Sea to Shining Sea, my podcast on the American Discovery Trail and trans-continental walking across the USA, continues its march westward to West Virginia in Episode 4:
Episode 4 – West Virginia: By God!
As the American Discovery Trail crosses the Potomac into West Virginia, it leaves behind the flat, easy walking of Delaware and Maryland, finding its ways into hill country. The most rugged–and also, arguably, the most sublime–stretch of the ADT east of the Rockies looms in Dolly Sods. In this episode, the ADT’s State Co-Coordinator for West Virginia, Sharon Weekley, describes the route through her state, from the Potomac to the Ohio. She is followed by Gerald D. Swick, an author and journalist with a deep understanding of the West Virginian history. In a wide-ranging conversation, we discuss natural resources, the Civil War, labor battles, lion leash laws, and at least a dozen other topics. Montani semper liberi!
Here are some relevant links to go deeper into this episode:
Sharon Weekly: The ADT’s State Co-Coordinator for West Virginia can be found on the ADT’s West Virginia page
Gerald D. Swick: Gerald’s Home Page has links to his writing and interviews; of greatest relevance is the section on his West Virginia Histories series
Dolly Sods Accounts: You can find the quoted accounts from ADT walkers crossing through Dolly Sods in Ken & Marcia and Milkshake & Gumdrop on Trail Journals. There’s a limitation to appreciating Dolly Sods through audio and text, though, so check out Mark Hendricks’s short video for some visuals
Podcasts: You can find the Wild, Wondering West Virginia podcast on the WV Public site. While not exclusively focused on WV, I’ve also enjoyed Trey Kay’s Us & Them podcast, most notably the episode on the Great Textbook War
