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At 21, They Gambled Against the Odds

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Impossible? Not for Jackson Parell and Sammy Potter.

Jackson Parell and Sammy Potter at the Appalachian Trail terminus.

In 2021, the twenty-one-year-olds became the youngest to complete thru-hiking’s triple crown during a calendar year. They are the eleventh and twelfth hikers to have conquered the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail in the same year.

They went through 12 pair of shoes each as they climbed and descended more than a million feet in elevation over 295 days.

Thanks to Backpacker, you can hear them describe the highs and lows of their nearly 8,000-mile journey on the podcast series Impossible Odds. Click on the link to get to know the pair of Stanford students, who are back at school—as roommates.

Depression and the Deeper Message

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Some of the world’s greatest minds have turned a personal tragedy, humiliation, or failure into success by repurposing their experience into new meaning. (Click on the link below to see the ReinosBlog post.)

Depression and the deeper message — ReinosBlog

In the link above, the author refers to the Camino de Santiago as an experience that has replenished his soul and allowed him to realign his outlook. In Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows, I describe Sue’s and my walk across Spain and how it triggered confrontations with demons from my past. It is a message of hope weaved with the adventure of one of the world’s great distance trails. I am grateful for the reactions from readers. Here is one: “I just sat down and started it on Sunday and here I am on Monday evening posting my review…please read it…a truly wonderful read.”