WHO 13 NEWS – Iowa veteran Joedy VanVelzen completed the Appalachian Trail last week, hiking nearly 2,200 miles across 14 states in just five months.

He joined Calyn Thompson on Today on Iowa to recap the journey we’ve been following since March.

“Living in the wilderness was always a challenge. The weather can be very difficult, whether it’s high temperatures or rain. We even had snow in the early part of the trail,” VanVelzen recalled. “Sometimes food was a challenge. You’re cooking your meals out in the wilderness. A lot of food that I probably won’t eat for quite some time now, so appetite changed significantly from the start to the end. So it’s an adaptation process from start to finish.”

VanVelzen applied to be part of a team of veterans to hike the Appalachian Trail through Warrior Expeditions, a non-profit organization that provided the clothing, shoes, supplies, and support he needed to make the long-distance trek.

He said they started off hiking together and then each developed their own pace. 

“I ended up hiking about two months on my own. There were days where I would hardly ever see another soul out there on the trail and then other days you would run into people that you had met before and had similar pace to yours,” VanVelzen said. 

Halfway through, VanVelzen said he started walking with a fellow veteran named Greg. 

“We did the last thousand miles together and ended up summiting together last Tuesday,” VanVelzen. “It was good for both of us. Neither one of us knew each other before we started this journey and you can imagine after a thousand miles you get to know somebody pretty good.”

With help from his family, VanVelzen documented his trek on social media and shared photos to his Facebook page: On the Appalachian Trail with Joedy.

“I did part of this to prove to myself that I could do it. It’s been on our bucket list for some years now,” VanVelzen said. “But also I wanted to show my, my daughters and my family that they can truly do anything that they want to. You can be unstoppable even in the most difficult of circumstances. There were several days where I just wanted to stop walking, and I just had to get up and put one foot in front of the other and knock out another 15 to 20 miles and go to sleep at 6:30 or 7:00 at night and wake up at 5:00 in the morning and just keep on going.”

He said people have already reached out to him, asking for advice on how to complete the journey. 

“It’s a very difficult challenge. It’s much more than I anticipated,” VanVelzen said. “Expect some pretty significant changes physically, mentally, and emotionally. It really is a life-changing event.”