The Home Stretch
I can hardly believe it! Lyle will be starting mile 975 tommorw and will finish up in Harpers Ferry on Sunday afternoon. He can't think of a better day to end his journey than Father's Day. It will be a day to remember for him and the rest of us!
Lyle and Plugger have been slack packing the past two days. Slack packing is carrying a day pack with just enough supplies for the day. Lyle has some very dear and considerate friends near the Trail that picked him and Plugger up Wednesday evening. They are staying with the Hetherman's evenings and then they take Lyle and Plugger to the trail each morning and pick them up at the end of the day too! This is how they are finishing up the 50+ miles of the Trail into Harpers Ferry--one day at a time.
What a joy it is to return to a house, a bed, a cocktail and a hot meal! It is making the last section a real treat. This section of the Trail has been challenging, with tomorrow being the most difficult day. And it's been hot and humid so the day packs have made the difference between a pleasant finish and a miserable time.
Lyle and Plugger will finish up in Harpers Ferry Sunday afternoon. The Hetherman's will drop them off in the morning and then when they are done hiking they will go back to the house in Plugger's truck. The truck was "hopped" to Harpers Ferry by some other hikers a few weeks ago. That way they can finish up the hike on Sunday, and then go back to the AT Conference office on Monday and get their picture taken and sign in without being in a rush. Then Plugger will head home in his truck and Lyle will hop the Amtrak in the afternoon. He will be home in Appleton on Tuesday evening.
Lyle can't believe how different Shanandoah Park is when you hike it rather than driving through it on Skyline Drive. It's beautiful and it's the first time on the Trail that he saw bears. He saw two bears, but as soon as they saw him they took off in the other direction. I'm hoping he was able to get a picture or two.
Lyle has lost 20+ pounds on the hike. This is an okay thing for him but it had a drastic impact on another hiker. The hiker walked into a store that Lyle was in and sat down. Then a few more from his party came in and they realized the fella was "out of it" when he wouldn't respond and his eyes were glazed over. They couldn't really wake him up so they called 911. It seems that his blood pressure medication was too strong because he had lost over 40 pounds but hadn't re-adjusted his medication. The EMT's said it was a good thing it happened in town and not out on the trail because he may not have made it. I'm not sure many people on meds would think about this when getting through each day consumes most of the brain power!
1,009 miles in 3 months....what an adventure!
Lyle and Plugger have been slack packing the past two days. Slack packing is carrying a day pack with just enough supplies for the day. Lyle has some very dear and considerate friends near the Trail that picked him and Plugger up Wednesday evening. They are staying with the Hetherman's evenings and then they take Lyle and Plugger to the trail each morning and pick them up at the end of the day too! This is how they are finishing up the 50+ miles of the Trail into Harpers Ferry--one day at a time.
What a joy it is to return to a house, a bed, a cocktail and a hot meal! It is making the last section a real treat. This section of the Trail has been challenging, with tomorrow being the most difficult day. And it's been hot and humid so the day packs have made the difference between a pleasant finish and a miserable time.
Lyle and Plugger will finish up in Harpers Ferry Sunday afternoon. The Hetherman's will drop them off in the morning and then when they are done hiking they will go back to the house in Plugger's truck. The truck was "hopped" to Harpers Ferry by some other hikers a few weeks ago. That way they can finish up the hike on Sunday, and then go back to the AT Conference office on Monday and get their picture taken and sign in without being in a rush. Then Plugger will head home in his truck and Lyle will hop the Amtrak in the afternoon. He will be home in Appleton on Tuesday evening.
Lyle can't believe how different Shanandoah Park is when you hike it rather than driving through it on Skyline Drive. It's beautiful and it's the first time on the Trail that he saw bears. He saw two bears, but as soon as they saw him they took off in the other direction. I'm hoping he was able to get a picture or two.
Lyle has lost 20+ pounds on the hike. This is an okay thing for him but it had a drastic impact on another hiker. The hiker walked into a store that Lyle was in and sat down. Then a few more from his party came in and they realized the fella was "out of it" when he wouldn't respond and his eyes were glazed over. They couldn't really wake him up so they called 911. It seems that his blood pressure medication was too strong because he had lost over 40 pounds but hadn't re-adjusted his medication. The EMT's said it was a good thing it happened in town and not out on the trail because he may not have made it. I'm not sure many people on meds would think about this when getting through each day consumes most of the brain power!
1,009 miles in 3 months....what an adventure!
posted by Trail Widow | 7:04 PM
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