WRAL-TVs Tar Heel Traveler Scott Mason recently celebrated being 60 by hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail with a close friend. The trip fulfilled a promise made long ago. He penned a piece about their adventure:
Boots on The Ground By Scott Mason
WRAL-TV's Scott Mason shared this photo from his recent Appalachian Trail adventure. He and a close friend make a long-awaited trek to make Mason's turning 60.
Im a city boy. Never camped before, not really. But always love playing the cowboy.
I sprang for a pair of boots once on a trip to Dallas, fake snakeskin, and went strutting around Harris-Teeter back home in Raleigh. I felt tall and rugged though I dont think anybody noticed.
Awhile later, I took another trip, this time to Cleveland, and met an old college buddy over beers in a bar. He brought up the Appalachian Trail. Well start in Georgia, hike a week or two, then pick up where we left off the next year, and the next. Shoot, well hit Maine by the time we lose our hair.
I hoisted my PBR, whacked the can against his, and hollered, Im in!
But I wasnt in when the trail came calling that fall. Too much to do, I told him. Next year. But the next year, he solo trekked again and again and again. I didnt wear my fake snakeskins to the Teeter anymore.
A decade passed, and all the while my buddy kept section hiking his way up the mighty AT. I was sure hed given up on me the way my Orthopedic had bailed on my hips. Double replacement very soon, the doc said with a face grimmer than Clint Eastwoods in a spaghetti western.
I joined a gym. My wife bought a Peloton. I lifted and biked, and the ol hips improved, and when my buddy rang me out of the blue Yeehaw! I was suddenly back in the saddle. Yes, I told him. Yes, yes, Im in! I was also in AARP. I was about to turn 60, and this time there was no turning back.
We met on a Sunday night at a hotel in Hagerstown, Maryland, and I splayed my backpack belongings all over the bed. Too many clothes, too many Cliff bars. I left a pound or two in the car, repacked the pack, and we toasted our journey-to-be. Craft beer instead of PBR, but okay.
We caught a ride the next morning to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, our starting point, and I felt like a hiker. I looked like a hiker. I was ready to be a hiker. We hiked and my loaded pack grew heavier with every step. Maybe I was not so ready.
The scenery, at least, proved a pleasant distraction. The Potomac River shimmered in the morning sun. A deer eyeballed me from 20 yards away. Everything was lush and green. My buddy showed me how to adjust my shoulder straps, and the weight shifted. Much better, and okay, this was good. This was great. I was loving it but love proved a short honeymoon.
The woods closed in, and the rocks popped up. So many rocks. By day two, I would have given a hundred Cliff bars for one pair of ankle braces.
Three nights, four days, 40 miles through Maryland, and at one point, the trail was not a trail at all but an endless series of boulders. My legs wobbled over them, my poles scraped across them, and worse, we bounded the daggum boulders in a driving rain.
Oh, yes, it rained, but that was day three, and by then I was a battle-scarred veteran. Bring it on, I growled. Aint gonna stop, and I didnt. And rarely did the rain.
WRAL-TV's Scott Mason shared this photo from his recent Appalachian Trail adventure. He and a close friend make a long-awaited trek to make Mason's turning 60.
I planted one foot in front of the other during those grueling days. I sang the National Anthem to myself 10 times. I wrote a short story in my head though I cant remember it now. I told my friend jokes I hadnt thought of in years.
We laughed. We hiked. We camped. Each night, I set up my tent in an hour and slept about as long. I thought an air mattress was supposed to be comfortable. I thought the middle of nowhere was supposed to be quiet.
Breakfast was always a slim packet of oatmeal, but I wasnt hungry anyway. I guess the exertion robbed my appetite though even that early, I nearly scarfed a Mountain House lasagna just to rid the pack of a few more ounces.
Each day was like the other. But not like it, too. Surprises greeted us along the way, such as the friendly fellow hikers we met. One gave us his spare water filter when ours broke. We asked for his address so we could mail him a check later, but he waved us away. Nah. Glad to help.
