CBS News Solving the mystery of the Appalachian hiker "Mostly Harmless" It's believed he started walking the Appalachian Trail sometime around April of 2017. From a state park in New York, he hiked south and, about a thousand miles and 10 months later, crossed into Florida. "I saw a man walking on the side of the road," said Kelly Fairbanks, a so-called "trail angel" offering help to weary hikers. "The thing that stood out to me first was his beard. Also, his trekking poles. His trekking poles let me know that he was a hiker." Nicholas Thompson, of the Atlantic Magazine, asked, "Why did he make an impression on you?"