Deep in the Woods
A podcast like no other—recorded entirely while walking in nature. Each episode follows host Andrew McEntyre and a guest as they explore various topics all guided by a single word chosen by the guest. This unique format invites raw, meaningful conversations shaped by movement, place, and the power of words. Take a walk with us into the woods and uncover the stories that connect us all.
Deep in the Woods
Grit | Walking the Appalachian Trail with Grandma Gatewood
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A single word can change the way we move through the world.
On the AT Approach Trail at Amicalola Falls, I take a walk with Grandma Gatewood—brought to life by storyteller Anne Van Curen—and trace how grit, faith, and the quiet power of nature helped transform a life marked by hardship into one guided by purpose.
What begins with a dog-eared 1949 National Geographic becomes a 2,050-mile act of courage across the Appalachian Trail, stitched together by starry nights, pink lady’s slippers, and the kindness of strangers who appear when the road looks longest.
We talk about the moment that set everything in motion: a choice to leave an abusive marriage and step into the woods with nothing certain except the next mile. Gatewood explains why grit mattered most on lonely ridgelines, how Georgia’s mountains humbled her legs and strengthened her will, and why the cathedral of a clear night sky felt like medicine for the soul.
In 1955, at age 67, Emma “Grandma” Gatewood became the first woman to solo thru-hike the entire Appalachian Trail, walking more than 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine with little more than a homemade sack, a blanket, and a fierce determination to keep going. Her journey not only inspired generations of hikers but also helped bring national attention to the Appalachian Trail itself.
Along the way, the myth of the lone hiker gives way to something deeper—trail community. Free shoes offered in small towns, hot meals shared at kitchen tables, and the quiet generosity of people who helped carry her forward one mile at a time.
This story isn’t about breaking records. It’s about reclaiming a life, one step at a time.
We explore resilience, the healing power of time outdoors, and the way the Appalachian Trail invites honesty: no noise, no hurry, just the steady practice of putting one foot in front of the other.
If you’ve ever wondered whether a walk could change your story, Gatewood’s voice is a compass pointing toward the nearest trailhead.
Join us as we take one word, one walk, deep in the woods.
This conversation was recorded during the AT Gateways event at Amicalola Falls State Park. Grandma Gatewood was portrayed by storyteller Anne Van Curen, whose historical programs bring the life and legacy of Gatewood to audiences across the country.
AT Gateways And Setup
SPEAKER_01Welcome to Deep in the Woods with Andrew McIntyre, where we take one word and one walk. Take a deep dive into the stories that connect us all. The next five episodes will be a little different. They're shorter. It was focused around getting outside of your house and into the woods. I was invited to AT Gateways, which is an event at Amical Estate Park, which is the through hiker kickoff event that takes place each year to celebrate those who walk on the Appalachian Trail.
Introducing Grandma Gatewood
SPEAKER_01My first guest is Grandma Gatewood, being portrayed by Ann Ben Curin. Grandma Gatewood found a reason to get out of her house and into the woods. But I don't want you to take my word for it. I want you to hear her story from her own mouth. So let's get started on the AT Approach Trail, located at Amicalola Falls State Park. As Grandma Gatewood and I take one word and one walk deep in the woods.
Choosing The Word Grit
SPEAKER_00Howdy! Good to see you folks out here on this beautiful, brilliant day. Yeah. Well, I uh lived in Gallup Lis, Ohio. And uh that's where I raised my 11 youngins, and uh finally decided. I thought once they all got out of the home and I was working on my great-grand youngins, that uh it was time for me to get out and do something for myself. And uh so I I uh thought about getting out and walking in the woods. So what brought you to the woods? Well, Sonny, it's kind of interesting, actually. I was sitting uh at the doctor's office uh waiting for my appointment.
Why She Started Walking
SPEAKER_00Happened to pick up a National Geographic. It was uh a 1949 copy, but I'm sure glad he hadn't gotten rid of it because it told all about the Appalachian Trail. 16-page color spread, all about the beauty of the trail, and that made me think I wanted to get uh a hiking a little bit.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So part of this podcast, and I'm not sure if they had those back in the 1950s, but you know what you're talking about. Yeah, I know, right? These are a little different. Um so part of it we want to pick one word to focus our conversation around.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Can you tell me what word you would like to talk about today?
