[at-l] "Me and the Boy"/Dan Bruce

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

I finished reading "Me and the Boy" by Paul Hemphill last night. It seems
that while he was preparing to do a thru he met Dan Bruce (AKA Wingfoot) at
an outfitter's in Atlanta. He and his son even hiked with Dan for 3 days (in
the Shenandoahs?). According to Mr. Hemphill Dan was also preparing to do a
thru. He didn't indicate that it was a 2nd, 3rd or whatever thru for Dan. He
did say so when he encountered others who had done prior thrus. He said that
Dan was in his early 40's at the time. This would have been around '83-'84.
The book was published in 1986.  That would make Dan early 60s now. Does
anyone here know how old Dan Bruce is? I ask because based on what I've read
before this (I've never met him) I thought he had started his AT hikes in
his 20's and I figured him for early/mid-forties now.

Disclaimer: I am not the least bit interested in starting another WF rant
vs. defense thread. I only want to know approximately how old he is as a
matter of idle curiosity and trail community history. Whether you hate WF or
think he is a misunderstood hero of the trail, *please* keep it to yourself.

Saunterer (who, like Sgt. Friday just wants the facts)