Sterling man second in world to complete trek along International Appalachian Trail

STERLING — When Willard "Will" K. French finished his six-month, 2,160-mile hike from Georgia to Maine in 1998 at 50, he thought he finished the entirety of the Appalachian Trail.

He quickly realized his journey was only just beginning, as the trail began to stretch into Canada and Greenland, and continued to grow over the years across the Atlantic Ocean into Europe and Northern Africa, becoming the International Appalachian Trail.

“It was a moving target,” French, 75, of Sterling said. “As I was completing things, they were adding more things, so I said, ‘Oh, well. There's more to do.’ “

Now 25 years and another 2,160 miles later, French, wearing the same The Allman Brothers Band T-shirt he wore when he finished the Appalachian Trail the first time, became only the second person to finish the international journey in the Faroe Islands this summer.

And like he did after finishing the domestic trail in the 90s, French spoke with the Telegram & Gazette about his international journey, giving insight into the things he saw and the people he met along the way.

According to the International Appalachian Trail website, the trail’s path, which stretches through more than a dozen countries, was once all connected into one mountain range known as the Appalachian-Caledonian Mountains millions of years ago during the Paleozoic Era.

When the supercontinent known as Pangea broke apart, the website said, so did the Appalachian-Caledonian Mountains, creating what is now a multicontinent journey for hikers.

It was a journey that took French more than a decade and thousands of miles to complete. But once he did, he said, like all other hikes he’s completed, it was a bittersweet experience.

Fortunately, French said, he had two of three of his grandkids, Morgan Proops, 17, and Poppy Proops, 11, by his side when it did come to an end.

“It was wonderful,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to have a wife who understands, the health to do it, the experience to be confident I could do it, and to include family and friends.”

French’s love of hiking began in the '80s when his cousins, who lived in New Hampshire, introduced him to hiking in the White Mountains. Those same mountains, he said, would become his “boot camp,” where he began to train and take hiking more seriously.

“It’s where I learned to carry a pack, it’s where I gained the skills and knowledge you need,” he said. “To this day, with all I've done…I've never hiked anything more difficult than the White Mountains.”

He credits the support of his wife, Barbara, with making his trips possible, he said, as she takes care of their bills and property while he’s gone.

10,000 miles racked up

Since then, his hikes have stretched beyond the Appalachian and International Appalachian Trails. French said he’s also hiked other mountains like the Sierra Nevadas and Rocky Mountains, racking up close to 10,000 miles in total.

But, he said, the number of miles isn’t as important to him as the friendships he’s made along the way.

“There's a bond that occurs amongst hikers, we're all living the same experience,” he said.

During his many journeys, he’s found comradery with other “hiker trash,” a term of affection, and one of many vocabulary words popular among hikers, he said.

One of his companions, whom he met in 1998, is known by his trail name, Long Distance Man, or LDM for short.

The two have not only made trips in the United States but also in Europe, including a journey through Spain. It was there that they met two other travelers, Claudia, from Australia, and Yanos, from Hungary.

They all decided to, as a group, travel the El Camino de Santiago, a hike that begins in France and retraces the steps of a Catholic pilgrimage from the Middle Ages that ends in Spain at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

“It's a unique experience,” French said. “You meet people from all around the country all around the world who come to do this.”

When staying at a church in a small village in Spain, the group slept on mats on the floor and helped prepare meals, along with other guests. Signing into a logbook, French realized he was staying with people from dozens of other countries around the world, including Russia, South Korea, and Brazil.

Some people, he said, came for spiritual or religious reasons, while others came for the enjoyment of the hike.

'Buen camino!'

The journey took him through farmlands and vineyards, big cities and small towns. When passing a school in Spain, kids at recess ran out to the hikers and yelled, “Buen camino!”, which was their way of wishing them a good walk.

“It's just a habit that they've developed being local to this very popular trail,” he said.

Five years after their journey through Spain, French and LDM invited Claudia and Yanos to travel with them to Portugal, and for their 10th they are thinking of inviting them to the United States to travel the domestic Appalachian Trail.

It’s not always easy keeping in contact, he said, since he doesn’t have a cellphone and many of his travel companions live in other states or countries, but they manage to find a way when making plans to travel.

Even when he doesn’t reach out to travel companions, he will sometimes run into them traveling the same trail.

When making plans to travel, French said he makes a decision the winter before. During the time leading up to the trip, he conducts research and makes plans, such as looking into transportation and lodging.

