A 'tough trail,' but a successful journey

A 'tough trail,' but a successful journey

Templeton man returns home after hike along Appalachian Trail for breast cancer awareness
Kerry O'Brien
News Staff Writer

TEMPLETON — A month ahead of schedule, sporting pink hair and 35 pounds lighter, Steven Arsenault, 62, returned home earlier this month after hiking 2,185 miles up the Appalachian Trail to raise awareness of breast cancer.

“The Appalachian Trail is definitely a tough trail,” he said. “There were some days I thought to myself, ‘This isn’t fun anymore,’ but you have to just push that off, you get through it. It’s the bad days that make you appreciate the good days.”


Although it was his second time hiking the trail, this was Mr. Arsenault’s first year hiking to raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. He is raising money along with a team as part of the Tubb’s Romp to Stomp snowshoe series.

Teams in the Romp to Stomp raise money year-round ahead of the snowshoe tournament, which for the East Coast will take place in Vermont Jan. 25. This year Romp to Stomp competitions are also taking place in Washington, Colorado and Ontario, Canada.

From 7 p.m. to midnight Oct. 5, Mr. Arsenault’s team is having a welcome home party and fundraiser at the Gardner Elks Lodge.

Over the course of his five-month journey from April 15 to Sept. 15, Mr. Arsenault said accepting a dare from a fellow hiker to dye his hair pink paid off.

“It caused awareness, and led people to come up and question me,” he said. “It led to a lot of good conversations and friends.”

Throughout the journey, Mr. Arsenault blogged on the website www.trailjournals.com under his trail name, “2nd shift steamer” — a nickname that describes his late-night hiking habits and more than 30-year career repairing railroad tracks.

Meeting people along the way and staying connected through his blog, Mr. Arsenault was able to garner a significant amount of donations.

“We’ve raised more money than we have in the past,” said Mr. Arsenault’s teammate Julie Sowersby.

Mr. Arsenault’s team is continuing to raise money through the end of January. Saturday’s event will include music and raffles for more than 30 prizes donated by local businesses.

To make a donation to the team, send cash or a check payable to Kim Bisbee to Athol Savings Bank, 112 Central St., Winchendon MA, 01475. Receipts can be sent if a self-addressed stamped envelope is included.