These individuals graciously donated to my Guatemalan Cooking and Nutrition Program:
Carolyn Bittick
Judy Pettigrew
Cary Bittick
Janice Veal
Patti Fishburne
Lena Bittick
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Back in Action - June 27 - August 26, 2013
HOPEFULLY my "foot' is healed (after 6 weeks) because I plan to finish what I started "2 months" ago on 3/20/13.
Headed to Atlanta today with Ms. Janice and mom to connect me with my good friend, Andrea. She will help me meet my bus at 7 AM tomorrow and on to Washington DC via bus where I will stay with the Walton's for a day; Mrs. Peg will give me a ride to Harpers Ferry WV (the psychological halfway point). I will be "skipping" about 400 miles of VA and returning after I have completed the remainder of the trail. I worried that if I started back in Pearisburg VA (where I left off) I would not finish before it snows up north. I will still be a thru-hiker (flip-flopper) if I hike the trail in one year. Although a little anxious about returning I bet that once I get my pack on I'll feel right at home :)
6/28/13: So much for plans!!! Apparently hiking to Va. was easier than taking the mega-bus to DC....for it took 23.5 hrs (had bus failure with 4 hrs. on side of road, missed connection in Charlotte, AWFUL customer service).
6/29/13: BUT despite their best efforts, I made it to my destination! Big thanks to "Ms. Peg" for delivering me back on AT at Harpers Ferry!
The staff at ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) in Harpers Ferry was the nicest and most concerned people about my whole situation of having to leave the trail for 6 long weeks to recuperate. Thank you for showing that you cared! Most of Harpers Ferry is a tourist town due to the history it played during the War Between the States. I spent a zero day there before resuming my trek.
My first day back hiking was "ruff" although my toe did pretty well. My feet hurt, starting over again to get my trail legs back, and it is soooo hot; at night I sleep on top of sleeping bag (feels like 80 degrees at night) and sweat profusely. If you camped outside the tent the mosquitoes and bugs would literally carry you off.
7/3/13: In Maryland today and will soon cross the Mason-Dixon line.
7/6/13: Shaky legs, bad back and bloody feet---summer hiking is a "whole nother animal!"
7/8/13: Just crossed the Mason-Dixon line (into Yankee territory for the first time) and not even 30 minutes later my bag was robbed! Soooo very thankful for the good in the midst of bad because it wasn't my "cards," camera or money "taken without permission" from my back-pack 'not allowed inside' (minding its own business in front of Dollar Store); but it was phone charger, connector for camera, ibuprofen esp. for my foot, etc. which I can replace with temporary discomfort. Later I had second thoughts on this subject and wonder if this episode may have happened a little earlier when my bag lay at top of hill while I went for water down the hill. At least we had great Trail Magic last night and now headed for Duncannon, PA by Sat. for the hiker feed----"I will hike for food" is my motto.
7/12/13: Passed half-way point (1100 miles) today! Who-hoo!
7/28/13: NJ has been rocky but beautiful trail views and pleasant weather. I love the abundant wild life and saw my first bear on the trail today.
8/2/13: "Lemon Squeeze" in NY state.
8/3/13: 34 miles from NYC.
8/4/13: Train-ride away from the "Big Apple."
8/5-8/7/13: In NY.
8/11/13: AT hiker, Caitlyn Cleary, said "Rainbow Bright" literally RAN for a sandwich" today. OK! I admit it, I am not "swift" but I get there!
8/14/13: In CT.
8/23/13: At VT border discussing a flip flop--VT, NH, Me, (some of PA/VA) left to do. I (we) are worried about time and winter weather. I've completed Nobo (Northbound) GA, NC, TN, W.VA, NJ, MD, CT, MA &NY (over 1100 miles). Comment from Baby Ruth back in NC regarding weather, "True! I almost died in W. Hartford, VT during Hurricane Irene!"
8/26/13: Decision made to"Flip." Hitched a ride to NH and heading North! Then---- on my return South, I'll do VT, and the missed parts of PA/VA. I might finish the AT the beginning of November.
