He was a beloved legend on the Appalachian Trail, a generous, devout hiker known for his kindness and Jerry Garcia beard.

To his fellow thru-hikers, he was "Bismarck." But to the FBI, he was James Hammes, a fugitive accountant who had vanished after allegedly embezzling $8.7 million from his employer. For years, he lived a double life, hiking thousands of miles while hiding in plain sight.

In this episode, we unravel how a massive white-collar crime led to an unexpected arrest on the A.T., explore the dark secrets of his past, and uncover how his hunger for the spotlight and a TV rerun finally brought his run to an end.

Noteworthy sources for this episode

"A Long Walk's End" by William Browning (SB Nation Longform): A deep dive into Hammes' life on the trail.

"American Greed: The Fugitives" (Season 1, Episode 4): The TV episode that led to his capture.

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Join us for a special recap episode as we raise a glass to our unforgettable debut year! We're revisiting the chilling cases and incredible guests that made Season 1 a hit, breaking down your fan-favorite "ballad" episodes, and sharing behind-the-scenes secrets from the podcast's production.

Featuring clips from each of our five cornerstone ballad episodes:

• • Appalachian Ballads: Otto Wood with author Trevor McKenzie.

  • The Murder of Gladys Kincaid with historian Dr. Kevin Young.

  • Tom Dooley: Murder, Mystery, and a Mountain Ballad with folklorist William Ritter.

  • The Hillsville Courthouse Shooting with Dr. Travis Roundtree.

  • Frankie Silver: Unraveling the Ghost in the Ballad with bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb.

• Season 2 kicks off Monday, 1/5/26, with "The Fugitive Thru-Hiker," our first tale from the Appalachian Trail. Get ready for new trails, new tales, notorious outlaws, and legendary lawmen.

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In 1927, as Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic and "talkies" revolutionized film, a brutal bandit named Paul Jaworski and his Flathead Gang used buried dynamite to launch a Brinks armored car into the air in America's first armored car robbery.

This is the story of a criminal with a death wish, a failed getaway, a daring jailbreak, and a three-state crime spree that ended in Pennsylvania’s electric chair.

Podcast Sources

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