If he takes transportation, he said, he will take public transportation like buses or trains. Lodging varies, he said, with some locations having hostels or small, private bunk beds, while other places will provide a mat or a spot on the floor.

In some cases, to escape the rain, he’s had to improvise and find shelter in sheds or barns. And finding a shower or bath is rare, and often a less than ideal experience.

In Morocco, French said he and other hikers were given a bucket to fill up with varying temperatures of water to dump over themselves as they washed.

“We take off all our clothes and start washing ourselves, stark naked. As Americans we didn’t know,” he said. “All the locals kept their underwear on.”

For his trip to Morocco, French decided to participate in a guided hike, he said. When planning his trips, he will either map out his own path or follow one recommended by an International Appalachian Trail chapter.

The guided hike, which was suggested to him since he wasn’t familiar with the language or culture, took him through big cities like Marrakesh, where he got to shop around markets and take photos with vipers, as well as smaller villages where he would sit under trees and eat freshly slaughtered goat for dinner.

“We were asked to bring school supplies,” he said. “This guy would reach into a bag and hand out the supplies to students who had to walk considerable distances for schools."

Edinburgh 'hub' for trek

When he and his grandkids traveled to the Isle of Man, they first flew into Edinburgh in Scotland and spent a few days exploring and treating it as their “hub,” before making the journey to the small, self-governing island found between Ireland and the United Kingdom.

First arriving in the capital city, Douglas, French and his grandkids spent the week following a trail he mapped out himself that took them to a town called Peel, and then around the coast back to Douglas where they then flew back to Edinburgh and then to the Faroe Islands for the final stretch of his journey.

French’s grandkids all have trail names, he said. Some were chosen, and some were given to them as is tradition among hikers. Poppy, the youngest, goes by Pink Tornado, while the oldest, Lincoln, the oldest, goes by Willy Makeit, a play on “Will he make it?”

Morgan, the middle grandchild, goes by Walkie Talkie because he “just couldn’t stop blabbing.”

He has sometimes included his grandkids on his journey throughout the years, helping them also develop a love of being outdoors, he said.

“It’s absolute quality time,” he said. “I prefer spoiling them with experiences rather than material items.”

Over the years, he said, he’s had the opportunity to experience just how diverse the world is, not only in culture and language but also in geography, food, and travelers. It’s given him opportunities to partake in the culture and form new friendships.

It’s also given him chances to find “trail magic,” or pleasant, unexpected moments, he said.

Such as when he and his grandkids were in Edinburgh a few years ago and the Queen of England, sitting in the back of a car, drove by them.

Another time, while traveling through Northern Ireland, he met a traveler wearing a Boston Red Sox hat. When he stopped to speak with him, he learned he was also from Sterling.

During another trip to Northern Ireland, he and his family traveled, a couple of days apart. His wife, grandkids and daughter, Tamah, got a head start on the trip, while French planned to meet up with them later.

But they weren’t sure how they were going to meet up, as they had no way of contacting each other. When French arrived two days later, he got off the bus and decided to stop in a tourist center to pick up trail maps.

In the same building, across the room was a restaurant where French’s family just so happened to be eating a meal at the same time he was buying maps. And while that trip was mainly meant to be a normal family trip, he still found time for a hike.

It’s “wonderful” moments like those, he said, that help make trips memorable, and often lead to new travel companions.

Next hike: Mount Katahdin

And while his International Appalachian Trail journey has come to an end, French already has plans at the end of the month to meet up with a travel companion to hike Mount Katahdin in Maine — the same mountain where the domestic trail ends and the international leg begins.

While he hasn’t decided on his next international location yet, a journey to Japan has recently crossed his mind.

In a travel magazine, French read an article about a group of people who came from Japan looking to create a similar experience to the Appalachian Trail in their country.

It’s something he still needs to consider before making a commitment, as well as discuss with his wife.

For now, French has no plans to stop his hiking journeys. He said that his body has started talking to him, sending him signals that he will eventually have to start winding down.

In July, he had a heart valve replacement and is “wracked with arthritis.” But his body hasn’t started “screaming” yet, so as long as his follow up appointment with his doctor goes according to plan, his trip to Mount Katahdin and future trips will go undeterred.

Even if his hiking trips eventually have to come to an end, his international travel will not, he said. He still has a “wanderlust” and will take time to continue seeing the world.

“I’m just a damn lucky guy,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Will French of Sterling hikes International Appalachian Trail