Today’s Star Spangled Salute honors Army Veteran Will Robinson. Will is also a veteran thru-hiker. That means Will hikes long distances, like the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail. In fact, Will hiked those 2 and the Continental Divide Trail, earning him the distinction of being the first Black American man to earn the triple crown of thru-hiking. All of this started when he saw the movie “Wild” starring Reese Witherspoon. The images of the PCT, stirred something in him. It turns out thru-hiking has been a life saver for Will, who before all the hiking, struggled with depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder after his medical discharge in 2003. Will said, “I started peeling back the layers, mile after mile after mile.” Congratulations on your success Will, and THANK YOU for your service.
Before the PCT, Robinson had never seriously hiked, though the military had prepared him for similarly tough challenges. “The closest thing I did to hiking was drill marching,” said Robinson, who grew up on bases with his Army father. “It’s a lot different with a 100-pound pack and an M16, but it gave me a basis for hiking.” In the armed forces, he powered through his pain, a practice he had to unlearn as a trekker. “In the Army, you suck it up and drive on,” he said. “If you hurt your foot, you keep moving. In a thru-hike you learn how to listen to your body.”
After six months in Iraq and a stop in Germany for medical treatment, he returned to Louisiana, where he often felt too broken to leave the house, much less pursue outdoor activities. He underwent multiple surgeries and tried various therapy treatments and medications to no avail. “After Iraq, I was disabled at 23,” he said. A chance “encounter” with celebrity long-haul hiker and “Wild” author Cheryl Strayed provided the jolt he needed to recharge his life.
On that fateful day in March 2016, Robinson was in his room “like always” when he glanced at the TV and saw “Wild” on the small screen. In the film version of Strayed’s best-selling memoir, he watched Reese Witherspoon lug her pack by a PCT trail marker, a scene that stirred up a memory from Iraq. During his downtime, Robinson would often pore over a PCT guidebook, which someone had sent to the soldiers in a care package. “One day I’d love to do this,” he said, reminiscing about that period in his life when he envisioned a future filled with adventure.
Without waiting for the closing credits, he jumped onto his computer and acquired a free long-distance permit, one of 5,657 issued that year. On April 2, he arrived in Southern California and embarked on a journey of personal discovery and recovery that resembled Strayed’s transformative quest two decades earlier.
