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[pct-l] Conversation with Billy Goat - very long
So, BG wears Brooks running shoes My kinda guy
Wayne Kraft
On Jan 16, 2006, at 7:35 PM, Deems wrote:
> For several years, I've wondered about this perennial PCTer called
> "Billy
> Goat" of whom others speak so highly, whom Yogi has called her
> hero, and
> whom friends of mine keep bumping into seemingly everywhere on the
> trail.
> When I first met him, I assumed that the distinctive long beard -
> now about
> 10 yrs old - had some relation to the trail name of "Billy Goat".
> I mean,
> male billy goats have long beards, right? No, it seems George
> Woodard, age
> 67, was called that by hiking buddies 20 years ago while climbing
> some of
> New England's Highest Hundred in NH: "There he goes, climbin' a
> mountain
> just like a billy goat." A trail name was born. Well, just who IS
> Billy
> Goat? Might he have lessons to teach me?
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> http://users.sisqtel.net/losthiker/images/Billy_Goat_Glen_Pass.jpg
>
> Again, Dr Bob, has shared with the us a chapter in the life of one
> of the true emeritus hikers on the long trails. I met Billy this
> past summer on the JMT while hiking up Pinchot Pass. I feel very
> lucky to have been able to hike and spend some time with him over
> the next couple of days while we hiked south. At Crabtree Mdws we
> shared some small talk at his camp under a tree, and I mentioned
> that he is one of today's trail legends. He humbly objected, saying
> he was just a hiker doing what he enjoyed. Billy may be the
> Grandma Moses of our time, showing us how to follow our dreams in a
> very simple style. This photo, by me, is of Billy on Glen Pass
> looking north, and, as always, smiling. Thanks to Bob for sharing
> this story.
>
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