Connecting Thread
Written By Josh Reuck

Brittany & Ernie

Hocking Hills State Park, OH

August 2025

Six miles in to a nine mile hike on the Buckeye Trail, Brittany and Ernie are celebrating Earnie’s 36th birthday. Ernie, who lives with a mechanical device called and LVAD is awaiting a heart transplant, though there’s hope he may not need one as his heart continues to recover. Before his illness, just before COVID, he was an EMT. Now, the northern Michigan native spends much of his time hiking, and riding dirt bikes with his kids.



Brittany works in a hospital. Because you can’t just grab batteries off the shelf for the LVAD, she carries spares that weigh around 18lbs. She’s his partner in every sense, keeping him going and, in her words, “in line.”


They told me they love finding quiet stretches of trail away from the crowds. Ernie has visited every waterfall in Michigan, but here they traded home’s rushing water for Ohio sandstone and summer heat. They were staying in the area, checking out local adventures for several days.

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