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Found this legend. I hiked with him in '98 and '99. I'd absolutely put Baltimore Jack in the top 10 of American outdoorsmen of all time. I think he thru-hiked t

by wyclif 2y ago

Found this legend. I hiked with him in '98 and '99. I'd absolutely put Baltimore Jack in the top 10 of American outdoorsmen of all time. I think he thru-hiked the entire AT eight times. Pretty sure that's the record: https://athikerpictures.org/hikers/3969 https://athikerpictures.org/hikers/3969

mauvehaus 2y ago
You may be pleased to know that he was still sectioning in 2010. I met him in the Smokies and bumped into him periodically as I went up the trail. RIP.
SaggyDoomSr 2y ago
He was a legend, for sure. I hiked with him a bit during my 2001 thruhike. By that point he was already... uhhhmm... not really "hiking" the trail as much as "hanging out on the trail, walking a bit, sometimes". I didn't realized until earlier this year that he passed away back in 2016. https://appalachiantrail.org/leadership/jack-tarlin/ https://appalachiantrail.org/leadership/jack-tarlin/
- wyclif 2y ago
  I was really saddened when he died. I was sorry that he never got the help that he needed. What Jack needed was an intervention by his friends. He allowed the thing he loved the most in life (the AT) to kill him instead of being resigned to a boring "normal life" in the "Other World." His first three thru hikes pretty much destroyed his knees, especially since he was the furthest thing from an "ultra light" hiker that existed at that time. I'd never want to carry a pack that heavy, but whenever I go into Harpers Ferry Outfitters and see his pack hanging above the front door like a relic, I smile. https://youtu.be/hxh8rIkjzog?si=b7IIdnI8gEC9vBOY https://youtu.be/hxh8rIkjzog?si=b7IIdnI8gEC9vBOY This brief interview is how I prefer to remember him at his peak. The way his eyes light up when he talks about the outdoors. "Get out of the city. There's a whole wonderful world out there, and it's not concrete and glass." https://youtu.be/nAd6rlO2C-8?si=aCfvpLg-yGiNYjEv https://youtu.be/nAd6rlO2C-8?si=aCfvpLg-yGiNYjEv

by wyclif 2y ago

mauvehaus 2y ago

You may be pleased to know that he was still sectioning in 2010. I met him in the Smokies and bumped into him periodically as I went up the trail. RIP.

SaggyDoomSr 2y ago

He was a legend, for sure. I hiked with him a bit during my 2001 thruhike. By that point he was already... uhhhmm... not really "hiking" the trail as much as "hanging out on the trail, walking a bit, sometimes". I didn't realized until earlier this year that he passed away back in 2016. https://appalachiantrail.org/leadership/jack-tarlin/ https://appalachiantrail.org/leadership/jack-tarlin/

wyclif 2y ago
I was really saddened when he died. I was sorry that he never got the help that he needed. What Jack needed was an intervention by his friends. He allowed the thing he loved the most in life (the AT) to kill him instead of being resigned to a boring "normal life" in the "Other World." His first three thru hikes pretty much destroyed his knees, especially since he was the furthest thing from an "ultra light" hiker that existed at that time. I'd never want to carry a pack that heavy, but whenever I go into Harpers Ferry Outfitters and see his pack hanging above the front door like a relic, I smile. https://youtu.be/hxh8rIkjzog?si=b7IIdnI8gEC9vBOY https://youtu.be/hxh8rIkjzog?si=b7IIdnI8gEC9vBOY This brief interview is how I prefer to remember him at his peak. The way his eyes light up when he talks about the outdoors. "Get out of the city. There's a whole wonderful world out there, and it's not concrete and glass." https://youtu.be/nAd6rlO2C-8?si=aCfvpLg-yGiNYjEv https://youtu.be/nAd6rlO2C-8?si=aCfvpLg-yGiNYjEv