore them. And, you know, that led to an increased interest in hiking. And one of those hikers came up with an incredible idea.

His name was Benton McKay. In 1921, McKay hiked to the summit of Stratton Mountain in Vermont. And from the top, he looked down the range of the Appalachian Mountains. And he thought, gee, wouldn't it be cool if there was a trail that ran all the way down this mountain range? People thought his idea was romantic, but unrealistic. But Benton McKay was convinced it could be done. And so he wrote an article for the Journal of the American Institute of Architects. Sounds like a real page turner.

He envisioned this long trail As an escape for people living in the hustle and bustle of the city They could experience, quote, a primeval environment You know, that article got more people interested But damn, the trail would be more than 2,000 miles And so people were acting like a dad who doesn't want a pet Who's going to take care of this thing? That's very cute

Well gosh, dang it, Kristen hundreds of dedicated volunteers were ready to help. Hiking clubs, private citizens, lawyers, folks from all walks of life pitched in to make this trail happen. They mapped it out. They dug through property records. They bought land. They donated it. They connected existing trails.

They knocked on doors of private land and they said, hey, can we use your backyard as part of the trail? Wow. And by 1937, the Appalachian Trail was complete. It ran all the way from Georgia up to Maine. Norm, I've got to say, I've never thought about what would go into making a trail a trail, especially one of this size. Right. It's incredible that this happened. Took a ton of work.

I can't believe that they pulled this off. Right. And a lot of volunteers. And you've got to think, first idea was 1921. finished in 1937. So 16 years of hard work. That seems really fast. I know it's not, but when you think about the scope and you also think about like,

hey, we are asking for your land, man. And not even asking for land. Sometimes it was just, hey, can we put the trail on your land? Yeah. Yeah, it was a huge project. I can't believe it's like a miracle the Appalachian Trail exists. Yes. Yes.

You know, funnily enough, the same year the trail was completed, America started building their very first super highway dedicated just to automobiles. Wow. The Pennsylvania Turnpike. And you know what's even more hilarious? I didn't think that was hilarious, but okay, go ahead. Oh, that's true. Here's what's funny, though. The idea for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, it came from Benton McKay, the same guy who thought of,

the Appalachian Trail. That makes sense. I don't think it does. Why not? I don't know. It's like he invented recycling and then he later advocated for littering. No, no, no. I just feel like that's very different things.

But it's about connectedness. Yeah, I guess. I just feel like hiking and driving in your car are very different. Very different experiences. They are very different experiences, but the idea of going, one place to somewhere else very far away on one road, same thing. Okay, okay. All right.

I should point out that Kristen doesn't believe in global warming. Shut up. I think it's important. We add some context to Kristen's belief. You know what I always say is do your own research. Right. And I do. And it doesn't matter that I'm not a scientist.

I did my own research and I decided that anything that inconveniences me is not real. So there you go. Anything that could slightly disturb my life is not really. Yeah. Anyway, so the Appalachian Trail's done. But Kristen, it was real indie man. Only cool people knew about the trail. Most Americans weren't really interested in it.

They were like, why would we hike? We've got cars now. Yeah. And guess what? This baby gets 13 miles to the gallon. Hell yeah. By the 1950s, oh, all right, I'm good. Got a bang check.

Bang check. I need to record the bang checks for this episode. Everyone, in our most recent bonus episode, my bangs looked really stupid. I got curtain bangs and... They didn't look stupid. Yes, they did. My beloved stylist, she was like, okay, you know, if you need any help styling these, like, just give me a call.

You know, I can squeeze you in. And I was like, no, I got it. I got it. I don't got it. So I worked really hard on my bangs today. They look a lot less stupid than they did in our bonus episode, but still kind of stupid. And so, yeah, I did do a mirror check just now, and my husband rudely pointed it out to all of you. Kristen, I don't want to spoil your birthday gift, but I think you could really use a bump it.

And this would solve your problems. How would that? You don't know how bumpets work. I guess I don't, but I think you'd look cute. Yeah, Appalachian Trail exists. people aren't super interested. Everyone's driving cars, you know? Yeah.

By the 1950s, there were more than 50 million vehicles driving on roads across the United States. So the Appalachian Trail, it's really just for, like, hardcore hikers, dedicated volunteers, the hiking clubs. You know, and at that time, no one expected that anyone would hike the entire thing in one trip. Right. Because they were just like, whoa, that's 2,000 miles. That is until 1948, when Earl Schaefer did it. Earl Schaefer was a World War II veteran. He had come back home from the war, quote, confused and depressed.

And when he read an article about the Appalachian Trail in Outdoor Life magazine, he thought it would, quote, walk the war out of my system. The journey was tough. Schaefer said the trail was not well marked at all. Trees were downed all over the place. paths were blocked. Many sections of the trail seemed abandoned. But nevertheless, he did it.

Schaefer solo hiked the 2,000 mile trail in 124 days, which averages out to about 17 miles a day. That's incredible. Yeah. That dude could hike. He was kind of a sexy guy. Really? Could I see a picture?

Yeah, if you Google his name, you'll... Give me his name one more time. Earl Schaefer, S-H-A-F-F-E-R. Oh, goodness. Look at these beefy forearms. I feel like I'm at the Renfest eating a turkey leg. My God. Oh, goodness.

Wow. Sexy times. I got to say, when you said a guy named Earl was sexy, I was like, I doubt it, but I stand correct. Come on, Kristen. Veteran hikes the Appalachian Trail. You know this guy's sexy. He fought the Nazis, and then he had to go think about it for a while.

All right, I get it. You know, initially, no one believed that he hiked the entire trail by himself. They're like, yeah, right, he didn't do that. But he had proof, Kristen. He kept a very detailed journal every day. He took a ton of photos. And so, Earl Schaefer became known as the very first person to solo through hike the Appalachian Trail. And that created quite a buzz.

So much buzz that the National Geographic ran a big story about it. in their August 1949 issue. And that was the article that Emma Gatewood stumbled on in the 1950s. It was really inspiring. And Emma Gatewood wasn't alone in that feeling. After that article came out, several people succeeded in hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. There was 24-year-old Gene Espy, Chester, Zingaluski, and Martin Pappendick did the whole trail from north to south, which is way harder than going from south to north.

I just learned this this past weekend. What are you talking about? I mean, our family listens to the podcast, Norm. And brother-in-law Jay, he's a northern boy, northeastern boy. He knows a thing or two about this trail. That's right. And he happened to drop that knowledge bomb on me. I was blown away.

What knowledge did he drop on you? That a lot of people start up north, kind of with the, logic that like if you can get through the first couple weeks then I mean it's not a piece of cake from there but it's a lot easier yes yeah you've you've taken the hardest chunk right the most difficult terrain is in the northern section yeah yeah so get a fresh pair of kids get your box full of supplies yeah you'll need it get your vans off the wall shoes on god can you imagine oh my god I can like feel the blisters in pain right now. Oh, wearing vans.