SPEAKER_00Well, I uh the word that comes to my mind is grit. Okay, I I had to have a lot of that grit there to get me up the side of the mountain.
SPEAKER_01So, okay, grit. That's tell me why that word resonates with you so much.
SPEAKER_00Well, you know, it was 2,050 miles on the trail, and uh lot of nights I was up on those tall mountains. I didn't know there ain't such tall mountains in Georgia. Oh my goodness, and I I'd be by myself. There weren't many people hiking on the trail then. But uh had to keep uh one foot in front of the other and just uh had to have a lot of grit about me to keep it going.
SPEAKER_01Wow, that's that's amazing. Um can you tell me what brought you to the trail? You say you have grit. How did that grit get
Kindness Of Strangers
SPEAKER_01you to the decision to say I will need to walk this whole trail, this Appalachian trail?
SPEAKER_00Well, I uh I didn't tell many people uh I told a few folks and and some newspaper men started uh interviewing me about why I was walking, and I just let them think I was a widow woman uh that wanted to get out on the trail. But uh in reality, I was uh I was in an abusive relationship and uh married 31 years, and finally when I divorced my husband, I figured I'd get out and walk, and uh the beauty of the nature just I tell you what, healed my soul. I'd lay out at night in a clear sky, and there'd be them stars twinkling and look like a cathedral up above me. Oh, and in the midst of fine folks that helped me along the way, and uh just the beauty of a uh pink lady slipper or uh uh I just it was a bomb to my soul, I think, getting out and walking.
SPEAKER_01One thing I hear often, I've been talking to a lot of hikers today, um, is about the thing they take away from their experience, um, the story and how it changed them when they get off the trail. Can you tell me a little bit about how it changed you and your journey after you left?
SPEAKER_00Well, I reckon it was the kindness of strangers that touched my heart more than anything. The trail back in 1955, there weren't too many walking on the Appalachian Trail. Didn't know too much about it. But uh I would, once they started writing newspaper articles about me, I'd walk into town and get a new pair of shoes, and someone would say, Hey, are you that uh granny gatewood walking up and down the countryside? Let us buy you a pair of shoes. And just uh find, fine folks I met from the south all the way up to the north that were willing to take me in and feed me some meals, and I guess that's what touched me so much.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_01It's almost like a community or a family develops in that process.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. That's right.
SPEAKER_01Well, I appreciate you telling me even a small part of your story. Can you um share with me um what you would like to share with others of why they need to get
Nature’s Healing And Farewell
SPEAKER_01outside? Why should they be coming into nature? Or even possibly why would they experience the same things that you did?
SPEAKER_00Right, right. Well, that's something I I would love to share with folks is uh just the beauty that uh God created for us, that how important it is to get out and and uh appreciate it, and uh we can gain such strength from nature and uh and just breathing in that beautiful air and the and even on rainy days or cold days or when I hiked there was a lot of uh uh in 1955, there was two of the worst floods came through, but uh there was folks that helped me across the river, and I even rode piggyback on one fellas uh to get across the river. He helped me. And uh just the the healing balm of nature, I think, is what I would would say is so important to get out and and just enjoy the beauty that God created for us all.
SPEAKER_01I mean, we have perfect evidence in front of us right now of uh the beauty of and the the creation that we can find out here in nature.
SPEAKER_00Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER_01Well, thank you for welcoming me today and sharing. Um, I think grit is something we have we need to hold on to, that resilience, that determination. And and your story is uh a perfect example of that, and the need to you know share and connect with other people. Um, it's it's so important these days and at all times. Yeah. And thank you again for walking with me.
SPEAKER_00You're welcome, Sonny. Nice to meet you.
SPEAKER_01You as well, thank you. I want to thank you for listening to Grandma Gatewood's story, and I hope you can join us for the next four episodes that are part of the AT Gateways series as we take one word, one walk, deep in the woods.