Machine McCarron

Leap, on Grayson Highlands

In 2008, Andy McCarron, trail name, Leap, finished the AT in 90 days while sporting a 50lb pack through snow-covered terrain. He covered 24.9 miles the first day.  When I asked him why he decided to trek he replied, “I didn’t have a reason; there was nothing else to do.”

Most AT thru-hikers lose weight, Leap, remarkably gained 15lbs while eating oatmeal, peanut butter sandwiches, dried fruit, trail mix, Knor and rice. “Eating 16 pancakes had nothing to do with the chubby cheeks” he smirked.

When I asked Leap if he had found himself in any survival situations he filled me in on his forging of the Kennebec River, a river that has taken the lives of thru-hikers who have attempted this. This is a highly discouraged practice. There is usually a ferry service, however, it was not beginning for another day and Andy opted to wade through the 100yrs of rushing tons of water. He got 2/3rds of the way through calf-deep water and with a few more steps was literally almost “in over his head” being carried down river. With the use of his handy dandy hiking poles he was able to get out of the sticky situation although drenched and cold. He met a trail angel at the post office who let him dry his clothes and welcomed him to a hot meal after picking up his soggy peanutbutter sandwiches at the post. The task of eating such sandwiches became dreadful at this point. When I asked him, if he experienced any funny situations he laughed and said that the aforementioned was funny.

“Did you ever want to give up, and what kept you going,” I inquired. “Two times…but you’re in the middle of nowhere so it doesn’t matter…the choice was easy.” He added, “There may have been some swearing involved which didn’t help.”

Leap urged that I get shoe inserts the minute my feet start going numb which indicates the arches are going flat. He ignored this feeling and hiked through the pain which resulted in 1 ½ years of recovery. A true feat and beat for feet! “All I could smell were my feet” he exclaimed, however, denied that he smelled.   

I asked Leap if he encountered any sketchy people. One man in Virginia, he explained gave him a bad feeling, “the first thing he said to me was, ‘so, you hear ’bout the murders on the AT this year?’” It turned out that the man was a scout leader who was meeting up with his buddy to take part in an annual cook-off to see who could come up with the best trail cuisine. Luckily potential serial killer turned into woodland chef and provided Leap with the “best trail meal” that night.

Two weeks after reaching Mt. Katahdin, Leap was peddling cross country with his buddy, so there was not much readjusting. If I was hiking with Andy I would have named him Machine because that’s what he is.