Katahdin - Trails End. Lessons in Business Leadership from Completing the Appalachian Trail.

Just after 5 a.m., as I head to the trailhead to start my final day on the Appalachian Trail, I see a moose for the first time. The sky is still dark and early morning fog dances around the thick trees. The moose, standing broad and tall, like some mythical creature, seems to acknowledge me with a tilt of his head. He moves slowly in the trailhead’s direction as if to say, “this way.”

He walks ahead and then, looking back at me one last time, disappears into the trees, lost in a moment in the enveloping darkness. I take the magical moose as an omen the forest approves. ?I am ready.

Seven hours, and an arduous 4,200 ft later, I am standing on the 5,267ft summit of Mt. Katahdin. The finishing point for my odyssey on the Appalachian Trail.

Behind me is 5 miles of unrelenting ascent including a mile that is mostly steep rock climbing. At times that climb felt as dangerous as it probably is. But I crushed it. I was living in the zone. I channeled my four years of Trail experience and my four years of toughening my mind to deliver a worthy trail-ending performance. Even if I do say so myself.

Now, from high atop Mt. Katahdin I feel like I can see forever. I close my eyes and peer into the distance.

Inspire, Believe

Choose the hard things.

I can see back along the thick forests of Maine all the way to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The howling gale on top of Mt. Lafayette as fresh in my mind today as that brutal day in August 2023 when it tortured me. I can see the Appalachian Trail as it drops into the flatlands of southern New Hampshire and recall the torrential rain and endless blackflies I endured hiking through there, and Vermont, in the summer of 2023.

I look further south as the Trail snakes 90 miles through Massachusetts and into my nemesis, the state of Connecticut. There, the short 52 miles took me far too long to hike and almost had me quitting my mission. Southbound from there, it was an extraordinary hike through New York and New Jersey in the summer of 2022, replete with bear encounters and violent storms.

Pennsylvania took two full hiking seasons to complete during 2021 and 2022. It’s 229 miles tormenting me with more rocks than I care to see ever again. I wonder sometimes if my bones will ever recover as some days they still seem to echo with the memory.

A short hop through Maryland and West Virginia, then further south still lies Virginia, with its 544 miles of Trail. It was the only state I hiked through in all four years. I became enamored with the unspoiled beauty of southern Virginia and the Blue Ridge sections of the Trail. The memory of my mum’s passing and my healing time on the Trail in Virginia brought front and center again. I know she would be so proud of this accomplishment.

North Carolina and Tennessee seem so far away now, both in distance and time hiked. But with my eyes closed tight, I can see the Great Smoky Mountains shining with their brilliance. The rugged mountains giving way to the final section of Georgia and the Appalachian Trail starting point at Springer Mountain 2,197.4 miles away.

I hold it all in my mind for a few fleeting moments and then open my eyes. The Trail is gone and in front of me is a stunning vista of endless Maine forests from my perch atop Mt. Katahdin.

I think about the deep-rooted leadership lesson in doing the hard things and in seeing them through.

Leadership is choosing to do the hard things. Choosing integrity over convenience. Choosing to stand up and step onto the path. Leadership is about believing in yourself and using your actions to inspire others to believe in themselves, too.

Question, Value

Make a positive difference.

I close my eyes again and focus on my mission, my why for being out here. I think about all those who came before me in the fight to cure cystic fibrosis. Legends in this battle like Mary Weiss, Doris Tulcin, Frank Deford, and Bob Beall. These are just a few of the giants upon whose shoulders we stand.

I think about the thousands of young lives lost across the years, like Jena, and the families who fought, grieved, and continue to fight to cure this disease. I think about the miraculous progress we have made, and how my daughters now have a bright future ahead of them.

The dedication of so many scientists, care givers, volunteers, and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation staff has made this future our reality. They have devoted their life’s work to the same mission of curing this disease. These are the people who have questioned what is possible, valued every single life, and pushed the boundaries of modern medicine.

Then I think about those still without an effective treatment. Those who have endured a lung transplant and those whose outlook remains uncertain. This part of my journey, my time on the Trail, is done. The bigger mission to cure cystic fibrosis still casts another trail ahead. One with new challenges and bigger mountains yet to be summited. A trail we must embark on if we are to reach the finish line of a cure. (DONATE TO CFF HERE)

I think about leadership from the perspective of our responsibility to give back and to make a difference in society. If you are reading this, you have everything it takes to make an impact on whatever scale you choose to make it. Choose your trail magic and go deliver it.

Choose to make a positive difference in someone else’s life. That is leadership.

Act, Lead

Lead in the quiet moments of the everyday.

I open my eyes again and become aware of other hikers at the summit of Katahdin. Thru-hikers who have completed their own journeys at the same point in time as me. I wonder about their missions, their pasts and their futures.

I think about how the history of the United States is woven into the fabric of the Appalachian Trail. Katahdin (Greatest Mountain) is sacred to the Penobscot tribe who believe the mythical Thunderbirds live inside the mountain and protect us. The Indian Tribes have an entire history with the Trail before we thrust the Revolutionary war upon it and before we tore it apart with the Civil War. Before we tore down the ancient forest to build our cities and homes. Before we destroyed 6 billion chestnut trees with our imported diseases, and before acid rain and climate change altered the very fabric of the forests. ?

I think about the extraordinary wonder the Appalachian Trail is, and the thousands of volunteers and professionals who work on our behalf to preserve it for future generations. I remain hopeful that we can, and will, bring the forests of the East Coast back to their healthy state.

I think about that first step onto the Appalachian Trail. How it led to this extraordinary gift the Trail has given me, over these last four years, to consider leadership and what it means to be a leader. The Trail has forged me into a better man and a better leader.

And here is the biggest message I want to give from this journey.

Leadership is not about hubris or the loudest voice. It’s not about corner offices, or how many people work for you, or your title. Rather, it’s about leading in the everyday. In the quiet moments of our day-to-day life. It’s about being able to recognize those opportunities to lead, to make a difference, when and as they happen. Then, being able to translate them into action. Even if the action seems trivial or even if you are deep in a forest. Those are the actions that define you as a leader.

Choose to lead in the quiet moments of the everyday, then leadership in the big moments will come naturally.

This journey started with a simple first step onto the Appalachian Trail on the morning of April, 2nd, 2021. Four years later, I look out from the summit of Mt. Katahdin, and at just after noon, September 15th, 2024, I take the first step into my next adventure.

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If you would like more information on why I hike, please visit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) at?www.cff.org.

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If you feel inspired enough to donate to the CFF, you can do so at the following link, and know that your donation will make a significant difference: DONATE

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