Meredith J. Eberhart, widely known by his nickname Nimblewill Nomad, is an American perpetual hiker and has been the focus of various news stories. As of November 2021, he is considered the oldest person, at 83 years old, to have completely hiked the of the entire

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...

. Eberhart published a book about one of his long-distance hikes, and, as of 2021, was settled at Flagg Mountain,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Biography

Eberhart was born in a village in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

with population of less than 400. He grew up in Russellville, near Jefferson City, Missouri. As a young man, Eberhart attended optometry school, got married, fathered and helped raise two boys, and made a six-figure salary working with

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble ...

patients while living in

Titusville, Florida Titusville is a city in eastern Florida and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census. Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and ...

. After leaving his earlier life in 1998, at age 61, Eberhart became a perpetual walker. In the next 15 years he walked . He published a book about one of his first hikes, from the Florida Keys to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. As of January 2018, under an agreement reached between the

Alabama Forestry Commission The Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) is the forest management agency for the U.S. state of Alabama. It was created as a state agency by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1924. Its general mission is protecting Alabama's forests from wildfire ...

and the Alabama Hiking Trail Society, Eberhart became the official caretaker at a

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) camp atop Flagg Mountain in Weogufka, in rural

Coosa County, Alabama Coosa County is located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 10,387. Its county seat is Rockford. Its name derives from a town of the Creek tribe and the Coosa River, which forms ...

, the southern terminus of the Pinhoti Trail. Press coverage in early 2019 reported that he had settled on Flagg Mountain, although it was noted that Eberhart had "announced his retirement several times in recent years before surging off on yet another odyssey." Eberhart aspires to have the

extended to Flagg Mountain, and has stated that his "purpose in life now … is to promote this remarkable geographic and historic landmark—that it might ultimately become the hub of all to do with hiking and backpacking in the South...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

those who dream of one day hiking the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, those folks, all, will think first of Flagg Mountain." Eberhart has made great contributions in restoring the once dilapidated CCC site. As late as April 2022 Mr. Eberhart has stated that he in fact does not support the AT2AL movement. His official website https://nimblewillnomad.com states that the use of his name and likeness to promote the AT extension has been done without his permission. Eberhart was profiled in several pagesFor Eberhart's profile, see ''On Trails'', pp. 302-328. of the 2016 book ''On Trails'' by environmental journalist Robert Moor, whom he advised to call him "Eb".

Views

During his years of perpetual walking and hiking, Eberhart was quoted in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as stating: Regarding why he has done his long-distance walking, Eberhart said he has "managed to get the answer boiled down to just 32 words": Nimblewill is distressed at the homogenization of trails as they are re-routed away from human habitation, lamenting:

Book

Nimblewill published a book, using his birth name Eberhart: * :*

References

External links

Nimblewill Nomad (personal website)

Alabama Trailhikers Society (Flagg Mountain page)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimblewill Nomad Hikers American sportsmen Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Year of birth missing (living people)