Ultimate trail mix for energy and health
A walk in the woods, a lifetime of health
When Jeff Alt (UTCTC ’91) tells you to take a hike, better do it — he’s pointing you down a trail to a healthier life.
And yes, he’s walked the walk — including the 2,160-mile walk chronicled in his first book, A Walk for Sunshine. For that hike, Jeff walked the entire Appalachian Trail, dedicating the effort to his brother Aaron, who has cerebral palsy. His effort inspired an annual fundraiser that’s brought more than $180,000 for the support of Sunshine Children’s Home in Maumee, Ohio, where Aaron lives.
Jeff celebrating his Appalachian Trail walk
That was ten years ago. He hasn’t stopped hiking, and as a public speaker whose adventures have made it to CNN-Radio, ESPN, the Hallmark Channel and to staffs of Fortune 500 companies, he challenges people to get outdoors.
"To the cliché about thinking outside the box, I say, ‘Get outside the box,’” Jeff says. “When you‘re removed from life’s distractions, you take the reins off your natural thought processes.
"Hikers have a saying: ‘The lighter the pack, the more enjoyable the journey.’” If you get away, you realign, refocus and lighten your stress load so you’re to think through things. It’s simple but very profound. Plus you’re getting exercise. I can’t think of anything negative about it! Even if you don’t return with an answer you were seeking, you still come back with a new attitude with which to find it.”
To get outdoors more often, Jeff even traded the venue where he practices his career as a speech-language pathologist. “I was working in a children’s hospital, which was rewarding, but the schedule was such that I couldn’t hop the fence and hit the trail,” says Jeff, who lives in Cincinnati with his wife Beth and their two children. “I practice now in a school setting, so I get the summers off.” To keep A Walk for Sunshine current with technology, he’s produced a DVD documentary, Appalachian Trail Show, based on the talks he’s given over the years. Details are online at www.awalkforsunshine.com, including information on the show’s May 1 premiere on at the Maumee Indoor Theatre, with ticket proceeds benefiting the Maumee-based Sunshine Community.
Living the outdoor lifestyle isn’t a solo activity; encounters with nature are an Alt family affair. Beth, who works as a speech language pathologist and teacher, had her own passion as a marathon runner. “When we married, we made a wedding pact that I would run a marathon and she would join me on a long hike. “We called it ‘Extreme Marriage.’”
“Extreme” marriage
True to his word, Jeff ran with Beth in a marathon. And their shared walk is covered in Jeff’s second book, the award-winning A Hike for Mike. They covered the 218 miles of the John Muir Trail in California’s rugged High Sierra while raising clinical-depression awareness to honor the memory of Beth’s brother.
Beth was initially leery of the no-shower lifestyle on the trail, says, Jeff. “Once she got past that, she realized how great a workout hiking is. Now we convey that to our kids.”
Their kids are definitely anything but trail tenderfeet. “Our family mantra has been to introduce them to the outdoors when they’re very young,” Jeff says. “As an educator, I know how important early intervention is, how early exposure to anything can result in good things.” He offers as example daughter Madison, who at five loves pink and being all-girl, but will just as happily jump in a creek, get deliciously muddy or join in a family hike.
Son William, who’ll be three in July, went on his first Appalachian Trail hike at three months. “His trail name is Bubba Jones,” notes dad. “And he’s not shy telling you that."
This summer the family is going to camp and hike in the Shenandoah National Park, where Jeff plans to lead a free family seminar with park rangers. “We’ll be covering the questions parents typically ask: How do I take my family safely on a hike? What if I see a bear?
“We walk through it in a classroom, then go on a short hike and kind of role-play on how to talk to your kids about nature. As a language specialist, I know language development and how to reach a child’s level. For many parents, the two-week summer vacation is a great opportunity to take the kids on a trip where they’ll learn something valuable."
Many of the fears about the great outdoors are rooted in fallacy, he notes.
“Actually, the further you move away from people, the safer you are. The number-one question after every presentation about the Appalachian Trial is ‘Did you bring a gun?’ No, I didn’t; you don’t need one.”
Bring an open mind (and good shoes) instead, Jeff advises, and the life lessons you’ll bring home will be the best souvenirs of all. “I learned things on my first hike that I use in my life every day,” he says. “Like celebrating the simple things: a cup of hot coffee on a rainy morning.”
As he tells his audiences, hiking can also help people believe in themselves. “I’ve met people in top physical condition who quit the trail, yet a blind man walked the entire trail with his assistance dog.”
He mentions “Grandma” Gatewood, who hiked the Appalachian Trail at the age of 67, wearing tennis shoes and sleeping under the plastic shower curtain she carried in a duffel bag slung over her shoulder — then made the hike two more times. “And I personally know someone with a prosthetic leg — he walked the trail,” Jeff adds.
Don’t defer your dreams, he counsels — and get out there in the weather for experiences you’ll never forget. Jeff won’t forget his first long walk: “It truly changed my life.”
Today, helping the next generation get his footing