Craig A. Eckert

Craig Eckert is a retired petroleum geologist living near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His passion and expertise during his 38-year career were in combining geology and geophysics to accurately map the subsurface of the earth in search of hydrocarbons to fuel the ever-increasing energy demands of our civilized world. Today he is equally passionate about exploring the world on foot by long distance hiking. Following completion of his 2020 thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, Craig wrote a book about his adventure and experience from the perspective of a geologist: Rocks, Roots and Rattlesnakes. Since then, he has thru-hiked many other trails including the Long Trail (VT), Laurel Highlands Trail (PA), Foothills Trail (SC), Colorado Trail (CO), Alta Via n1 (Italy) and the first 400 miles of the Continental Divide Trail (MT). A second book about the Colorado Trail, Rocks, Roots and Rocky Mountains, was published in 2024. Craig has two grown children and five grandchildren, and is also an avid canoeist, skier and golfer. As a lifelong geologist, he is forever fascinated by the stories behind those rocks beneath his feet wherever the trail leads.