Headed to Atlanta today with Ms. Janice and mom to connect me with my good friend, Andrea. She will help me meet my bus at 7 AM tomorrow and on to Washington DC via bus where I will stay with the Walton's for a day; Mrs. Peg will give me a ride to Harpers Ferry WV (the psychological halfway point). I will be "skipping" about 400 miles of VA and returning after I have completed the remainder of the trail. I worried that if I started back in Pearisburg VA (where I left off) I would not finish before it snows up north. I will still be a thru-hiker (flip-flopper) if I hike the trail in one year. Although a little anxious about returning I bet that once I get my pack on I'll feel right at home :)
6/28/13: So much for plans!!! Apparently hiking to Va. was easier than taking the mega-bus to DC....for it took 23.5 hrs (had bus failure with 4 hrs. on side of road, missed connection in Charlotte, AWFUL customer service).
6/29/13: BUT despite their best efforts, I made it to my destination! Big thanks to "Ms. Peg" for delivering me back on AT at Harpers Ferry!
The staff at ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) in Harpers Ferry was the nicest and most concerned people about my whole situation of having to leave the trail for 6 long weeks to recuperate. Thank you for showing that you cared! Most of Harpers Ferry is a tourist town due to the history it played during the War Between the States. I spent a zero day there before resuming my trek.
My first day back hiking was "ruff" although my toe did pretty well. My feet hurt, starting over again to get my trail legs back, and it is soooo hot; at night I sleep on top of sleeping bag (feels like 80 degrees at night) and sweat profusely. If you camped outside the tent the mosquitoes and bugs would literally carry you off.
7/3/13: In Maryland today and will soon cross the Mason-Dixon line.
7/6/13: Shaky legs, bad back and bloody feet---summer hiking is a "whole nother animal!"
7/8/13: Just crossed the Mason-Dixon line (into Yankee territory for the first time) and not even 30 minutes later my bag was robbed! Soooo very thankful for the good in the midst of bad because it wasn't my "cards," camera or money "taken without permission" from my back-pack 'not allowed inside' (minding its own business in front of Dollar Store); but it was phone charger, connector for camera, ibuprofen esp. for my foot, etc. which I can replace with temporary discomfort. Later I had second thoughts on this subject and wonder if this episode may have happened a little earlier when my bag lay at top of hill while I went for water down the hill. At least we had great Trail Magic last night and now headed for Duncannon, PA by Sat. for the hiker feed----"I will hike for food" is my motto.
7/12/13: Passed half-way point (1100 miles) today! Who-hoo!
7/28/13: NJ has been rocky but beautiful trail views and pleasant weather. I love the abundant wild life and saw my first bear on the trail today.
8/2/13: "Lemon Squeeze" in NY state.
8/3/13: 34 miles from NYC.
8/4/13: Train-ride away from the "Big Apple."
8/5-8/7/13: In NY.
8/11/13: AT hiker, Caitlyn Cleary, said "Rainbow Bright" literally RAN for a sandwich" today. OK! I admit it, I am not "swift" but I get there!
8/14/13: In CT.
8/23/13: At VT border discussing a flip flop--VT, NH, Me, (some of PA/VA) left to do. I (we) are worried about time and winter weather. I've completed Nobo (Northbound) GA, NC, TN, W.VA, NJ, MD, CT, MA &NY (over 1100 miles). Comment from Baby Ruth back in NC regarding weather, "True! I almost died in W. Hartford, VT during Hurricane Irene!"
8/26/13: Decision made to"Flip." Hitched a ride to NH and heading North! Then---- on my return South, I'll do VT, and the missed parts of PA/VA. I might finish the AT the beginning of November.
News Article Covering the Parade Accident
Up to 60 injured after car drives into Va. parade
By DEBRA McCOWN
— May. 18 8:55 PM EDT
· 
Emergency personnel respond to one of the people hit by a car, at right, during the beginning of the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Witnesses said the car drove into a crowd at the parade and hurt several people, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately known. (AP Photo/Bristol Herald Courier, Earl Neikirk)
· 
Hiker "Quinoa" talks about being given credit for saving the lives of Carson Balckburn, Dalton Thomason, and Faith Ritchie after he ran them and others off the road with a water gun during a festival parade in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Just as the children ran off the street, a car came down the road and struck several people. (AP Photo/Bristol Herald Courier, Earl Neikirk)
· 
People attend to a victim who was hit by a car during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Witnesses said the car drove into a crowd at the parade and hurt several people, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately known. (AP Photo/Republican-American, Bill O'Brien)
· 
People attend to a victim who was hit by a car during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival in Damascus, Va., Saturday, May 18, 2013. Witnesses said the car drove into a crowd at the parade and hurt several people, but the nature of their injuries wasn't immediately known. (AP Photo/Republican-American, Bill O'Brien)
DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) — An elderly driver plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a Saturday parade in a small Virginia mountain town and investigators were looking into whether he suffered a medical emergency before the accident.
