Julie walking the through fields. And we wonder how people get Lyme disease on the AT…
We’re getting off the trail tomorrow for a weeklong vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC with our family and as I lay here in the shelter tonight reminiscing on the first 68 days I have some major thanks to give out. Julie has already done this with her post “Our Support Crew” but much has happened since then and we can never give enough thanks for all the support we’ve received.
To start, the retired foot doctor, BJ Roberts in Findlay, OH has helped make this walk possible. A few weeks before the trail was to begin, I was limping around, unable to run. BJ was an old neighbor of ours and told me to come on over. He scared me first by saying my feet were so different we may have to amputate, but then he built some homemade inserts for my shoes that have helped me through the first 1640 miles. To top it off, he was thoughtful enough to follow all that up with a nice letter to us along the trail. Thank you BJ.
Rocket Cop is the Man! Do any of you know the Rocket Cop? If you don’t, you should because he is possibly one of the coolest people out there. Not only did he do the design work on this website but he and his wife, Jersey Jess, have been sending amazing care packages the entire trip. And these two are experienced hikers and know what we’re looking for out here. They have surprised us with Indian meals, homemade brownies, fudge, cookies, rice krispie treats, fresh oranges, stories, and much more. It’s been absolutely awesome to have them so involved in our adventure. Thank you RC and JJ.
We’ve received other amazing support including great care packages from the Von Holles: Frank, Phyllis, Anita, Laura, and Bob. We’ve had friends and my family come out to visit us on the trail too along with other thoughtful gifts from friends like Achilles and the Kummerers.
Steve Case needs to be thanked again. Not only for the lecture collection I have been able to listen to but also for everything he’s done to make this website happen. He pushed me to share our adventures with others and is continually bringing new ideas to us on how we can help get more people involved. He has also been a good friend to talk with on some of our evening commutes into shelters when our phone actually gets reception. Thanks Esteban.
The next batch of thanks has been more recent and really awesome. This is from all the recent emails we’ve received. Some have been from friends we’ve known, some from folks we’ve just met on the trail, and some from people we’ve never met before that are following our story. Thanks to our friend Keith, he is always a good guy to talk with he keeps us updated with emails and pictures of his girls. Gunther has been great with the emails telling us his ideas and giving us plenty more. My sister Emily has kept me up on her life and her family by sending long, thoughtful email updates too. Achilles has been there for support pushing Julie but also offering to be there if we need it. We’ve also received many other emails encouraging us to keep going and to keep adventuring and for all this we say Thank You.
To know that what we’re going through out here is reaching others and motivating them makes these adventures all the more special for me. This is my third thru hike and I’ve never even kept a journal. I decided this time to share the experience and as a result, I’m getting so much more out of this one because of it. Thank you all for all you’ve given me so far. I will continue to work hard to keep life exciting and I will also continue to keep encouraging you all to Enjoy Life.