Thru hiking and online schooling?

[Thrifty Endurance]

I hiked with John Mackey and an associate a bit. I knew he was hiking to decompress so gave him a wide birth to hike without being nagged. I kept who he was to myself out of his hiking desires. Spent several nights in the same CS's having conversations. He was approachable. I asked him how he ran WF from the trail. He told me he greatly reduced his daily work load on trail leaving most decisions to others in charge as part of his pre hike prep. I remember him in some lengthy ph calls several times on trail and once with him in town. At least once he serendipitously headed into town for biz related matters. One of the best comments I remember from him was telling me I had the best trail diet he witnessed and gave me some tips on how to make trail food healthier. He had an immediate friend. I gave him tips on how to hike lighter while enjoying a high quality trail diet. I so enjoyed talking about food and food politics with him. He offered some keen behind the scenes insights of the U.S. food industry. When he recounted how he was a founding member of WF he left about eight of us in awe.
Blabbing a bit but also hiked with an owner of a MLB team the yr before the team one the World Series. He worked from the trail hiking with a MLB scout. He did the same thing as Mr Mackey. He curtailed his work load as part of his pre hike prep. People of this caliber tend to be well organized and high functioning able to multi task at a high level with little wasted time. He spent more time in contact with his family than team reps.

Dogwood...MAYBE you gave John Mackey the idea of UL enough for him to later buy a stake in Gossamer Gear! That's cool! Maybe he can convince Bezos to strategically place WFs at key locations throughout the AT towns.