I have made it to a pair of record-holding continental USA peaks. Yesterday, I stood at the 6,684-foot summit of Mount Mitchell, the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River. In 2021, I climbed to the top of Mount Whitney, the tallest peak west of the Mississippi at 14,505 feet (disregard the number on the sign). Whitney was part of my 246-mile trek on the John Muir Trail in California. Sue and I drove most of the way to Mount Mitchell, located 4.6 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway and 19 miles northeast of Asheville, North Carolina. We managed to hike the final 300 yards from the parking lot. Elisha Mitchell, a University of North Carolina professor, died in 1857 as he proved his claim that the mountain was the eastern USA’s tallest. He fell to his death from a nearby waterfall.
As you begin Free Outside, prepare for a story about one of America’s greatest trekking accomplishments.
In 2016, Jeff Garmire, 25, set out to become the youngest person to complete the 8,000-mile Triple Crown of distance trekking in a calendar year, a feat accomplished only four times before.
Remarkably, he never skipped sections to take advantage of better weather by returning to the skipped parts later. He stayed on each trail through its end. His first was the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail. As he neared the end in Maine, after miles and miles in deep snow, he faced a raging river. He was not about to give up his quest, so he stripped naked and plunged in.
He describes his ordeal:
”The current grabbed hold, moving quicker than my mind could think…I screamed in desperation and my body lost all sensation. I moved motionless downstream, strapped to a 30-pound pack. I was helpless.”
I became increasingly drawn to his narrative as he describes his next challenge, the Pacific Crest Trail, 2,650 miles, northbound. It was his favorite path and he writes that the snowy 200 miles through the Sierra Nevada was the most beautiful section of the Crown. He averaged 33 miles a day; his longest in one day was 52 miles in California.
The 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail, the least traveled of the three, gave him challenges that would bring mortals to their knees as he walked southbound from Montana’s border with Canada to New Mexico and the Mexican border. He often had to drink from water sources that cattle had used for their bathrooms. His filter left the water brown, tasting like you-know-what.
How many pairs of trail runners did he go through during the Triple Crown? Thirteen. How many rest (zero) days did he take over 244 days? None.
In a way, the Triple Crown was a beginning. In 2018, Garmire, raised in the Pacific Northwest, became the second person to complete the 6,875-mile Great Western Loop through nine western states on five distance trails, including repeat journeys on the PCT and CDT.
How many miles has he walked on distance trails? More than 30,000.
You may ask why.
It is his antidote for his lifelong battle with depression and his frustration with the routines of the working world. He basks in the simplicity of life with a backpack. He dedicates himself to promoting suicide prevention. He endures pain and hardships that would halt most of us. He thrives on meeting people on the trails, but walks so fast that he soon leaves them behind.
Ultimately, his quests come down to this: Outside, Jeff Garmire feels free.
Books and my backpack 