Hardy man hikes Appalachian Trail a year after open-heart surgery

When Bill Slade arrived at his Hardy home from hiking the Appalachian Trail, he found a sign, made by his grandchildren, waiting at the end of his driveway.

“Congrats to the 2 bills!“ it read - the other being Slade’s son Bill Jr.

““When we started off, we hit a lot of rain and then we got caught in a blizzard that hit North Carolina.  Then we got stuck for eight days in the snow,“ said Bill Slade Sr.

They began hiking in March at Springer Mountain, Ga.  one year after the 66-year-old Slade Sr. had open-heart surgery.

“Two months in the trip, I realized he was doing so well that it probably wasn’t something to dwell on too much and he can handle himself out there,“ Slade Jr. said.

“I never had any pain or any problem,“ the elder Slade said.

Even though his heart didn’t give him any trouble, Slade Sr. said his age caught up with him.

“I was pretty much the oldest guy out there, with all the younger kids and everything.  When I’d be going up a big mountain, they’d pass me like I was sitting still,“ he said.

The two didn’t shower for up eight days at a time. They carried a 35-pound pack up to 20 miles per day.

Last Tuesday, they made it to Mount Katahdin, Maine, completing their 2,000-mile-plus journey.

The father-son duo started the Appalachian Trail clean-shaven. Seven months later, they sported huge scruffy beards.

“I’m kind of getting tired of wiping food out of it,” Slade Jr said.

The two Bills say they’re glad to be home, and they plan on shaving off the bushy beards by the end of the week.