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  1. #1

    Default The 25th E2E hiker was 82 year old Fred Luehring

    In 1963, at age 82, Fred Luehring completed the AT end to end. The 25th to do so at the time. It was the 7th from the Philadelphia Trail Club.
    Mr. Luerhring, a Kansas native, was brought to my attention as word spread out here on the prairie that someone was thinking of walking over two thousand miles.
    This amazing man played football for Amos Alonzo Stagg. He was Princeton University's first basketball coach designing the man to man defensive scheme still in use today. And, oh yes, in 1972 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. One of his regular walking partners was Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas.
    The Presidents and incidents of significance in his life were chronicled in the university Master's Degree thesis which provided the details i put on this thread.
    Here is the last paragraph of the college paper based on his life.
    "In 1979 Fred hiked, swam, and split wood during the day, while in the evening he would read or listen to lectures at Swarthmore College, and other functions he frequented occasionally. At the age of ninety-eight, Fred was still a productive member of society."
    Give this man an "A".
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  2. #2
    Registered User mad4scrapping's Avatar
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    That is awesome! What an inspiration to those of us middle agers who have to wait until we retire before we can thru-hike!
    Lead me to the long green tunnel.

  3. #3
    LT '79; AT '73-'14 in sections; Donating Member Kerosene's Avatar
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    Wow, the LT E2E in 1968 at age 87! Good genes!
    GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014

  4. #4
    Registered User Oak88's Avatar
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    In the 70's I attended Swarthmore College and was the life guard at the College pool. Fred Luehring was a regular swimmer in our pool. He would come in wearing a orange hat with the Appalachain Trail patch on it. Looks very much like the hat he's wearing in one of the photos. He often spoke to me rather modestly about his hike. I wish I could remember what stories he told me. I can only say he was the first person to really inspire me to hike the Appalachain. Thanks for the memories. I hope to thru hike next year.

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