ELKTON, Va. (WHSV) – An 88-year-old man from Elkton has just finished a 100-mile trek along the Appalachian Trail.
Over three months, Bill Kingrea has hiked chunks of the trail at a time, but he just completed the final leg of his journey Tuesday. Kingrea was first inspired to complete the walk to celebrate his 88th birthday after he heard a story that an 83-year-old man had completed the whole length of the trail. Kingrea said he wanted to do his own version of it while also raising money for the nonprofit Hope Distributed, coining his journey the “Hike for Hope.”
Kingrea started the hike in September and had planned to finish it by his birthday, Oct. 17, but it was delayed after his wife died and he traveled down to North Carolina to assist with Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Kingrea said completing the hike with his family and friends who walked with him was “a big support.”
“I think they understood that I needed to be here, on the trail, and so they let me do my grief the way I needed to, and I appreciated that,” Kingrea said. “It’s been interesting, and I’ve made new friends along the way, too.”
Three months since the hike’s inception, Kingrea and Jeff Wilhelm, Hope Distributed’s executive director, said the initiative has raised over $5,000 so far in donations and pledges. Kingrea called that a success — “far more than I ever anticipated,” he said. He and Wilhelm hope to surpass $6,000 now that Kingrea has completed the trek.
Some of the donations came from other hikers Kingrea met along the Appalachian Trail. While some were skeptical of his mission, he said, others gave a total upward of $400 to the cause.
“I had one guy in Fredericksburg that I met up on the trail, and when he found out I was walking the trail for the benefit of the food bank, he said, ‘I’m gonna give you some money when I get home.’ Then somebody in the group that was with me said, ‘Well, his wife passed away two weeks ago and he’s still walking,’” Kingrea said. “[The hiker] said … ‘Oh, you must be a real inspiration to people,’ and he came over and gave me a hug and gave me $100 for the food bank … I thought that was very generous.”
Kingrea said he doesn’t think he will repeat the full 100 miles, but he plans to continue hiking recreationally with his blend of old and newfound friends and hopes his story might encourage others.
“I feel very fortunate that I am in good health — don’t take any medicines. I don’t have any heart problems or other. I thank God for the fact that I am healthy, and I guess that’s maybe one of the reasons I decided to do this,” Kingrea said. “I’m hoping it will inspire somebody else to do something similar. If nothing else, just inspire them to stay healthy and walk — till they’re 90.”
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