ADVERTISER DEMOCRAT • September 21, 2022
After retiring from corporate life, Tom Tomczyk told his wife he wanted to make one of his childhood dreams come true – hiking the Appalachian Trail. He made good time to Maine, finishing atop Mount Katahdin in Maine on July 22. Returning home, his family immediately knew he was different. “It improved me as a person. Much more patient, more gratitude with my children and their own life choices.” Since that first through-hike, Tomczyk has trekked 10,000 miles on trails in Sweden, Iceland and as far away as Nepal. He is one of fewer than 600 people who have completed North America’s “Triple Crown” of hiking: the 2,194-mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine; the 2,560-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to British Columbia, Canada; and the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Alberta, Canada.