No way. Get your best crocs. I always loved the look of vans, but they were just so uncomfortable. My feet are wider than they are long, I feel like. What? Look at these. No, that is not a fact. Wider than they are long.

What are you a platypus? You know, I'm on wiki feet. Okay, I do know that you're on wiki feet. That was a weird day when we discovered that. I thought it was very funny. As a YouTuber, apparently people were keeping track of my feet picks. And if you go to WikiFeed. You should explain.

You've not actually put out feet picks. They were just pictures you took and posted. On like Twitter, yeah. Yeah, where your foot happened to be in them. You didn't realize you were, you know. Yeah. So alluring. Well, you can rate people on WikiFeed.

I have like a 4.2 out of 5, I think, which I am a little insulted. I feel like I should have a perfect five. I do think it's a fun journey for you to go from, oh my God, I'm on wiki feet. What? Ew, gross. No, I'm above this to all of a sudden. God damn it.

And I don't have a perfect score. I got to get my score up. Yeah, you take care of those little piggies. I got to flaunt these little piggies. That's right. So, yeah, other people were solo hiking the trail. George Miller became the fifth person to hike the entire trail. He was 72 years old.

Wow. You know, one thing all of those hikers, had in common? They were boys. Yes, the only woman to complete the entire trail was Mary Kilpatrick, who did it in 1939, but she completed it in sections, not all at once. Boo, boo. Did you take time off for a period. Sorry, that's just the kind of thing I imagine people say.

You really like that. That was pretty good. that it does sound exactly like something like a men's rights guy would say. She's on a period. She couldn't do it. And so Emma Gatewood wanted to try to hike the whole trail by herself, and she wanted to do it not for the accolades or the fanfare. She just wanted to do it for her.

She wrote, quote, I thought that although I was 66, I would try it. Yeah. And so in 1954, she went for it. So, Kristen, how do you prepare for a 2,000 mile hike? What would you do? Okay, well, I think I would tackle this very differently from Emma. First of all, I'd have Google by my side.

Sorry, Emma, no offense. Let's pretend Google. Let's pretend you're in 1954. You just had your eighth child. Oh, my God. I'm just kidding. Do I live near a Dick's sporting goods? There's some kind of outdoor world?

Am I anywhere near that? Sure. Okay, yeah. I guess I'd go there. I'd try to find any books. Do books exist on the Appalachian Trail at this point in time? Okay. I'd get the books.

I'd get the maps. I'd get the gear. And is snake spray a thing? Is there some kind of, you know, I'm fine with a bear. I'll ride a bear, you know, on half the trail if I have to. but if a snake comes at me, then I'm abandoning ship. You get some axe body spray? That snake's gone.

Sure. So I think for sure you would want to do some training, right? Well, absolutely. Maybe like go on some hikes, go camping, you know, stuff like that. Yes. So do you think Emma Gatewood trained for this hike? I know she didn't. Hell no, no, no, no.

Yeah, to the no. Training. I mean, why would I need to do that? trained. The article said that as long as you were in good health, you'd be fine. Now, to be fair, Emma probably did a little bit of training, but not to the level that you would expect to hike the Appalachian Trail. Okay, so no training. Maybe we should figure out what kind of supplies we'll need for the hike. What do you think of that, Kristen? Yeah, I mean, that's why I wanted to go to Outdoor World, you know? Did Emma Gatewood go to Outdoor World? No.

In a way I get it because it's like her whole life has been training for this. She worked hard her whole life. So it's not like she's afraid of physical labor. So that part, I'm kind of like, although you can be really good at farming and probably be terrible at hiking. It's really not the same thing, is it? Yeah, I guess not. Okay, so no training, no supplies. What else?

So instead of like figuring out what Emma needed for the trail, She basically packed what she thought she couldn't be without. Okay. You understand the difference? Yeah, absolutely. So she packed a lot of snacks. She packed a bunch of clothes. And she stuffed all of that into a 17-pound sack.

She didn't have a sleeping bag. Oh. She didn't have a tent. Oh, my God. She didn't have a mess kit. And if that wasn't bad enough, Emma Gatewood decided she was going to hike it the hard way. She was going to go from north to south. And again, like we talked about earlier,

the most difficult terrain of the Appalachian Trail is in the north, right at the very end. Norm, have you been lying to me? I thought you said for sure last week that she starts at the bottom. Can I finish? Okay, fine. Can I finish? Can I finish? We'll allow it.

We'll allow it. That's right. Don't interrupt a man when he's talking, Kristen. I've learned my lesson. So in July of 1954, Emma took a Greyhound bus to Pittsburgh, then she took a train to Manhattan, and then another bus up to Bangor, Maine. And on July 10th, she began her journey by hiking up Mount Katadin, the highest mountain in Maine, and the northern terminal of the Appalachian Trail. The Penobscot-American named it Katadin, which means Great Mountain. Very appropriate.

By sundown, Emma Gatewood had made it down the other side of the mountain. At the bottom of Mount Katodin, she ran into a young couple camping. And they exchanged pleasantries and shared a meal of hot dogs and baked beans. And then Emma found a lean-to in the campground, and she dozed off. And she thought, well, so far so good, you know, maybe this will be pretty easy. The next morning, Emma kept hiking, but after a few miles, she was exhausted. And so she thought, hmm, maybe I packed too many clothes. This sack's kind of heavy.

And so at the next campsite, Emma asked a park ranger to ship some of her clothes back to her house in Ohio. Okay. That night, Emma reached Rainbow Lake, a beautiful, cold, deep water lake filled with brook trout. That covers an area of 1,664 acres. Beautiful lake. If you're watching the video version, we're going to show visuals of all these beautiful scenery of the Appalachian Trail. Okay. So you can follow along, like a little storybook.

Oh. So at Rainbow Lake, a family was camping, and they shared a meal of roast beef and pie with her. And by the way, this generosity from strangers, it's going to be a common theme throughout this story. And it was absolutely crucial to Emma Gatewood's survival. Yeah. The next day, Emma kept hiking. Oh, wait, no, nope. She actually didn't hike that day.

She was a little too tired. So she took the day off. And then so the next morning, she started hiking again. And that's when things went horribly, horribly wrong, Kristen. Oh, no. You see, because Emma didn't spend a lot of time studying or training for the trail, and she had no idea that the path she was supposed to take was marked with white blazing. painted on the trees.

And at one point, she went down the wrong path. And she tried to retrace her steps, but she couldn't find the trail again. She was lost. This is scary. Yeah. That night, it rained super hard. Emma had no shelter. She sat there nibbling on raisins and peanuts.

And Emma thought to herself, quote, I did not worry if it was to be the end of me. It was as good a place as any. This woman has had a hard life. Hard life. Desperate times nibbling on peanuts and raisins. There better be M&Ms in that trail mix. That's all I'm going to say.

