That—and some 900 Snickers bars—helped the 40-year-old Robinson achieve his unlikely dream. It took the eccentric computer engineer from San Jose, Calif., only 10 months to walk across the Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, a grueling journey that covered 7,371 miles in 22 states—much of it through harsh winter weather. Before Robinson wrapped up his Triple Crown on Oct. 27, no solo hiker had managed to hike even two of the trails in one year. "The thought of someone doing all three is incredible," says Ron Moak, president of the Oregon-based American Long Distance Hikers Association-West. "You're walking for miles every day through rain and snow, and you're doing it alone. I think that's beyond the comprehension of most people."
Robinson hiked an average of 30 miles a day and wore through seven pairs of shoes. He consumed 6,000 calories daily, including three Snickers bars, Pop Tarts and trail mix. And while he suffered his share of gashed knees, sprained ankles and shin-splints, the toughest part of his trek by far was the crushing loneliness. "I have a high tolerance for solitude, but I definitely went beyond what I like," says Robinson, who traveled with a small satellite phone. "It's like being in solitary confinement."
Toward the end of the trip, when some of his journal entries were posted on the Internet, he was occasionally joined on his hikes by well-wishers. "Some were women I was attracted to," says the never-married Robinson. But even then he could not escape his self-imposed isolation for long. "I'd stop and talk and say, 'Gee, it's too bad I have to leave in 10 minutes,"' he says. "I was thoroughly committed to moving on."
Born in Corvallis, Ore., to avid backpackers Roy Robinson, now 64, a communications engineer, and Julianne, 64, a homemaker, Brian caught the climbing bug while hiking as a Boy Scout. But after earning an engineering degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1983, he settled into a job as a systems engineer at Compaq and stayed there 17 years. Sitting behind his terminal one day in 1997, "I thought, 'Some dreams die and some are fulfilled,' " he says. "I decided if I'm going to do something, I need to do it now."
That year he hiked the more than 2,600 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from Mexico to Canada. Yet the trip only whetted his appetite for the elusive Triple Crown. After two years of meticulous planning that included devising spreadsheets, plotting weather patterns and resupply points, Robinson gave up his apartment in San Jose, quit his job and cashed in his stocks, netting a bundle that ensured he would never have to work again. On New Year's Eve 2000, equipped with only 22 lbs. of supplies in an ultralight backpack, Robinson began the trip in freezing weather at the head of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia.
There were rough spots early on. Heavy snow forced him to abandon the Appalachian Trail and return to it later on. In February Robinson was diagnosed with Bell's palsy, a neurological condition that paralyzed half his face. That was followed by a bothersome corneal edema, which was caused by wearing his contact lenses around the clock. In August Robinson suffered what hikers call trail depression. "He was down; you could tell by talking to him," says Roy, who sent supplies to his son at several points along the trip. Still, Robinson trudged on, taking only a handful of days off the entire time.
Finally, Robinson climbed Maine's Mount Katahdin and completed his odyssey, celebrating with champagne and pizza. Recuperating at his parent's San Jose home, he plans to write a book about his adventure, then see where his inner hiker takes him next. His 10 months in the wilderness "transformed me profoundly," Robinson says. "I know who I am now, and I know what's important to me. I have become fearless."
Alex Tresniowski
Colleen O'Connor in San Jose and Andrea Billups-Kneeland in Springfield, Va.
- Contributors:
- Colleen O'Connor,
- Andrea Billups-Kneeland.
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