We rested at beautiful overlooks and passed Civil War battlefields. We came upon a stretch near Boonsboro dedicated to George Washington, and around the bend rose the Washington Monument, the original one, a 40-foot stone tower built in 1827.
The whole trip was a surprise, the fact I made it, that my body made it. My ankles and hips, too. I practically jogged the last half mile, the pack never so light as it was then.
We arrived just before dusk at Pen Mar County Park, about a quarter mile from the Pennsylvania line. My buddy hiked that last little bit and stepped across, but not me. P.A. could wait, I thought. Maybe next fall, maybe the next state on the list, and forget tiptoeing over. Id tackle it from one end to the other. All in. Yeehaw!
I settled myself on a bench, slipped off my pack, and kept an eye out for our ride. The driver was running late, but that was okay. It was all okay. Everything was outstanding. I gulped the crisp air and gazed at the grey sky. The rain had quit. But I had just begun.
Alone with my thoughts, my cowboy boots sprang to mind, the snakeskins Id tucked deep in my closet. I realized my hiking boots would not be keeping them company. At that moment, I knew the muddy clodhoppers now on my feet would remain close at hand and, sure, maybe Id even wear them to Harris-Teeter just so theyd stay broken in.
But without a doubt, I also
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
01/12/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
01/12/2025
Artemis II is NASA's first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The crew, from left: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Vic...
01/12/2025
IRVINE, Calif. Wooden Camera has introduced its new Accessory Collection for the Canon EOS C50. The new lineup includes a low-profile, gimbal-ready cage, expand...
01/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for its Dec. 18 Open Commission Meeting that will include a vote on a report an...
01/12/2025
In most years, a graph of annual local TV ad spending is about as predictable as an electrocardiogram of a reasonably healthy patient in a doctor's office. ...
01/12/2025
Many industries have seen big-ticket hardware turn into software. Switchers, though, demand a combination of real-time performance and sheer bandwidth that has ...
01/12/2025
GENEVA Shanghai will host the next quadrennial Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-27) and World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27), Oct. 11-Nov. 12, 2027. This...
01/12/2025
NEW YORK Just in time for Giving Tuesday tomorrow (Dec. 2), the Broadcasters Foundation of America is seeking out donations to help television and radio industr...
01/12/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Net Insight CEO Crister Fritzson has informed the company's board that he will retire from the video transport and media cloud technology ...
01/12/2025
01 Dec 2025
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Select Go...
01/12/2025
The prequel to the global hit Sky Original mob crime saga, Gomorrah' is a s...
01/12/2025
Featuring Florence Welch, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea, designer Bella Freud...
01/12/2025
Back to All News
A Down to Earth, All Too Relatable Hero: Cashero' Teaser ...
01/12/2025
In the rush to deliver content to every screen, many broadcasters overlook one of the most crucial steps in the workflow: format and frame rate conversion. Get ...
01/12/2025
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in Upcoming ...
01/12/2025
Arvato Systems' Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Receives BSI C5 Certification (T...
01/12/2025
Summary This short video gives you an summary of the changes in under two minutes.
--...
01/12/2025
As the festive season approaches, RT Supporting the Arts is proud to showcase a...
01/12/2025
Researchers worldwide rely on open-source technologies as the foundation of their work. To equip the community with the latest advancements in digital and physi...
01/12/2025
Festive specials of Christmas in Kilmainham presented by Marty Whelan, High Road Low Road, Callan Kicks the Year and Keys to My Life
Ring in the New Year with ...
01/12/2025
Architect and television presenter Hugh Wallace, best known to RT audiences as a long-serving judge on Home of the Year, has died at the age of 68.
In a state...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
WRAL-TVs Tar Heel Traveler Scott Mason recently celebrated being 60 by hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail with a close friend. The trip fulfilled a promise made long ago. He penned a piece about their adventure:
