By Tim Mason, OS Vice President
Jason Brocar resides in South Dakota, so completing all four trails in less than twelve months required a great deal of logistical planning on his part. Prior to settling in South Dakota, Jason served our country in the Marine Corp and later in the Army. Hence, Jason was dubbed with the trail name MAV, short for Marine Army Veteran. Jason found backpacking by coincidence while looking for outdoor jobs after retiring from the military. This led to his successful pursuit of thru hiking the Appalachian Trail, but he did not stop there. His impressive hiking resume is closing in on 10,000 miles, as he has conquered the Continental Divide Trail, the Pyrenees and GR11 in France and Spain, the Scottish National Trail, the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, the South Dakota Centennial Trail, the Palmetto Trail, half of the Arizona Trail and half of the Pacific Crest Trail. He plans to complete the remaining 1,300 plus miles of the Pacific Crest Trail starting in July this summer.
I asked Jason about his equipment, as today’s long-distance hikers have a plethora of quality items to choose from. He said he initially used military gear he had acquired. As he got further into the Appalachian Trail hike, he realized by watching other hikers that lighter was better, and soon began to replace his overtly heavy gear with a lighter pack, tent, and sleep system to complement what is known as the “Big 3,” referring to critical items and often the heaviest too.
Of all the miles and trails Jason has experienced, I wondered how the Ozarks and Ouachita mountains measured up, in his esteemed opinion, so I asked him. He quickly and with confidence said, “Arkansas and Missouri are likely the best kept secrets in America but try to avoid the summer months due to the excessive heat and abundant insects.” As for challenges, the heat and humidity in May and June genuinely surprised him. Coming from the upper Midwest, this took a toll on him physically and he left the Ozark Trail, returning in April 2024 to complete it when the temperatures were more pleasant. Beyond the stifling heat, spring rain events led to several challenging river and creek crossings along the Ozarks Highland Trail, and he survived a couple of encounters with Arkansas’ wild pigs along the way, not to mention walking up on a black bear that was hiking the Ouachita Trail. The bear encounter happened as Jason was enduring a long dry stretch of trail and he was exhausted and out of water. He said he followed the bear for some distance before realizing what he was doing and reasoned he should probably let the bear move along solo. Heat and wildlife encounters aside, Jason said the Ozark Highlands Trail was probably the most rugged of all four trails making up the Sassafras Award.