Things didn't get better the next day. Emma tried lighting a fire and then dowsing it, hoping the smoke would signal for a rescue. Yeah. But no one came. That afternoon, she took a bath in a small pond. And as she climbed out onto a rock, she forgot she had set her glasses there,

and she stepped on them and broke them. Oh, no. Mm-hmm. I mean, it's that comical. I mean, it is. It's like everything that can go wrong will go wrong. That's a saying I just made up. Mm-hmm.

Very wise. Thank you. We're going to call that Kristen's Law. Mm. Emma took a band-aid out of her sack and wrapped it around her glasses to put them back together. What a nerd.

That night, she couldn't sleep because black flies swarmed all around. her biting her. Oh, my God. The next day, Emma got really desperate. She waved a white shirt above her head as she hiked because sometimes planes flew overhead and she hoped that they would spot her. Yeah.

But nope. She was lost. She was alone. Completely out of food now. And if you can believe it, she was only 30 miles into her journey. But gosh, dang it, Kristen. If there was one thing Emma Gatewood was, it was. it was determined.

She was filled with determination, just like J.C. Penny. Yes. And somehow, miraculously, she managed to find her way back to Rainbow Lake. And when she arrived, a ranger greeted her. And he said,

you've been lost. And Emma replied, not lost, just misplaced. Wait, how did she find her way back? Was that just kind of she got lucky or? Could be.

Okay. The ranger did not. really appreciate Emma's response because Emma soon learned that Park Rangers had indeed been looking for her. Oh. Because when they first saw Emma a couple of days ago, they called ahead to the next campsite and they're like, hey, let us know when a little old lady arrives carrying a sack over her shoulder.

And when they never heard anything, they got worried. And so they went out, started looking for Emma. Emma Gatewood had no food. She had broken glasses. She had holes in her sweater. She had a bruised eye from some nasty black fly bites. Her hair was a mess. Her feet were swollen.

She was tired. Those last few days were just miserable. And she was in way over her head. And so the Rangers told Emma, go home. Yeah. I wouldn't want my mother doing this. And so Emma went home. She was embarrassed.

She felt like a failure. You know, they really didn't have to say I wouldn't want my mother doing this. Like, shut the fuck up. That's condescending. Yeah, it's definitely condescending. I think you can definitely say to somebody, hey, here are the things that I think you need to do to prepare. I do think you need to, you know, stop and regroup. But, yeah, leave your mother out of this.

I just think they weren't used to seeing a woman that old hiking the trail. Of course they weren't. Yeah. Emma felt stupid. Felt like a failure. And she decided she would never say a word to anyone about that trip. But Kristen, Emma Gatewood is not a quitter. She was filled with determination to try that hike again. And so for the next year, Emma scrimped and saved money from her part-time job at a nursing home.

She made $25 bucks a week. Oh, my God. stashed away what little she could she also set aside money from her social security checks which was like $52 a week by the way Emma I know you are a diehard

Republican but I think you owe Democrat Francis Perkins the first female cabinet member a huge thank you for that social security check what do you think Kristen? Previous topic it's been 84 years that's our new

previous topics. Oh, okay. Shout out to Bridget in the fan group. She recommended that as the soundbite for previous topic, and I think it's perfect. That is very good. It's been 84 years. So Emma not only saved money for her trip, she also started

training. And at first, it was just walking around the block. But every day, she extended her walks a little bit more, and by April of 1955, she was walking 10 miles a day. Okay. Emma also did overnight camping trips in the woods. She learned what equipment was necessary, what food she should

have, what supplies she should pack. And by May of 1955, Emma Gatewood was ready to give the Appalachian Trail another shot. But this time she was going to go the easier route. She was going to go from south to north. She didn't tell anyone about her plans. For a couple reasons. For one, she didn't want people to worry about her. But more importantly, she did not want anyone to try and stop her from doing it or try to talk her out of it. You know, this hike was very important to her and she wanted to do it for herself. That makes total sense to me now. It made no sense in the first episode of this series. It makes all the sense in the world now, especially with her previous experience. Would you say context was important there? I would say that, Norm.

When she left, she only told her children one thing. I'm going on a walk, which was technically true. Yeah. And with that, Emma Gatewood left Ohio. She caught a ride over to West Virginia, and then she flew into Atlanta. And from there, she hopped on a bus to Jasper, Georgia, the first mountain city. And Kristen, if you recall from our last episode, I told you all about how Emma took a cab ride up to Mount Oglethorpe, the southern terminal of the Appalachian Trail. And on May 3rd, 1955, there she was at the top of the mountain, alone in her Keds Canvas shoes carrying a cardboard box.

By the way, I've been loving all the comments from history hosts who are just like amazed she wore Keds' canvas shoes. I mean, I think it speaks to some of us, truly. Yeah, I mean, I just am like horrified that someone would hike in those shoes. Yeah. But they're very stylish. Big fan. Big fan. And now we get to the moment we've all been waiting for, Kristen.

You and many others were very curious what Emma Gatewood had packed inside the cardboard box. Yeah. Well, I'm finally ready to tell you. She had the following. Dungarees. What are dungarees again? Overalls. Oh, okay.

Gotcha. Tennis shoes. Slippers. Huh. A dress. A drawstring sack that she made herself out of. denim. Vienna sausages. Raisins.

Peanuts. Bullion cubes. Powdered milk. Band-aids. Iodine. Bobby pins. Vix Vapo rub. A coat. A shower curtain. Drinking water.

A Swiss Army knife. A flashlight. Mints. A pen. A notebook. That's what she had in the box. Why mints? You want fresh breath on the trail, Kristen. Okay, okay.

Well, if you have a makeout session. Yeah, you've got to be prepared in case Earl comes around. Oh, man. You know, oddly missing from the box were a map. Oh. A sleeping bag? Yeah. A tent.

Winter clothing. A flint. You know, I bet she was so skilled she did not need a flint. Okay. Wow. Yeah. Anyway, so Emma stuffed everything into her whole. homemade denim drawstring sack, she tossed the box, and then she took off down the 2,000-mile

Appalachian Trail. The first day, she explored the summit of Mount Oglethorpe, named after one of Georgia's founders, James Edward Oglethorpe. In fact, Kristen, at the very top of the mountain is a marble obelisk dedicated to him, and it reads, In grateful recognition of the achievements of James Edelph, Edward Oglethorpe, who by courage industry and endurance founded the Commonwealth of Georgia in 1732. Everyone, fun fact, this is how Norm reads every plaque. Pretty much, if I'm reading it out loud. Fun fact.

Wow. Wow. James Edward Oglethorpe banned slavery in Georgia. Shut up. Mm-hmm. He said it would have it. a negative effect on the manners and morality of Georgia's white residents. Wow!

And then they ran him out of town. What happened? As soon as he left Georgia, slavery came back. Wow. Well, we had a moment. Mm-hmm. And hey, we got to mention slavery in this episode. So, all right.

The streak is back. Uh-huh. So obviously, this hike is going to be a long one, Kristen. And, you know, rather than go day by day, I decided to go week. Hour by hour. Oh, I see. Yeah, I kind of expanded it week by week. If I went hour by hour, this series would be 30 episodes or something.

