Bob Patten
January 2026
It was a chance email and a stroke of luck that kickstarted Bob Patten’s volunteer journey on the Appalachian Trail. While recovering from a heart attack and double bypass surgery in 2018, his daughter encouraged him to hike the A.T. He hit the Trail in 2019 and has hiked most of the North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia sections of the Trail. After receiving an email from the ATC asking for Trail Crew volunteers in 2023, Bob signed up to help with the Konnarock Trail Crew.
“It was a good use of a week of vacation since I was hiking the A.T. and figured I should give back,” Bob remembered.
The luck came about when Bob was able to retire shortly before his week with the crew, allowing him to sign up for several more Konnarock sessions that summer after he realized how much he loved the experience. “I was hooked,” he said. Since that first crew season, he considers working on the A.T. with the crew to be his “second home.”
Bob enjoys the opportunity to work alongside fellow crew volunteers for several days at a time. “For me, the commitment of a week is the way to go,” he said. “I enjoy camping and getting to know other hikers and outdoors people, and a week allows work to be done and memories to be created.”
Konnarock Crew Leader Matt Perrenod shared his gratitude for Bob’s willingness to take on any project with cheerfulness and enthusiasm. Remembering a time that Bob directed a crew truck that had to back down a steep and twisting Forest Service Road for over a mile, Matt shared that, “Bob is the sort of volunteer who has your back.”
When he’s not working with the crew, Bob volunteers with the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club and the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club , two of the A.T. Clubs who maintain sections of the Trail in Virginia. He works alongside other Club volunteers, regularly performing maintenance to keep the Trail in good shape.
For Bob, spending time on the A.T. hiking, camping, or volunteering has always had a calming effect. After a career in technology, he is grateful for the opportunity to disconnect while on the A.T. and believes that his time on the Trail helped him recover from his surgery. Bob also appreciates both the opportunity for solitude and the chance to enjoy the camaraderie of fellow hikers that the Trail offers. While volunteering, he’s gotten to work with “fascinating people,” from crew members who are preparing for their first hike to mineralogists to individuals who worked on the Apollo missions. He is grateful for the chance to collaborate with other volunteers who bring such diverse knowledge and passion to the Trail.
“You get to work with people who can explain why the Trail is a certain way, whether it’s location, history, geography, or landscape,” he said. “Those interactions cannot be found anywhere else.”
For anyone considering joining a crew or volunteering on the A.T., Bob has a heartfelt nudge.
“You will not regret the experience.”