Joe Liles, retired art teacher at the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, appears on the Today Show Wednesday morning in an interview feature called "Your Life Calling with Jane Pauley."
Liles' interview is part of the show's monthly series on "people older than 50 who are pursuing their dreams," Liles said. It is scheduled between 8:30 and 8:45 a.m.
"A former student of mine called them up and told them about me hiking the Appalachian Trail, and they contacted me," he said.
Liles hiked the entire trail, from Georgia to Maine, after he retired from 28 years at NCSSM. He started March 9, 2009 and finished Sept. 15 (right), along the way sending regular "Trail Reports" to friends via email.
Since then, he said, he has made six trips back to hike favorite sections again. Part of the interview was taped on the trail in upstate New York.
Before retiring, he led two short classes in which students retraced the pre-Columbian route of Fish Dam Road from the Neuse River to Hillsborough.
In retirement, Liles said, he is "busy at home with artwork and some creative writing" and tours with a Lumbee Indian singing group called Southern Sun.
