You may be asking, "Why am I seeing this picture of a child with diarrhea, and what does this have to do with the AT?"
Well, diarrhea is a common occurrence in wilderness travel. Related to the AT, 45% of AT hikers experience this sloppy call of nature.
The Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal published a study on how to effectively wash your dishes while in the wilderness to prevent the spread of bacteria. I'm sure to many hikers this system seems very much impractical, however it just very well may be worth the extra effort.
You can read the study at www.allenpress.com
I'm pretty sure the first time I heard of the Appalachian Trail was when I was in College at Carson-Newman. At C-N you are required to attend a certain amount of hours of chapel each semester. One of these chapels had a speaker by the name of Bill Irwin. It was a motivational speech on how anything you set your mind to can be accomplished. How you can live out your dreams and face obstacles in your life. Mr. Irwin related this to his Appalachian Trail thru hike. Now an AT thru hike is a pretty big accomplishment. What made his story so different was that he was the last to complete a thru hike in 1990. He was last by 3 and a half weeks. Irwin says, "I was last by a landslide." What made his hike so slow? What was the obstacle that made Bill Irwin's thru hike so difficult? Well, Bill Irwin is blind.
This man's story was the most memorable of the chapels I attended. His story I have always remembered. Today and article was released in the Charlotte Observer updating us on what Bill is doing today. Take a look at the article and see the challenges he faces today and how he is fighting and trying to overcome them.
The 140 foot Thundering Falls along the Appalachian Trail in Vermont has a new trail. What makes this trail so different is that it is wheelchair accessible. The Green Mountain Club and Vermont Youth Conservation Corps teamed together to help make this new route. Plans are for the Appalachian Trail to be moved into the woods so this might make it more enjoyable to AT hikers who are not fans of concrete/road walks. This is the first wheelchair trail in vermont.
Over 50 rescuers from the western Maine region came to the aid of 18 year old Ryan Coyner, a hiker who became dehydrate after hiking 10 miles on Saturday, July 15. Ryan reached the leanto Friday night feeling dehydrate and sick. The next morning his condition worsened so his father called for 911 for help. Once the medical crew arrived they gave the hiker and IV. The next morning he was able to walk back out with the rescuers.
The Morning Report posted on July 17 that there was a "rescue of serious injury" on June 28th. An 80 year old man was hiking on the Grotto Falls trail when he fell down an 80 foot "near vertical" embarkment. His daughter reported that he was walking around a large rock when the trail-edge broke away which caused his fall. The man slid feet first for about 15 feet, tumble over to head first and then landed on his back. When the rangers arrived they found the man lying on a large rock with laceration and abrasions all over his body. After about 20 minutes the man insisted on walking back. Once he hit the trailhead he was exhausted and was then carried out on a wheeled litter. The elderly man was sent to the University of Tennessee Trauma Center.
So todays lesson is... Be safe and prepared. Watch out not only for yourself, but for others.
Saddleback Mountain Rescue
0 Comments Published by Jerry Span on Thursday, July 13, 2006 at 2:29 PM.
A hiker was rescued off Maine's Saddleback Mountain yesterday (I believe yesterday, the date was not released in the article) after NorthStar EMS and Rangeley Fire department spent 11 hours on the rescue.
At 9:45 am a call was received by the rescue team that there was a hiker that had been sick and vomiting and unable to climb down the mountain. Carl Blondell and Jeremy O'Neil were the two paramedics assigned to hike to the victim. After four hours, making their way up the steep and rugged terrain through two thunderstorm, they reached the unidentified hiker. The "Hasty Team" then provided emergency care and informed base crew of his condition. Another rescue crew made it up the mountain a short while later and administered medication and fluids, which improved his condition enough to make it down the mountain to an ambulance.
The hiker is doing fine.
I always find it strange and erie when I've been walking in the woods for many miles and then come upon an old road. Well this story will only add to my unusual feelings.
On Friday, July 7 Maryland State Police found the remains of a man identified as Charles Lessner near the AT on an old road near Pen Mar. At this time there isn't much information released, however the investigators say that the bones seem to be several years old. Charles Lessner lost contact with his family in 1980, so the remains could be very old.
More then likely this isn't related to hikers of the AT, but it is still uncomforting to hear.
It's been four months since my last post... Can you believe it? I bet the hundreds of you who check this daily have been disappointed. Much has happened in my life, as well on the AT during that time. I am now living one mile from the trail and yet it seems harder to keep up with the news.
During the peak thru hiker season here at Fontana Dam, NC I met many Thru Hikers. I am working on putting a podcast together with the stories I heard from some of them.
One of the families I met, and am working on a podcast for, had an article in their local newspaper. Be sure to check it out..