What I'm hearing is that I would have to do no work for like 30 weeks. I mean, yeah, that's true. I think you need to consider this, Norm. Our numbers plummet. And Kristen's like, what happened? It's your fault. So yeah, I'm going to go week by week And I'm just going to give you all the highlights

Of Emma Gatewood's journey. You ready? Yeah. Okay. Week number one. Emma's first week on the trail was mostly uneventful. An old stray dog kept her company for several miles. Oh.

She walked past a massive chicken farm. She always seemed to find a decent place to rest, like a picnic table. You know, she could fill her sack full of leaves and kind of use it as a pillow. Mm-hmm. And, you know, strangers. helped her out quite a few times. She got lost once, but a nice couple on a farm helped her find her way back to the trail, and they even let her stay the night at the farm.

She was given water by a man who thought she was crazy. Okay. When she reached a small community in doublehead gap, she was given cornbread and buttermilk in a comfy night's rest at the local church. But you know, not all strangers were helpful, Kristen. One night, Emma stumbled onto some houses in a valley near a creek. and she thought she might be able to spend the night from a kind stranger, and so she decided to ask around. And she ran into a young woman chopping wood in her yard.

And this lady looked rough. She was covered in dirt. She was chewing tobacco. She was the definition of an Appalachia lady. Okay. Emma asked if she could stay the night. The woman replied, We've never turned anyone away.

So they walked back to the house, where Emma saw an old man sitting on the house. the porch. It's not clear who this man was. Was he the woman's father? Was he the woman's husband? We don't know. But he was looking at Emma very suspiciously. And he goes, you got credentials. Emma showed her social security card and pictures of her family. But the man kept pressing. Is the government paying you to make this trip? Emma was like, no, I'm hiking the trail by myself. I just need a place to stay for the night. But the old man kept going. Does your family approve of what you're doing? Oh, good grief. Emma replied, they don't know what I'm doing. This guy was way too suspicious. Was Emma on the run from the authorities? Were they looking for her? And if so, he didn't want the police

on his property. So finally, the old man said, you'd better go home then. You can't stay here. Emma sighed, gathered her things, and just kept hiking. She eventually found an abandoned summer camp, and she slept inside a shed. Week number two! In her second week on the trail, Emma Gatewood crossed her first state line.

She was now in... Oh, yeah! Take your shirt off! As she hiked through the North Carolina woods, she thought she heard some men hollering in the distance, along with... Hogs? A pig.

That's what a hog sounds like. And eventually, she found out where that was coming from. She ran into some farmers who were checking in on their pigs. I guess they let the pigs just roam wild in the woods, and they put cowbells on their necks. Oh, okay. You know, they seemed like nice guys, so when they invited Emma back to their camp, Emma was like, yeah, sure. And they made up a straw bed for her, and they let Emma dry her clothes by the fire. And the next morning, several of the farmers they took off.

But before they left, they were like, okay, we're going to go look for our hogs. And, oh, hey, Emma, how about you make us up some breakfast? Oh. Emma was very annoyed. Yeah. You know, she'd been doing chores for other people her whole life. Yeah. And now these men were like, how about you make us some breakfast, you know.

But they had given her a place to sleep. They shared their food. so she agreed to make breakfast. Oh. They shared their food with her? Yeah. Okay, well, Emma, get real, girl. Make breakfast for everybody.

Oh. Well, no, for real. For real. If someone's doing you a favor, you can do a favor back for them. Kristen, you join the men's rights? No. It would have been nice if they'd been like,

hey, would you mind making breakfast? That's true. They should have asked. Yes. Yeah, she made him breakfast. Later, a forest. Warden stumbled into the hog farmers encampment. And he just assumed Emma was one of their wives.

Yeah. And she decided not to correct him because Emma didn't want to tell authorities that she was hiking the trail alone. She didn't want to explain why she was doing it. Because, you know, the last time she hiked it, those rangers were like, you better go home. Yeah. A few days later, Emma left the hog fuckers and she climbed some mountains, specifically standing in Indian Mountain and Albert Mountain. There were steep rocks, made slippery from rain.

The souls of her Ked's canvas shoes held on for dear life. It was the hardest part of her hike up to that point. But the struggle was worth it. At the top, Emma looked behind her to a beautiful view of the Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains. Week number three! By week three, Emma Gatewood was officially out of food. But her many years exploring the woods in Galea County came in handy. She found a sassafras tree and wild strawberries, and she made herself a salad.

Okay. And that held her over long enough to get to a general store where she restocked on cheese crackers, fig bars, eggs, and more. Man, have fig bars been around for a long time? A classic dessert, Kristen. What about the history of fig Newton's? Future topic? Ew. Yeah, fair enough.

Emma climbed two more mountains. Swimbald and Shuckstack Mountain. Love that name. Sounds like a Pokemon. Shuckstack. The hike-up Shuckstack was especially difficult, and at the top of the mountain, she ran out of water.

But that's when she found a trash can lid, and there was a puddle of water in it. And so Emma drank it. Ew. Oh, no, no. Did she boil it? No. She assumed it was rainwater.

Well, yeah, let's all hope and pray, but it's also from a trash can lid. That's what I'm saying. And then she set up camp at the top. She set the trash can lid back down so it could collect more rainwater. Sure. And you know, no one can question your toughness, Kristen, if you are literally drinking water from a trash can lid. Oscar the Grouch would approve. Mm-hmm.

Several days later, Emma Gatewood hiked into Tennessee. I love this song. Yeah? Sometimes, this is ridiculous. Sometimes I listen to it at the gym. What? That's a workout song? I know it's so weird, but it's weirdly a good workout song.

Are you kidding me? I'm not kidding. I'm not kidding. It'd be too weird to lie about. It's weird enough that I do it. Yeah. Yeah. I listened to Kiss from a Rose by Seal when I worked out.

Shut up, baby. It really gets my pump on. Yeah, yeah. No, we get it. We get it. Remember when I used to think it was get your pump in? Yes. And you're like, no, that's if you're...

That sounds very sexual. Getting your pump in. Getting pounded. Yeah. I learned my lesson because I told a guy at the gym, hey, you want to get her get some pump in? Things got wild. So yeah, Emma Gatewood is in Tennessee. She was in the Smoky Mountains National Park.

And there, Emma really enjoyed people watching. You know, for most of her hike, she was alone. But in a national park, they're going to see quite a few people. And her favorite was a group of nuns who were hooting and hollering. They were climbing up rocks. They were jumping off. They were laughing. She said, I'd never seen anything like that before.

Yeah. And in the park, Emma found a bus stop. And she decided, I should probably get more supplies. So she took the bus into Gatlinburg, Tennessee. And that's kind of the cool thing about the Appalachian Trail. It's not like you're isolated from civilization. It runs through towns. It runs through communities.

And so, yeah, she was able to go into town and she bought a new pair of shoes. Another pair of kids. Yes. Shut up. Yeah. She didn't go for like a boot. She preferred sneakers. Okay.

