Bryan Beckwith, AT Hiker and Soldier; Leslie Beckwith, AT Hiker and Army Wife

A column in the 14 January 2007 Boston Herald by city editor Jules Crittenden ("Son's Rugged Trail Led to Iraq") profiles Bryan Beckwith and his family's reaction to his having joined the U.S. Army in 2003. Beckwith is serving in Iraq with the 1st Cavalry Division.

Down in the middle of the column, Crittenden writes "A graduate of New Hampshire’s Plymouth State College, Bryan had figured out in short order that he didn’t like office life. He spent the late 1990s landscaping and working at ski areas to support his new passion - a rugged life.
"He hiked the Appalachian Trail and met Leslie, a Delta flight attendant, on the way.
"Both of them hiked it again, and then the Pacific Crest Trail. Sept. 11 happened, and then the invasion of Iraq. Bryan had met some old soldiers on the trail who talked about the soldier’s life. He remembered his own dream of being one."

Bryan and Leslie were married somewhere along the line. The column doesn't say just when they were on the AT.