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A snowstorm at Springer Mountain. Two brothers in their seventies, both Vietnam veterans, staring down 2,190 miles of Appalachian Trail and a tangle of pain that maps can’t solve. That’s where our conversation with Rand Timmerman begins—raw, funny, and unexpectedly tender—as we unpack the hike that stretched into a three‑year passage through grief, addiction, and the kind of honesty only a long trail demands.

Rand walks us through the blueprint that made the miles possible: two vehicles, opposite‑direction section hikes, camps near trailheads. We dig into what the AT really asks of older hikers—elevation, rocks, relentless climbs. The stories are vivid and human: a rattlesnake guarding its meal, seven straight days of bear sightings in Shenandoah, and the day a bad slip on a Massachusetts rock slide turned into blood, shock, and eventually a hip replacement. Through it all, the brothers’ differences become their strength—Ron’s pilot‑precise logs and spiritual reflections, Rand’s people‑first eye and gritty humor, including a running gag where hikers mistake “Ran Bow” for the movie Rambo.

The heart of the episode lives in their inner work. Ron, shattered after losing his wife, stumbles into a literal halo of light on a gray Father’s Day and feels peace wash in. Rand, four years sober when they start, carries recovery into the woods and finds that the rhythm of hiking mirrors the 12 steps: one step at a time, surrender, service. A terrifying night on a knife‑thin ridge in the Smokies becomes a prayer and a turning point. By the end, one brother tags the terminus with his son, the other chooses to stop with integrity—and both finish with something larger than a summit photo.

If you care about the Appalachian Trail, long‑distance hiking, resilience or how to keep moving when the map turns mean, this one’s for you. Share it with a friend who needs courage, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. 

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Rand Timmerman's Home Page.  

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Credits

Music Credit: True Living by Patrick Moore

Royalty free music license purchased at soundotcom.com