Who am I to question this woman? I am just now realizing, by the way, that this wasn't just exclusively a mountain hike. I had no idea that the trail went through cities. Oh, it crosses highways. It goes through little towns. No, it makes sense. I mean, it's only logical. You have so much to learn, Kristen.

The next day, she took the bus back to the trail, and then she continued up Turkey Bald Mountain. And there as she made her way to the summit, Emma heard a sound. At first she thought it sounded almost like a bird. No, it's terrible. Get your knife out, Emma. She kept on walking, and then she felt something touch her leg. No, no, no. And then she looked down and she saw a rattlesnake.

Oh, shit. It was coiled up. No. And ready to strike. No, no, no. Emma grabbed it by the throat, and she started choking it. No, she didn't. No, she did not.

Okay, she didn't do that. What she did do is she swiped at it with her walking stick. And then she quickly jumped out of the way. Her adrenaline was rushing through her body. Yeah. And she eventually got some distance from it. But that rattlesnake was a reminder to her that while the Appalachian Trail was beautiful. who was also dangerous.

Week number four. It was now week four. Emma Gatewood had officially been hiking for a month. Her children had not heard from her at all. Later, when reporters would ask her children if they were ever worried about her, they all said, no. Their mom had been through much worse. She was, quote, raw-boned and sturdy.

Wow. Wherever she was, she was fine. and where she was at that time was hiking through Tennessee. Emma still had a long way to go, but she was very sore. She was tired, she was thirsty, and lately she had been sleeping outside more often than inside. Throughout her hike, she learned that getting help from strangers was the best thing to do. Emma even learned some rules, like the bigger the house, the less likely they were to help you.

Wow. If she couldn't find shelter, sometimes Emma would just walk. to the nearest highway and grab a room in a motel. When the Appalachian Trail ran through a town, it was a huge relief because not only could Emma resupply, she could get warm food and a bed and still kind of stay on the trail. But, you know, that wasn't always guaranteed. Sometimes if Emma looked too disheveled, hotels would not give her a room. Wow.

By the end of week four, Emma crossed into a new state. Virginia. This is a terrible cardio song. I used to work with a guy who worked out to train music. Shut up. Mm-hmm. Who? And we'll bleep his name to protect.

Yeah. You know that song, Oh, I swear to you, I'll be there for you. Yeah. This is not a drive-by. I swear it was on repeat for our entire one-hour workout together. Okay. I have to admit, I'm really bad about

reusing the same stupid songs again and again and again. But I have never stooped so low as to put Train on a playlist. And that is a bread. Is it an ADHD thing to listen to like the same song over and over and over? It is so they do say that for people with high anxiety, which ADHD. Right here folks. Uh-huh. We like to consume the same media again and again and again as a comfort thing.

Well, I guess Train brought him a lot of. You know. So Emma was in Virginia, specifically she was in the town of Damascus. And that was known as Trail Town USA, baby. Five different trails converged on the town, including the Appalachian Trail, the Iron Mountain Trail, and the Virginia Creeper Trail. Name for Virginia's many prominent pedophiles. Stop it.

Okay, the Virginia creepers actually a plant. Oh, I see. Sorry to all those pedophiles out there. Who were finally waiting for their moment in the sun. Finally, a trail just for us. In Damascus, Emma Gatewood got some much-needed rest. She ate at a restaurant. She rented a cabin.

She washed her clothes. And she got a good night's rest. Week number five! In week five, Emma Gatewood found herself in the Jefferson National Forest, one of the largest areas of public land in the United States. In those woods, she found apple and peach trees, and she helped herself to all the fruit. Are you allowed to do that? You know, I don't know.

Okay, well, who's going to stop her? Yeah, yeah, she ate her fill. On Sunday, June 20th, Emma stopped at a gas station along the Blue Ridge Parkway to resupply. And she had a nice conversation with the clerk, where she shared that she was hiking the Appalachian Trail all by herself. You know, Emma didn't want to tell authorities she was doing this, but she was fine telling strangers, especially if they wanted to help. Yeah. You know, many of them kind of felt sorry for her, and so they would usually give her stuff. But this time around, Emma got attention.

That clerk at the gas station must have told somebody, because the very next day, as Emma ate a snack on the side of the road, a car pulled up and two men popped out. They were from the local hiking club. and they had heard about her incredible story. And they thought, oh my gosh, we would love to interview you. People are just going to love this story. And it could bring in some support for the trail. But Emma Gatewood was hesitant. You know, this hike was for herself, no one else.

She didn't want a bunch of people to know about it. And the last thing she wanted was for her family to worry about her. She also worried that if a bunch of people found out an old woman was hiking alone on the trail, someone might try to harm her or take advantage of her. And so Emma told them, no, I don't want to talk to you. Okay, my thought was also, all right, you're out there alone. You're doing this for yourself. You also have tried this before and failed, which, you know, I don't personally view that as a failure. but in her mind maybe she's kind of beating herself up about that.

I can see being like, no, I'm not going to call myself a marathon runner until I finish this damn marathon. It's a good point. Maybe she was like, I'll talk when I'm done. Yes. Yeah. I get that. That's why on road trips, Kristen, I don't say a word.

Not until we get there. So yeah, at first, Emma was like, I don't want to talk to you. But the two men were very insistent. And they were like, hey, why don't you come back to our cabin? we can eat, maybe we can talk, and if you need to stay the night, you can stay the night. And Emma was like, okay, she's not going to turn that down. So she went with them. And eventually later that night, she did decide to finally talk to them.

The very next day on Tuesday, June 22nd, 195, the first article about Emma Gatewood appeared in the Roanoke Times newspaper. with the headline, Ohio Woman 67, hiking 2050 miles on Appie Trail. Appie Trail is such a cute abbreviation. You like that as a former reporter? Yeah. Happy? Yeah. Well, you know, if you spell it all the way out, there goes your headline.

Now it's in a 12-point font. Good luck to you. Yeah. You know, this wasn't a front-page story or anything. It was just a little article that described her journey so far. It explained how Emma was a. widowed mother of 11 children, 26 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. It explained how she liked to travel light. She never accepted rides, which was true. Emma Gatewood was adamant

about hiking the entire trail. Many people offered her rides, shortcuts. She never took them. The article read, quote, the prospect of a 2050-mile hike over mountain trails would cause many a hearty soul to cringe. A 67-year-old great-grandmother from Gallupolice, Ohio enjoys it. You know, at that point, that was just local news. But soon enough, it would be in newspapers nationwide. The morning of its publication, Emma decided to finally let her family know where she was. Yeah.

She didn't want them to read about it in the newspaper. So she bought a few postcards at a store, and she sent them to her kids. and then she was on the trail again. Emma left Roanoke, Virginia, and hiked on a rough section of the trail. There was overgrown brush everywhere. It was hard to follow the path. And then eventually the path just ended.

