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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'>Last year, on the
PCT, Paparazzi asked me, “How old are you, Francis?”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'>“I’m 36,”
I replied. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'>He responded, “You
know, you’re in the minority. We did a survey and found that the most
popular age group was people in their 20s. A close second were folks in their
50s. The minority are the hikers between 30 and 45 years old, because they’re
usually busy with their careers and raising families.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'>My guess is that CDT
hikers follow a similar pattern as PCT hikers.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'>The late Ron Mueser
wrote an excellent book 10 years ago which documents many statistics about the <st1:place
w:st="on">Appalachian Trail</st1:place>, including the age of hikers. Here’s
a link:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'><a
href="http://www.amazon.com/Long-Distance-Hiking-Lessons-Appalachian-Trail/dp/0070444587/sr=8-45/qid=1168550949/ref=sr_1_45/102-6631859-0286503?ie=UTF8&s=books">http://www.amazon.com/Long-Distance-Hiking-Lessons-Appalachian-Trail/dp/0070444587/sr=8-45/qid=1168550949/ref=sr_1_45/102-6631859-0286503?ie=UTF8&s=books</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'>Happy Trails,</span></font><font
color=purple><span style='color:purple'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=purple face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:purple'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'>Francis Tapon</span></font><font
color=purple><span style='color:purple'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'>Check out this 2
minute video: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/yyzdbo">http://tinyurl.com/yyzdbo</a>
</span></font><font color=purple><span style='color:purple'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=purple face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:purple'>Learn about my book, <em><i><font
face=Verdana><span style='font-family:Verdana'>Hike Your Own Hike: 7 Life
Lessons from Backpacking Across America, </span></font></i></em>at: <a
href="http://www.FrancisTapon.com/book">http://www.FrancisTapon.com/book</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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