Society Events by Manny Carvalho Winton Porter: "Guru of the Appalachian Trail"
![]() ![]() In 2001, at the age of 35, Winton took the plunge by becoming the proprietor of the Mountain Crossings store. Since then, he says he’s been on a permanent vacation helping hikers as they come his shop’s way. For many he not only is able to help lighten their load by an average of 12 pounds but also offers words of encouragement for the big trek ahead. Porter says that he returns home about 9,000 pounds of excess gear yearly. Known as the ‘guru of the Appalachian Trail,” Winton has an eye for detail and documents many of these extraordinary encounters in his first book, Just Passin' Thru. It’s some of these remarkable vivid stories that kept us all entertained. The hiker stories are as varied as the reasons why they decide to embark on 2,178-mile walking journey. Some are poignant such as Carol with terminal cancer but living a dream. Some are weird like the one about Lefty, the man with only a right hand. One is of depraved, dangerous mindless cruelty when killer Gary Hilton stopped at Mountain Crossings to look at rain gear before beating Meredith Emerson to death. All of his stories are fascinating and told in Winton’s inimitable style. Here is his presentation:
Images by Winton Porter and Manny Carvalho Posted on 15 Nov 2011 by Manny Carvalho
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