In front of Emma was a large fence. Oh, shit. Oh, shit, indeed. Emma was kind of confused. Did I lose the trail? You know, I can't just climb this fence. It was massive. And so she decided to walk along the fence line and kind of see if she could figure out what was going on.

Yeah. And eventually she found a shorter barbed wire fence. And so she snuck through it. And she just kept walking. But to her surprise, she soon saw soldiers marching in formation. And she thought, where am I? Some sort of military base? The answer was, she wasn't a military base.

Oh, no. Emma Gatewood had accidentally snuck into a radar station established by air defense command. Oh, God damn. Grandma, no! No, Grandma! Emma yelled out to the soldiers, where's the Appalachian Trail? The sergeant was stunned, and he replied, You were supposed to take the parkway!

So yeah, it turns out the trail had been rerouted because the military wanted to build this radar station there. Oh, my God. But Emma had no idea about that. But it was too late now. So Emma just kept on walking through the base. Soldiers were staring at this disheveled 67-year-old woman walking through the base with a sack slung over her shoulders. She still doesn't have a backpack? Nope.

Good grief. When she reached the entrance of the base, the guard looked up and he was like, what the fuck? He's like, how'd you get in here? Yeah, his whole job is just a joke. now. Yeah. And she was like, I crawled through the barbed wire fence and the guard was just shocked. And he's just like, whatever.

And he unlocked the gate and Emma just walked on. That night, she happily recalled the day in her notebook on the front porch of an abandoned farmhouse. She wrote, quote, I could hardly wait until I got away to burst into laughter at the ridiculous situation I had gotten into. Oh, the looks on those boys' faces. Week number six. After climbing Priest Mountain, one of the highest peaks in Virginia, Emma Gatewood was lost again. She had lost sight of the trail, but she soon stumbled on a house that belonged to the Ricks family. And Kristen, this was quite the house.

It had a flagstone courtyard. It had unimpeded views of the valley. These people were probably rich. Well, yeah. Had one of the Mountain Lodge houses. or something. So Emma knocked on the door and asked for directions.

But the conversation eventually led to her sharing her entire story. And the Ricks were moved by the story and they insisted that Emma stay with them for dinner and spend the night with her.

And then the next morning, the Ricks drove Emma into town so she could resupply because she needed another pair of Keds' canvas shoes. Hashtag not sponsored. You'd think she would wear something else by now.

No, now she's in it. I get it. I get it now. She's just used to them and like I just got to replace them every every couple weeks. Well, I do think once you're used to a specific pair of shoes for this kind of activity, yeah, you don't want to mess anything up. That's why I've been wearing light up shoes for the past 30 years. Sure. My Nickelodeon Velcro light up shoes. Well, you've had the best of luck with them. Oh, yeah.

It's just hard to find them in your size. Oh, yeah. and you know, when they light up, the girls go wild. So yeah, she got another pair of shoes. And then she had breakfast, and she headed out of town. But as she was leaving, a reporter ran up to her, grinning from ear to ear. And he was like, hey, can we talk? Turns out that Mrs. Ricks had called the local newspaper to tell him about Emma.

And Emma was like, all right. And she politely answered all of the man's questions. she talked about her journey so far about how she was very afraid of bears but she hadn't seen any yet and how the Appalachian Trail was much harder than the National Geographic article made it out today

as the reporter wrapped up he asked if she wanted a copy of the article mailed to her children maybe they would enjoy it Emma said no the folks at home don't know where I am she said but soon enough they would find out

Emma Gatewood continued her journey. She was now in the Shenandoah National Park. More than 200,000 acres of protected land 75 miles from Washington, D.C. It was a beautiful place filled with oak and hickory and chestnut trees. The trails were very well maintained. And because of that, Emma made excellent progress there. One day she hiked 21 miles. Damn.

The next day, she hiked 20 miles. In the National Park, she ran into a Boy Scout troop at a campground. And she stopped and she told them stories from her hike. And the boys loved it. They wanted her picture. They wanted her autograph. Emma said she felt like a celebrity that day. That's so sweet.

Isn't that sweet? Yeah. I was in the Boy Scouts. Oh, yeah? Mm-hmm. Started in Cub Scouts, worked my way up. I hit Wee Blow. Well, congratulations, Norm.

What skills do you? carry with you to this day? I can tie several knots. I'm decent at camping, I guess. Oh. Decent at camping, I guess. The Pinewood Derby where you race the little cars down the ramp. I think I got third place in that.

Oh, my God. But my dad may have illegally modified my car. May have been a little too heavy. Wait, you cheated and you didn't even come in. first. That's right. Yeah, for real. I think my dad made the car too heavy because, you know, there's a weight limit, but my dad kept adding screws to the car and I was like, I don't think we can add this many. He was like, it'll be fine, it'll be fine. And you just stayed silent.

I didn't say anything. Wow. It's true. Mistakes is shame. But yeah, I didn't even win. I got third place, I think. On July 5th, Emma crossed into a new state. Maryland. God. That's the state song, apparently. That's terrible. It sucks so bad.

I tried to find a song about Maryland. There really isn't any. That evening, Emma sat on a cliff of the Maryland Heights, overlooking the town of Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Oh, shit. Yep. Okay. Just 96 years earlier, an abolitionist named John Brown carried out a daring raid on Harper's Ferry, hoping to incite a slave revolt.

Previous topic! It's been 84 years. That was our very first series, Kristen. Feels like it was 84 years ago that we started this very podcast. Oof. I feel like time's kind of flown by. I agree. Because it's so much fun.

Oh, how cute. This is old-timey propaganda right here. You know, Harper's Ferry became infamous for that day. But it was also just a really gorgeous place. It's nestled at the confluence of the Potomac and Shandah Rivers. It's tucked away between mountains. President Thomas Jefferson once called Harper's Ferry, quote, one of the most stupendous scenes in nature.

This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic. And now in 195, Emma Gatewood was here, taking it all in, enjoying it for herself. She described it in one word in her little notebook. Beautiful. Week number seven. In week seven, Emma hiked through Washington Monument State Park, home of the first monument to our nation's first president, that asshole whiskey taxer, George Washington. One evening she met a local fire warden who offered her a cot to sleep on in his living room.

Unbeknownst to her, he also called the local newspaper, who wanted to interview her over the phone. This was now Emma's third interview in 17 days. You know, the questions were fine, but Emma just didn't understand why people were making such a big deal about her hike. The next day, Emma's story hit the big time. The Associated Press Dispatch. I was waiting for this, yes. Yeah? Yeah.

Explain. Tell us more, Kristen. Well, the Associated Press, like, if you get a story that gets picked up by the Associated Press, then it basically goes everywhere. Yeah, so it becomes like a national story. Right. Okay. Part of the article read, quote, After 66 days and nearly 1,000 miles, Mrs. Emma Gatewood is still pretty determined to become the first woman ever to hike the 2050-mile-mile Appalachian Trail,

alone. Even if she is 67. Did we mention she's old? Just look at her. Emma then hiked into a new state. Pennsylvania. I am loving

that you have included songs. I'm sorry to Maryland though. I don't know why you guys suck so bad. Listen, I think these should become the new state songs. Imagine if the Pennsylvania State song was... Hell yeah. That'd be great.

