Hiking the Appalachian Trail is a difficult feat at any age, let alone at five years old. But Harvey Sutton from Virginia did just that.
Embarking on the 2,100-mile trail that stretches across 14 states, the boy is one of the youngest hikers to complete the trek. During the journey, which took 209 days, fellow hikers called him “Little Man.”
The youngster joins a crew of youngsters who have completed the Appalachian Trail. A 4-year-old girl finished the trial in October 2020. Prior to that, a 5-year-old hiked the trail in 2013.
Josh and Cassie Sutton, the boy’s parents told NPR he had started hiking at the age of 2. Since then, they slowly but surely built his endurance. Once his parents saw that he can handle hiking, they set their sites on the longest hiking-only footpath in the world: the Appalachian Trail.
Harvey’s parents work in real estate and said the months-long hike was like retirement. "It started out as a joke and we decided maybe that could be our mini retirement and hike the Appalachian Trail with Harvey,” his dad said
Starting in Georgia in January 2021, the Suttons traversed through snowy terrain. The family would wake up early in the morning, then hiked all day.
One of the many challenges of the hike included keeping Harvey entertained. Over the course of the hike, he would make future plans or fellow hikers would give him toys to play with.
“As long as we’re playing make-believe and pretend with him all day long, then he moves quickly and hikes a lot faster than a lot of us imagine," Mr Sutton said.
The family completed the hike on 9 August on Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine.
Despite the strenuous hike, Sutton is eager to keep on hiking.
“I want to do it again,” Harvey told CNN.
