After retiring on March 28, Bedford Fire Chief Scott Hunter will set out to hike the Appalachian Trail. Courtesy photo/Bedford Fire Department

BEDFORD — Just days after retiring as chief of the Bedford Fire Department, Scott Hunter will embark on the journey of a lifetime as he sets out to hike the Appalachian Trail.

“The time is right as I am retiring from a rewarding career in the fire service and my health and my family’s health is well that I can go to do this,” said Hunter, adding that hiking the A.T. is something he has wanted to do since he was a teenager. “I don’t know what my next career step will be, but I hope to work through that when I am out there.”

March 28 is Hunter’s last day as fire chief. He will then travel by train from Boston to Georgia and begin the odyssey from the trail’s southern end at Springer Mountain on April 3. Hunter said it will be October before he arrives at the trail’s northern terminus at Mt. Katahdin in Maine.

In addition to ongoing physical training, Hunter said he is in the process of tying up various loose ends before leaving home. One of which is to decide who will mow the lawn while he is gone.

According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, approximately 3,000 hikers attempt the journey each year — only 750 of them make it to the other end. As the world’s longest hiking-only footpath, the A.T. measures 2,198 miles. Clingmans Dome in North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains is recognized as the tallest point on the A.T., rising to 6,643 feet.

Once Hunter is out of Georgia and North Carolina, he will pass through Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and finally, Maine.

However, Hunter said he is not intimidated and is no stranger to the outdoors.

“I am aware of the statistics, I am approaching this with a positive mindset; totally optimistic,” he said. “I am all in, all gas, no brakes.”

In recent years, Hunter did four and five-day backpacking trips along the Cohos Trail. The Cohos stretches 170 miles from the southern end of Crawford Notch in the White Mountains and ends at the Canadian border.

In 2023, Hunter completed the Vermont Super 8, a 655-mile bikepacking race. He finished in seventh place with a time of 7:11:00.

Other bikepack trips Hunter has tackled include traveling along the Erie Canal Trail in New York from Buffalo to Albany and traveling from Pittsburgh, Pa. to Washington D.C. using the Great Allegheny Passage as well as the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

Looking ahead, Hunter said the most challenging part of the A.T. will be “keeping the right attitude and not giving up because of redundancy or loneliness.”

“I want to genuinely enjoy the journey and embrace what the trail has in store for me,” he said. “I have no doubt it will be transformative and I look forward to learning what that means for me. I will allow myself the grace to keep moving ahead at any pace.”

Hunter said he is looking forward to seeing Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia, which is known to have wild ponies. Pine Grove Furnace, Pa. will be another highlight marking the halfway point of the A.T.

“It is there that thru-hikers attempt the half gallon challenge, that is a half gallon of ice cream in a single sitting,” he said. “If I can walk 1,090 miles, I can likely finish off a half gallon of ice cream.”