I'd get into politics for that. Emma was in Caledonia State Park, enjoying the views. When she heard someone hustling behind her trying to catch his breath, it was a bird watcher. Only this time he was watching Emma. You see, he had read about her in the newspaper, and so he wanted to see if he could find her. You know, now thinking,

were getting a little ridiculous. People were seeking Emma out on the trail. She didn't think that was a little cool? I think it was, you know how sometimes you're like, oh, stop. Yeah. Stop it. I think it was kind of like that for Emma in the beginning. Yes, yes.

Now we'll learn later on in her life. She got really sick of it. But right now, I think she was kind of enjoying the attention. Sure. Well, and the longer she goes, the more she's building confidence, the more she's feeling like, yeah, I can do this. I'm doing this. So the attention, I imagine, wouldn't feel that bad. Yeah, and also there's the prospect of, oh, the more attention that's on me, the easier it'll be for people to like, let me stay the night at this house or give me food, give me supplies, you know.

The next day Emma Gatewood reached Pine Grove Furnace. That is the official halfway point of the Appalachian Trail. It's just a hair over a thousand miles. Her path ahead lay on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which crosses the Appalachian Trail several times. It's the marriage of Benton McKay's two wild ideas. Emma Gatewood found the walking on the turnpike brutal because it was hard asphalt,

and it seemed like it would just never end. By 5.30 p.m. one day, she was done. She plopped herself down on a stranger's porch. Did the stranger know she was there? Nope. Oh. The family inside watched from a window like, uh, mom, there's an old lady on our porch.

And eventually someone got enough courage to go out and ask Emma Gatewood. Who are you? And what are you doing here? But just like every other person she told her story to, this family was charmed by Emma. They allowed her to stay for dinner, and she spent the night at their house. The next day, Emma approached Duncanon, Pennsylvania. She was no longer on the turnpike, but now she was dealing with sharp, jagged rocks at an incline,

and they were killing her feet. In fact, her feet had swollen up so much. She had to cut open the sides of her Ked's canvas shoes to give them dogs some room to breathe. as she walked into Duncanon, dirty, disheveled, split open shoes. Local kids yelled at her, There goes a lady tramp. Oh, Emma didn't appreciate it,

but she also was like, well, can we blame them? I do look pretty rough right now. And getting help got a lot harder when Emma looked rough. A few nights later, she struggled to find shelter at night. She knocked on eight doors before finally a woman let her sleep on the front porch. Week number eight. It was week eight of her journey,

and Emma's cut open Ked's canvas shoes were now falling apart completely. She had taped an old rubber sole she found to the bottom of her shoes to help with support. An article at the time commented on her shoes. It said, quote, she was wearing sneakers.

And supposedly, expert counsel on hiking comfort advises the wearing of stout shoes of good weight. Not too heavy, but tough enough to stand hard wear. When you're a 67-year-old woman on a 2050-mile hike, though, maybe there isn't another person in the world who qualifies as an expert on how to take care of your own feet. Speaking of articles,

by now Emma Gatewood's story had finally reached her hometown in Galea County, Ohio, and reporters rushed to talk to her children. Her oldest son, Monroe. He commented that he was a little surprised that his mom was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but he was not worried about her. He said, quote, Mother is a great lover of the outdoors, enjoys perfect health, and can outwalk most persons many years younger.

Back on the trail, Emma headed for Palmerton, Pennsylvania. Along the way, she was turned away from a motel. And so she finally decided to do something about her appearance. She found a bathroom. She washed her face. She combed her hair with a fork. And when she finally reached Palmerton, she ate a sandwich at a local restaurant.

And there she met a man named Ralph Lay. Ralph Lay was 70 years old. Okay. An avid hiker. He volunteered to help clear sections of the Appalachian Trail. And he had plenty of time on his hands, Kristen, because Ralph had retired from working at the New Jersey Zinc Company

What so I don't Oh Kristen What That name should sound familiar Why It's the same company That bought the rights to mine On Charlie and Eunice Winstead's land

In Tennessee from the Child Bright episode It's all connected Previous topic It's been 85 four years. Once again, yes, Kristen,

it is all connected. We're through the looking glass here, people. Anyway, Ralph and Emma got along really well, and that

night they talked for hours, they became really good friends. And my immediate thought, Kristen, while I was

researching this was, was this a romantic relationship in any way? Yeah. We love a love story on this

podcast. Right? You know, they're kind of around the I have no evidence there was a romantic relationship. And then I found Ralph Lay was married. Oh, darn.

Sorry. I was about to make a terrible joke. What were you going to say? Well, you said I have no evidence and I was going to ask, then why are you holding up that used condoms? Folks, I traveled to the Lehigh Valley and I scoured the woods for a used condom. I found several. I ran DNA tests on all of them. I found about 90 use condoms in a one acre radius.

I found Ralph's descendants. They did not consent to a DNA test, so I stole their hairbrush. I've been working on this series for years. Then I found some of their semen. No, if you find the hairbrush, you don't need their semen. Oh, it's probably a lot easier to get the hairbrush. huh? So then I blew the guy.

Oh my God. Pulled the guy over on the Pennsylvania turnpike and blew him at the rest stop. And I said, I'm doing this for my podcast. I'm doing this for a podcast, baby. The dedication is incredible. Oh. You see what we're doing out here for you, folks? Yeah, yeah.

You know, last week I was research, I was doing fecal. search. I'm trying to figure out where Emma's family's turds went. Now I'm collecting semen on the Pennsylvania turnpike. You're not the only one, I'm sure.

That's true. Okay, so I don't know if there's a romantic relationship. Probably not. Ralph was married. Anyway, the next day, Ralph took Emma shoe shopping. She bought another pair of sneakers, but this time they were men's kids' shoes. Okay.

You know, they kind of gave her swollen feet a little more room, and then the two of them hiked up the Lehigh gap together, and at the top, they said their goodbyes. That night, Emma found a picnic table to sleep on. She made a bed out of leaves, but during the night she kept waking up from car headlights. They would come up, and then they would leave, and they kept waking Emma up, and Emma was like, what are these cars doing here? Was she at a lover's lane?

Yes. Oh, no. She was sleeping at a local makeout spot for teenagers. Oh, no. And so when a car pulled up and they saw an old lady sleeping on a picnic table, it was a huge turnoff, okay? She disappointed a lot of teenagers that night. That's right. What a cock block.

Yeah. Right, Kristen. The next day, Emma hiked into a new state. New Jersey. Get wild. Oh, we love it. As Emma walked along the side of... Could we hear Maryland again?

Oh, Maryland? Sure. Yes, please. And then compared to this. I don't know about you, but I'm going to Maryland from those two songs. Oh, for sure. I want to go to a Maryland club and request that song. DJ, spin that shit. The final rap battle in eight mile.

