More Notes from the Trail

Note from Dad...

"He is NOT goofing off in Erwin for a few days, he is there for medical reasons."

He wants to make sure people understand he's not "playing" :)  Long story short... as many of you know, Dad has had open heart surgery.  Therefore, he is on a blood thinner.  He has his blood checked to make sure these levels are okay... well, they were low this week in Erwin when he had his blood taken.  So, he has to stay in Erwin until Monday when they can retake them and talk to his doctor.  Then, he will be marching on....

On that note, Dad's "revised" goal is to get the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC.  As many of you know, some of his buddies went to Vietnam and he comes from (and still is) a strong military family.  It is very important to him to visit DC.

From there, he will decide if he wants to continue to Maine.  What makes him nervous (and us!) is the portion north of Pennsylvania and New York: it is extremely rocky and you essentially climb using your hands and knees.  He cannot afford to fall and cut himself because of the blood thinner.  So, he is going to have to do some thinking... :)

On some other notes...

JUST JIM is Dad's hiking partner.  They met about a week ago on the trail and have hiked together since.  He is a nuclear engineer power plant builder (whew!) from Pennsylvania and is 60 years old.  He has been working on the trail for a couple of years and is a "section hiker".  I am super excited about this as Dad seems to enjoy the company.

* They ("Gary" and "Just Jim") will soon be headed to Damascus, Virginia (100 miles from their current location) for Trail Days-- google this!  It looks AWESOME, as it applauds Appalachian Hikers.  I cannot wait to see photos!!

* One of the toughest points so far seems to be Big Firescald Knob--- I have attached a photo below that I borrowed from google.  It is all rock and straight up.  Whew!!

* New photos (since he has some service!)---- please read the captions, as they are "his words". :)

Big firescald Knob

listed as a "cascade" helps hikers determine their mileage

"Just Jim"

Christmas Tree Farm

Site of an uncle and nephew from Madison, Nc who fought for the Union and were on the way home for a family event- were ambushed by Confederate troops near this spot...

(wow....)

Remains on the AT of an old log cabin- another one near it.