Some people are compelled to do things and go places nearly every waking moment of their lives - climb Mount McKinley, tour South America, raft the Colorado River. We have an acquaintance who felt compelled to run a marathon on each continent - even Antarctica. His scariest marathon, he said, was the one he ran in Africa. Armed guards were posted along the route to protect the runners from any wild animals that might decide to have them for lunch.
My eldest son, Derek, is getting ready to hike the Appalachian Trail. Next weekend, my husband will drive him down to Georgia where he will begin his long trek northward along the spiny back of the Appalachian Mountains to Maine - more than 2,100 miles! As a mother, I worry. Will he have enough to eat? Will he get hurt? Will he tangle with any bears? I can't let myself think about everything that might go wrong, else I will drive myself crazy. Yes, I wish I could protect my sons from every danger they encounter but, at the same time, I know those struggles make them stronger people, better equipped to deal with the bigger obstacles life hurls in their path
Every two weeks, Derek will be writing an article about his observations and adventures for Sayville's local newspaper, The Suffolk County News. He just had his first article published. It focused on the the history of the AT and his personal goals and expectations. I must say, he did a nice job! My sister, Vicky, has a degree in journalism and my dad worked as a reporter for The Manchester Guardian in England when he was young . Perhaps Derek, too, has the writing bug. At any rate, onward and upward. I'll keep an update on his long walk over the following months.
4 comments:
okay, that sounds really cool. Not sure it's something I'd want to do, but cool.
Try not to worry, Stella. I'm sure he'll be fine.
How old is he?
Wow- that is amazing! You'll have to post links to his articles if they're online~ I'd like to read them.
When I was about 16, my dad dropped three of my girlfriends and I off about 60 miles from our house. We spent the next several days on the Appalachian Train, wending our way home, sleeping in the lean-to's that we found along the way, swimming in pristine lakes and meeting members of a gang from the south Bronx who happened to have had the same idea...memorable? yes.
Meanwhile, there's a trailhead near my house (I used to do day hikes with the dog and the boys there) and Derek has a standing invite...a home-cooked meal for a traveling man!
Wow, Terry, I didn't know you lived so close to the trail. How nice of you to offer a meal. I will tell Derek but he's probably too shy to take you up on it. He's going to stop someplace at least once a week to take a hot shower but I'm not sure how good he will smell - or how human he will look. He's a little nervous about the whole thing. I told him to just take it one day at a time, one step at a time, and he'll eventually make it.
Linda, Derek is 23 but people from 8 to 83 have hiked it. He's been on lots of hikes with the Boy Scouts (he's an Eagle Scout). This is the first solo hike he'll be trying, although a few friends may be joining him here and there for a few days.
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