barefoot hiker

[strnorm]

T he ex marine from new york Ron z who is hiking the trail barefooted was at uncle johnnys tuesday. was on the news on tv, and a article in kingsport times news.

[mountain squid]

Here is from JC Press: http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Deta...EPAGE&ID=59487. (I heard about the article from Mango). They didn't mention his trail name, but I believe it is Tyvek. I met him at Kincora just before Trail Days. Also, check out his webpage http://www.thelongwalkhome.org/index.php.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

[Moxie00]

If it is the same Tyvec he made it to Hot Springs in 2000. He was completly dressed in hand sewn tyvec and all his gear was made from Tyvec. He said he hadn't worn shoes in many years. His wife had gotten sick and left the trail and he was hiking alone. The word we all got was that he got a real bad cut on his foot and was off the trail by Mothers Day. There were three barefoot hikers that completed the trail in 2000. Badger who hiked with Warren Doyls's party and The Barefoot Sisters from Bar Harbor, Maine who went southbound. With the ice, snow, and Pa. rocks you gotta be one tough ba*tard to make it all the way barefoot.

[Moon Monster]

Threads in loose chronological order from 2006 on his hiking when further north on the Trail:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=15802
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17379
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19480

[quicktoez]

Yes that’s Tyvec and he is a SOBD, his web sight is thelongwalkhome.org and hikes to support veterans returning from war/service in regard to

"Tribute to Buddies Who Died in Vietnam and
Effort to Call Attention to the Need for
Effective Debriefing and Counseling Programs for Vets"
quote from Tyvec ( Ronald C.J. Zaleski, [email protected])
(all this info was given to me by him to share, make use of it)

Check out his sight and help the vets that need it when they get home.
Spoke to him just South of Damascus, great guy!
Photo taken 5/15/07 so he is back hiking although the article says he stopped 4/15/07?
Attachment 1894

[Lugnut]

Here he is at Kincora just before Trail Days.

[superman]

In 2000 I think his pack transformed into his tent.
When I came home from Vietnam in "68" the VA absolutely sucked and they've been losing ground ever since. Since the VA was not serving the needs of the returning combat veterans the Vietnam Veterans started informal groups on their own. Those groups were great because they dealt directly with no bull what was bothering the vets. Not that the VA cared but they were charged with dealing with these matters and they were being left out of the loop. Vietnam Vets had effectively been driven away from the VA medical centers so the VA had to set up the Vet Centers as out reach centers. They were started with the lie that the Vet Centers were not associated with the VAMCs. They had to say that because Vietnam Vets wouldn't have had anything to do with them. They were started as informal drop in centers that were supposed to have a warm receptive environment to copy what the vets were doing. That environment faded over time as did the lie about the Vet Centers not being affiliated with the VAs. Now they've dropped their mask and they are overtly VA officious. Some Vet Centers even have you wait behind a line on the floor before they can approach a staff member to talk about anything. The Vet Centers are a long way from the informal effective groups they tried to copy. As a Vietnam combat veteran it is my opinion that the Vet Centers and the VA would be a bigger scandal than the tea pot dome scandal if the American people knew how little service they provide for the bucks they are given. The disservices that the VA system rendered to Vietnam Veterans is legendary.
In my opinion we owe these fine young troops much better than the current VA system.

[McQueen]

I saw Tyvek coming out of the fog on a rainy day with his white tyvek rain robe, a pointed white tyvek hat over his baseball cap and two HUGE walking sticks. I was startled for a moment thinking it was the KKK.

But, as it turns out it was just a nice older fellow walking barefoot from Maine to Georgia. He seemed like a real nice guy.

[Jaybird]

T he ex marine from new york Ron z who is hiking the trail barefooted was at uncle johnnys tuesday. was on the news on tv, and a article in kingsport times news.

Yep, thats "TYVEK" (formerly "TYVEK MAN")

[cutman11]

I got an email from one of his relatives recently that they were planning to have a celebration with him in Atlanta when he finished going SOBO later this summer. I dont have the details but probably they will be on his website.