About 50 to 60 people suffered injuries ranging from critical to superficial, but no fatalities were reported. Three of the worst injured were flown by helicopter to area hospitals. Their conditions weren't immediately available.
Another 12 to 15 victims were taken to hospitals by ambulance and the rest were treated at the scene, where some paramedics and other first-responders were participating in the parade.
It happened around 2:10 p.m. during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line about a half-hour drive east of Bristol.
Damascus Police Chief Bill Nunley didn't release the driver's name or age but said he was participating in the parade and he had traversed the Appalachian Trail in the past. Multiple witnesses described him as an elderly man.
Nunley said the man's 1997 Cadillac was one of the last vehicles in the parade and the driver might have suffered an unspecified medical problem when his car accelerated to about 25 mph and struck the crowd on a two-lane bridge along the town's main road. The driver was among those taken to hospitals.
"It is under investigation and charges may be placed," Nunley said.
Witnesses said the car had a handicapped parking sticker and it went more than 100 feet before coming to a stop.
"He was hitting hikers," said Vickie Harmon, a witness from Damascus. "I saw hikers just go everywhere."
Amanda Puckett, who was watching the parade with her children, ran to the car, where she and others lifted the car off those pinned underneath.
"Everybody just threw our hands up on the car and we just lifted the car up," she said.
Keith Neumann, a hiker from South Carolina, said he was part of the group that scrambled around the car. They pushed the car backward to free a woman trapped underneath and lifted it off the ground to make sure no one else was trapped.
"There's no single heroes. We're talking about a group effort of everybody jumping in," he said.
Nunley cited quick action by police, firefighters, paramedics and hikers to tend to the victims, including a volunteer firefighter who dove into the car to turn off the ignition. The firefighter, whose name wasn't released, suffered minor injuries.
Mayor Jack McCrady encouraged people to attend the festival on Sunday, its final day.
"In 27 years of this, we've never had anything of this magnitude, and is it our job to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.
McCrady said a donation fund was being set up to assist the injured, some of whom don't have medical insurance.
"We want to make sure they don't suffer any greater loss than they already have," he said.
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Cadillacs, Crutches and Contemplations
While hiking the Appalachian Trail, I was:
A. Eaten by a bear
B. Bitten by a snake
C. Kidnapped by a crazy hiker
D. Stalked by a cougar
E. Struck by lightening
F. Run over by a car
Wellll, if you guessed the most unlikely #F, you're on target.
I, and my friends, were walking across the bridge in Damascus for the Trail Days parade and due to screams from behind us, I turned just in time to see a car knock me down on pavement. Then before I knew it, a 97 Cadillac was moving over my body. My adrenalin suddenly went into overtime and even though confused I flung my arms in mid air trying to grab anything I could to keep my head from going underneath ...everything below my armpits were already under the moving vehicle. I was so scared, screaming to high heavens. I could feel what I thought were the car's wheels beginning to actually run over my lower body while I was trying my best to push off the ground with my feet and pull up with my hands, thus, sparing some of the road rash.
Major thanks goes to the approximately 30 parade participants (other hikers) who came forward in front of the car and blocked it, pushing to stop its movement. Meanwhile a friend (Cleveland) jumped in the front to cut the ignition off and another friend in the back to reach over seat and put gear in park. The elderly 87 yr.old driver sat in sort of a daze (I think type of seizure) not acknowledging he had just plowed through a group of pedestrians. It began by him speeding into the back of the parade around 35 MPH glancing off several cars (which slowed him down somewhat) and hitting several people who had to be helicoptered out due to their serious injuries before reaching us at a slower speed. My friend, Willow, who was walking right beside me, was thrown on top of the car when I went underneath. The x-ray at the ER revealed I have my right little toe broken in 3 pieces. I feel very fortunate and even now don't really know how it turned out the way it did.
