Just stuff

Date(s):    6/18 to 7/18
Start:    Home
Waypoints: Home/Alaska/WV
End:     Home
Today's miles: endless
Total (cumulative) AT miles: still 60
Time:  blah


Wanted to blog about some non-AT happenings. I guess I'll start chronologically...


Parkside:  I love reading the blogs and message boards on the AT thru-hikers. I ran across some posts on the message board about a hiker named "Parkside" that tragically drowned in a pond in Maine on June 15. The official cause was drowning caused by muscle cramps. He was < 200 miles from finishing the AT. One of the posts had a link to a blog that his mother was maintaining. I checked it out, and she had pics and videos that her son Paul (Parkside) had sent her. Holy wow. Turns out Jen and I met him and his friend/hiking buddy Achilles back in April. We had seen them on that Friday evening at Big Meadows wayside eating dinner. I remembered them for two reasons: 1) they were probably the first NOBO thru-hikers we saw this spring, and 2) Parkside wore a orange bandana and a green shirt, which is one of my favorite color combinations. We ran into them the next day while climbing up Little Stony Man. I remembered them from the night before. I joked with them about how fast they were moving. Parkside seemed a little shy and reserved, and Achilles seemed very warm and sweet. It really hit home when I read that Parkside had drowned, and Achilles had tried desperately to save his life. I had taken a couple of pics, but deleted them because they were blurry. Wish I'd have kept them now. http://northbounder1.blogspot.com/


Alaska:  Jen and I went to visit Toni (aka, Pigeon) in Alaska for the 4th of July week. We were looking forward to just the three of us. Well...Linda was supposed to go, which we were happy about, but then she couldn't go, which we were sad about. Alaska was a blast!  We learned how to make fire several different ways, got schooled on identifying flowers, rode a bus 11 hours to Wonder Lake and back, saw the "big three" (and more) in Denali wildlife (bear, moose, wolves), spent a night in a trailer killing mosquitoes, stayed at a ski resort (very nice!), drove 2.5 miles through a mountain, got rained on, and witnessed a bore tide. We did a few other things too...but you get the idea.
It was while we were in Alaska that we learned our Great Uncle John had passed. We were so sad, and so far away.

Class of '82:  We had our 30 year high school reunion on 7/14. Saw some old friends, a couple of which it took me a minute to recognize! Guess some change more than others. I hope we can stay in touch, especially since we drifted apart rather quickly after our senior year. Well, not all drifted apart, but I drifted apart from virtually all of them. I think if it wasn't for Facebook, we wouldn't have been able to pull of a decent 30yr reunion.

Jules: Jules lost her mother just this past week. That must be the most devastating news she ever got in her life. It just breaks my heart.