What a treat! I got to meet Gene Espy. He was the 2nd hiker to ever thru-hike the AT. He attempted and completed the trail in 1951 when he was 24 years old. He spoke at Dahlonega Trail Days and to this day he loves to share his passion for the trail. He wrote a book, “The Trail of My Life: The Gene Espy Story”. I purchased one at Trail Days and was lucky enough to get him to autograph it for me.