First week at home was a feeling of suffocation and cabin fever....I missed the wide-open spaces of my trail life from the past 8 1/2 weeks and although I knew I was more lucky to be alive and well, I still had a twinge of resentment for this untimely interruption of being "robbed" of my quest to Maine.
However, at this point let me say that I intend this to be a temporary delay!
Besides seeing friends and loved ones I have been able to rethink my "food bag" (which, if anyone knows me realizes it is highly important to me)! With my supervision more than help, mom has dehydrated and prepared a plethora of delicious and healthy foods such as dehydrated fruits, (including blackberry, fig, strawberry and banana fruit leather), beef jerky, vegetables and even whole meals of veggies and couscous for when I get back on the trail.
Also, I was surprised and delighted to be contacted by Mr. Espy (originally from Cordelle but currently
in Macon, GA), the 2nd person to hike the entire AT back in 1951. He was in the parade at Trail Days (at the beginning riding in a car and did not actually see me or the wreck). He wanted to meet and talk in person, so we met for lunch with his wife and my dad. Mr Espy has written a book about his experiences and other amazing adventures he's had throughout his life. He generously gave me a signed copy of his book titled "The Trail of My Life: The Gene Espy Story" which I look forward to reading!
A. Eaten by a bear
B. Bitten by a snake
C. Kidnapped by a crazy hiker
D. Stalked by a cougar
E. Struck by lightening
F. Run over by a car
Wellll, if you guessed the most unlikely #F, you're on target.
I, and my friends, were walking across the bridge in Damascus for the Trail Days parade and due to screams from behind us, I turned just in time to see a car knock me down on pavement. Then before I knew it, a 97 Cadillac was moving over my body. My adrenalin suddenly went into overtime and even though confused I flung my arms in mid air trying to grab anything I could to keep my head from going underneath ...everything below my armpits were already under the moving vehicle. I was so scared, screaming to high heavens. I could feel what I thought were the car's wheels beginning to actually run over my lower body while I was trying my best to push off the ground with my feet and pull up with my hands, thus, sparing some of the road rash.
Major thanks goes to the approximately 30 parade participants (other hikers) who came forward in front of the car and blocked it, pushing to stop its movement. Meanwhile a friend (Cleveland) jumped in the front to cut the ignition off and another friend in the back to reach over seat and put gear in park. The elderly 87 yr.old driver sat in sort of a daze (I think type of seizure) not acknowledging he had just plowed through a group of pedestrians. It began by him speeding into the back of the parade around 35 MPH glancing off several cars (which slowed him down somewhat) and hitting several people who had to be helicoptered out due to their serious injuries before reaching us at a slower speed. My friend, Willow, who was walking right beside me, was thrown on top of the car when I went underneath. The x-ray at the ER revealed I have my right little toe broken in 3 pieces. I feel very fortunate and even now don't really know how it turned out the way it did.
First week at home was a feeling of suffocation and cabin fever....I missed the wide-open spaces of my trail life from the past 8 1/2 weeks and although I knew I was more lucky to be alive and well, I still had a twinge of resentment for this untimely interruption of being "robbed" of my quest to Maine.
However, at this point let me say that I intend this to be a temporary delay!
Besides seeing friends and loved ones I have been able to rethink my "food bag" (which, if anyone knows me realizes it is highly important to me)! With my supervision more than help, mom has dehydrated and prepared a plethora of delicious and healthy foods such as dehydrated fruits, (including blackberry, fig, strawberry and banana fruit leather), beef jerky, vegetables and even whole meals of veggies and couscous for when I get back on the trail.
Also, I was surprised and delighted to be contacted by Mr. Espy (originally from Cordelle but currently
in Macon, GA), the 2nd person to hike the entire AT back in 1951. He was in the parade at Trail Days (at the beginning riding in a car and did not actually see me or the wreck). He wanted to meet and talk in person, so we met for lunch with his wife and my dad. Mr Espy has written a book about his experiences and other amazing adventures he's had throughout his life. He generously gave me a signed copy of his book titled "The Trail of My Life: The Gene Espy Story" which I look forward to reading!
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