A journey of many steps can be an arduous affair. It will teach many
things. One of those things is that we are all connected to others and
those connections are vital. Something easily taken for granted in the
civilized world has its importance magnified out on the trail. Whether
planned from the beginning or unexepected bursts of a stranger's kindness
(otherwise known as "trail magic"), support from others provides
an important crux to the pilgrimage.
There are a few people who stand out above others. First and foremost
are the home support crew: Dean Pierce and Liz Gander Pierce.
Knowing my best friend from Vermont days and his wife were behind me
provided the extra confidence to accommodate mid-stream plan changes.
Throughout all seventeen maildrops and some added, unscheduled ones,
they were solid.
In chronological order, I would like to thank all these individuals
and organizations for their part in making my dream a reality:
| Dean Pierce and Liz Gander Pierce |
|
| Eric and Lola Luce |
|
| Anne Hoover |
for driving me down to Bennington on the eve of my hike |
| Charley and Barb Hine |
for hosting me one night and repairing my pack, as well as placing
me at the starting line (Mass Pike) |
| Bill Carroll |
for sending me off at the start with Charley |
| Leonard Webber, owner of the Hayloft Art Gallery |
for taking the responsibility of getting the stray dog back to
his owner |
| Robert Donning |
for maintaining Wiley Shelter and, after meeting me, coming back
with Coleman fuel and morale support |
| Don Cleverly |
for helping me off and get me back on the trail in NY after my
foot injury |
| Scanner, my brother |
for putting me up over a week’s time so that I could heal and
catch up on his Sandman and anime collections |
| Brother Jerry and the Greymoor Monastery |
for putting up this pilgrim on a stormy night |
| Reverend Karen Nichols and Marian |
for putting up a lone thru-hiker at the hiker hostel during off-thru-hiker
season |
| Russell Luce, my father |
for getting me off the trail, helping my foot re-injury to recuperate,
and getting me back on the trail in PA |
| Dave and Aileen Curfman |
for buying that Lipton dinner for me so I could spend an extra
day recuperating at 501 Shelter |
| Smith Edwards |
for some 75-cent drafts at Doyle's (in absentia) |
| Dave and Bonnie Brown |
for getting me on and off the trail in PA while hosting a graduation
party |
| Syd's Kids and parental units |
for that fantastic lunch on the Conference Headquarters lawn (roast
turkey, lasagna, salad, cranberry, and congo bars, yum…) |
| Merrell Boot and their employee, Kirk |
for sending replacement gore-tex hiking boots to Harpers Ferry
that I wore all the way to Pearisburg while Merrell repaired my
Wilderness boots |
| Noel DeCavalcante, ATC staffer |
for helping me out in Harpers Ferry during a memorable town visit |
| Cindy |
for the cold beer at Bear Den Rocks |
| Rich |
for the gorp given at Pass Mountain Hut and Blackrock Hut |
| Walt and Merlin |
for the whole wheat muffin sandwich, water, and cold Pepsi |
| Kelty |
for properly replacing my shoulder and hip straps in Waynesboro,
VA |
| “Joe” |
for two days of slackpacking and great days in the sun |
| Kelty |
for promptly replacing in a little over 24 hours a damaged pack
frame at Hamm’s on US 60 |
| Rob & Jim, from Ohio |
for the PB&J sandwich on the way to Bobblett's Gap |
| Chico, the BMW biker, also from Ohio |
for a cold beer at the end of a long, hot day |
| Bruce, the manager of the Best Western hotel in Cloverdale |
for helping me locate for purchase a replacement camera |
| High Pockets and Tillie Wood |
for making me feel at home at Woodshole hostel, for one of the
best pancake breakfasts on the trail, and for rescuing Old Smoothie
at Doc’s Knob Shelter so he could be part of the southern hospitality
as well |
| Lisa Hughes |
for sending that GMC headband to Damascus and other morale support |
| Ken Huggins |
for playing a pivotal role in my re-scripted hike, for hiking
along a couple of days and getting me on the train to New England |
| Scanner |
for once again putting me up as I readied for the stretch to Katahdin |
| Gene Halbrooks |
for moral support and ride back to the trailhead at the Mass Pike |
| Ruth Nussbaum |
for those fabulous chocolate chip cookies |
| The owner of Bella Donna Pizza |
for the best pizza on the trail, as well as urging me to take
my leftovers up Greylock (a fortunate choice in the end) |
| Kris Luce |
for providing moral support while hiking along for a few days |
| Anne Hoover |
for inviting me to a GMC picnic |
| Smith Edwards |
for that cold Saturday night beer, providing moral support from
Rocky Branch Shelter to Hanover, NH, an unexpected slackpack of
a mile or so, and lending me his therm-a-rest stuff sack for the
rest of my hike (remember, Smith, that sack has hiked more miles
than you...) |
| Chris Dorion |
for attempting to meet up with me by random at Hanover, NH (missed
him by a matter of a single day). The on-the-trail note was a neat
surprise! |
| Sue Johnston |
for those two fabulous slackpacks in the Whites, the associated
transportation and putting me up for a night |
| Mizpah Springs Hut Croo |
for putting me up one night in exchange for light work |
| Don Cleverly |
for meeting up with me near Gorham and some more trail companionship |
| Gene Halbrooks |
for the best trail magic shock of my life, meeting me on Bemis
Mountain and helping me resupply at Oquossoc |
| Six day-hikers met at Sabbath Day Pond |
for the big turkey sandwich, four apples and some gorp |
| Phil Pepin |
for support and allowing me the opportunity to volunteer caretake
at Bigelow Col |
| Larry Coury, Gene Halbrooks, and Reza Khorshidi |
for the greatest Wimp Hiker Male Bonding weekend of them all |
| Harrison Camps |
for the best pancake breakfast on the trail |
| Mr. & Mrs. Beane |
for opening up the Caratunk Post Office on a Sunday |
| Amie Luce Miller |
for those fantastic mini-banana muffins mailed to me fresh at
Caratunk |
| Kelty |
for the great customer service and prompt replacement of hip strap
in Monson |
| Gene Halbrooks |
for meeting me at Katahdin and bringing me back to Boston, setting
me up for the final leg of the journey |
| Guyon and Jeanne Phillips |
for putting me up one night near Greenville, NC and getting me
back on track to Roan High Knob |
| Charles Waddle |
for that hearty country ham biscuit on Big Butt |
| Marty and John |
for providing a ride into Hot Springs, NC when I was sick and
in dire need of rest off the trail |
| Avery Lewis and her family |
for putting me up a couple of nights while I recuperated from
illness |
| Family in van at Newfound Gap |
for providing a ride down to Gatlinburg, TN in the midst of a
snow storm in the Smokies |
| Joanne Laurin |
for some delicioius goodies via Fontana Dam maildrop |
| Cassandra and Beverly |
for the ride back to Fontana Dam Shelter after picking up my maildrop |
| Kelty |
for the second replacement of the shoulder straps at Walasi-Yi
Center |
| Lamar Mann |
for bringing my sister up to USFS 42 to meet me for the final
part of the trail |
| Amie Luce |
for sharing the conclusion of the dream and making it even that
more special |