To that. So, yeah, Emma's in new, oh. Bang check number two, folks. I'm still looking. They're looking good. Hey. Hey, hey, whoa. Oh, I'll be here all night.

Yeah. As Emma walked along the side of the road, a cop car pulled up next to her and rolled down its window. What's your name? The cop asked. Emma Gatewood. Emma wondered if she had done something wrong. Did she sleep somewhere?

She wasn't supposed to? Did she forget to pay for something? But then the cop said, You're wanted on the telephone. Oh. Seriously, a phone call? Emma hopped into the car, and when they reached the police station,

she learned what the call was all about. A young reporter named Mary Snow wanted to do a profile on her. And Mary Snow wrote for this brand new magazine based out of New York City. It was called Sports Illustrated. Oh. On the next episode of an old-timey podcast.

As the whole country cheers her on, Emma Gatewood finishes her hike. Norm, this is such a cool series. Thank you. It's very inspiring. Right? Yeah. You want to hit that trail, don't you?

I do. I do. You know what's amazing about Emma Gatewood is she continues to inspire even today. I've read so many stories of people who are out on the trail, and not just the Appalachian Trail, any trail. And like, if they're feeling, like, tired and worn down and, like, I don't know if I can do this, a lot of people have said, that I thought about Emma Gatewood's story. Yeah. And I thought, if she can do it, I can do it.

She was a tough lady. She was very tough and just very inspiring. Yeah. Of course, I also admit, I did kind of feel like an absolute sack of shit. Because I was like, look at this incredible thing, this 67-year-old woman's doing. And what am I doing? Collecting sound bites from the Jersey Shore on YouTube? Norm, I have to pause and applaud your ability to shit on yourself at every turn.

I mean, look at me. I'm on the Pennsylvania turnpike blowing some guy for a podcast episode. It needed to happen. There was no other way for you to collect that DNA, Norm. Nope, no way at all. I'm about to bust. Okay. So yeah, next week we'll finish up the hike and wrap up this series. Well done. Well done and well told, Normie C. We applaud you. Thank you. This has been a fun, fun story. So Norm, what I'm going to do now is I'm going to read a couple reviews of this very podcast.

Okay. You know, last week we did the advice column stuff. Yes. People were really into it. Might become a regular thing. Did you enjoy that, Norm? I did, but my only rule is they have to be really stupid problems. I was going to say, everyone, so when we did, we just recorded that bonus episode where we read a couple of Ann Landers and Dear Abbey's good, bad, and ugly columns. Yes. And we sprinkled in some listener conundrums, which we answered. And Norm got progressively less comfortable.

Like as soon as the problems got like real. Yeah. Norm got uncomfy. Yeah. I was like, I don't know if we should be talking about this. You literally said that multiple times. Yeah, I'm not qualified in any way to help you with your problems. Norm loved answering the question about the person whose partner eats anchovies as a snack.

That one I did enjoy. Those are the kind of questions I want to hear. You feel qualified to answer. Yeah. Especially food related? Definitely. Yeah. And of course the answer is this relationship has to end now.

Sorry. But first, a good point. Bye, kiss. No. Everyone, I don't know if we've said this yet on this very episode today, but we are a small, sexy, independent podcast, which means it's rough out here. Norm's doing terrible things on a turnpike just to get some attention. And your five-star ratings and reviews mean the world to us.

I'm saying this in kind of a sarcastic tone, but it's true. Like, this really does help. Any independent podcast, if you give a nice rating and review, it's a big help. It's not only helps us with visibility, but it also boosts our morale. Oh, that's true. That's very sweet. Double whammy. So I am about to read a five-star review.

Okay. It's titled Happy History Ho. And it comes from Helga Loves Dagmar. It reads, as an old history ho, I listen with baited braced. each week to an old-timey podcast. Sometimes as I do exciting things like chores, go to the gym, grocery shop, or just dig through the trash for treasure. But Normy C. and Chrissy P. Wait, she hates that moniker. Kristen Caruso, much more dignified, are with me at least once a week. It's great. Their retelling of history's greatest stories keep me laughing, smiling, and happy

long after the podcast ends. Oh. We should have a senior history ho discount. You'll just have to scan your ID, submit it to us, and we'll mark you as a senior history ho. Give us your social security number. Yeah, because we'll have to verify with the government that you are who you say you are. Bank account information, just verify, make sure Bank of America is doing okay with you. And this may seem a little sketchy, maybe even a little pathetic, but don't worry, this definitely isn't. my dad leaving a review for my podcast. Oh, no.

Did your dad write a review? Well, the username is D.P. in K.C. So I've not confirmed this with him. Okay. But you would never know he was my father from this review, which is just a great way to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. Can I guess what the review says? Sure.

It definitely mentions, I think my favorite episode is when, they had their father on. No, no, he's being a modest history ho. Okay. Title of the review is, Great and hilarious couple. And the review reads, I thoroughly enjoy this KC-based couple.

They cover unique and interesting subjects while making me laugh out loud often. Keep it up! I'm suspicious. Do you think this is my dad? You know, I don't know if it is. Does your dad? It doesn't sound like him at all.

Doesn't sound like him, and does he even know how to do you? to write a review? We're going to have to interrogate him. Okay. You know, I'm good at, you know, cranking up the pressure after all these trips to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. What are you going to do to my dad?

Whatever it takes to get this info out of them. We all know that you have to leave your DNA when you leave an Apple review. So this is not going to be any fun for either one of us. All right. I'm going to read one more. This one, I'm like 100% sure is not my dad. Okay. comes from aught b21 five stars title lighthearted and funny it reads i laugh out loud every time i listen

it's so nice to learn some history and have fun at the same time ah fun and history at the same damn time thank you everyone including the person who is maybe my dad or maybe not my dad yeah thank you for those reviews we really appreciate thank you for the spotify comments i yes I say this all the time. I always forget you can leave comments on Spotify. So I've been going back and reading all of them and they are great. Keep it up, folks. We really appreciate it. Thank you for supporting us. And Kristen, shall we wrap it up? Let's do it. You know what they say about history hoes. We always cite our sources. That's right. For this episode, I got my information from the book, Grandma Gatewood's Walk, the inspiring story of the woman who saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery. and the documentary, Trail Magic, the Grandma Gatewood Story, and other sources. Check the show notes. That's all for this episode. Thank you for listening to an old-timey podcast. Please give us a five-star review wherever you listen to podcasts, and while you're at it,

subscribe. Support us on Patreon at patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. Join the Reddit community, R-slash-old-timey podcast. Follow us on Facebook and YouTube and Instagram at Old-Timey Podcast. You can also be a Reddit community, our slash old-timey podcast. You can also follow us individually on Instagram. She is the beautiful. Her bangs look great. Kristen Pitts-Keruso.

I go by Gaming Historian, and until next time, Tudaloo, Tata, and Cheerio. Bye. Bye. So you. See you.