KSJB Local News
A 66-year-old Jamestown man named Ryan Rufsvold completed the 2,197 mile Appalachian Trail in September after a 6-year journey through 14 states, according to an article by Keith Norman for the Jamestown Sun. Rufsvold, a welder at DuraTech Industries for 35 years, started hiking sections of the trail in 2019 at age 60 after gaining inspiration from a friend. He hiked through the COVID shutdown in 2020, barely seeing anyone during a 606-mile stretch through Shenandoah National Park. In 2023, he returned from the trail in need of a bit of maintenance and received hip replacement surgery. Regardless, he continued hiking. Rufsvold’s wife Janelle usually traveled with him to provide support along the way. Now approaching retirement, he’s already planning his next adventure, possibly the Pacific Crest Trail or a bike trip from Maine to Seattle, telling the Jamestown Sun, “it struck an interest and now I can’t shake it.”
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