Last week I celebrated my 56th birthday.  Yippee!  Don’t really get into birthdays that much anymore, but I’m just really glad I’m still alive, healthy, and blessed at my age.  I notice more and more people my age or even younger in the obituaries these days, which means I’m getting older.  I’m a grandparent now.  While it’s been great raising kids, with all the stuff that goes with that, I’m looking forward to a new phase in life.

Many guys at my age are busy planning their retirement, building their 401-K’s, and enjoying the “raise” they seem to have recieved after sending their last child into the adult world or college.  As I pondered my next phase last summer, I decided to try something challenging, risky, and maybe a little crazy in thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail.   I wanted to do this while I could still physically do it.  It will still be a challenge though, as I won’t see too many people older than I on the trail this summer and fall.  We’re not guaranteed another to live until the normal retirement age of 65 or so, or even until next week for that matter.  So I’m going for it while I still can.

Last week, my youngest son Luke and I drove to Stillwater to purchase my new backpack and someother gear from Stillwater Summit.  It’s owned by a young entreprenuer, Brady Moore, whom I share mutual friends with.  I always like to support the local guys, rather than the big chain groups.    Brady was very helpful with recommendations on some of the new gear, which has improved greatly compared to my earlier days of backpacking.   My goal is to go out on a few local overnight trips to check out my gear, and my legs.   Good gear is a key to success on the AT, so I’m going with the best I can buy.

Another important part in completing my journey is good preparation.  I’m developing my plan, as to miles walked per day, where I’ll stay at, when I’ll re-supply, etc.  I’m trying to devote more time to physical preparation, by increasing my workout routine, walking and running more, and gaining endurance.  The AT will eat me alive if I’m not ready, as it does most people.  85% of those who start out hiking the AT, on the intent of thru-hiking the entire trail, don’t make it to the end.  Many don’t even make it out of Georgia, the first state.  At my age, with a bad left hip, and with only 4 months to do this in (18 miles/day average), my odds are at about 10% in completing this by Oct. 1st.   That’s OK.  I like a challenge.  It’ll motivate me all the more to finish it.

A big motivator for me though is the $100,000 that we are raising for local charities through the AT2010 compassionate journey.  As I’m hiking the AT, I’ll be thinking of alot of people whom we’re helping.  For example, the kids at The Little Lighthouse in Tulsa.  Some of them can hardly walk at all, due to physical problems from birth.  I’m walking in part for them, as they need some compassion, which is  served out graciously by the great folks at The Little Lighthouse.  LawnAmerica has supported this organization for many years, as they do a great job in serving the needs of these special kids and their families in the Tulsa area.

The older I get, the more I realize how blessed most of us really are, and that it really is more blessed to give than to recieve.    We live in a great country, in a great state, in a great community.  We have the freedom and the resources  to do things, like start a business, worship our God, work, have a family, own a house, or even hike the Appalachian Trail.  There are lots of folks though right here in our community who need a little compassion–some help, resources, a spiritual base, a job, or maybe a roof over their head.  So join me, by suporting the Little Lighthouse, or one of the other four non-profits that are benefactors of the AT2010 compassionate journey.  My company, LawnAmerica, is matching every donation dollar for dollar, so your gift will double towards helping those in need.

We’re starting to get some press coverage, with more and more folks finding out about AT2010 and wanting to find out more.  Last week, KRMG and Star103 radio stations played a 15-minute interview with me about my jouney.  One of our sponsors, News on 8, interviewed me on their morning show.  I must admit, I’d never even seen it, as I’m always busy working at 9:30 in the morning.  They were great folks and I’ll be doing that again in the future.  And I’ll be speaking to some groups soon about my journey, telling others what this deal is all about.

You can hear my radio interview with KRMG by pressing play below.

Tags: Appalachian Trail, AT2010, backpacking, KRMG, KTUL, Little Lighthouse, News on 8., non-profits

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at 2:50 pm and is filed under AT2010, Charity, Pre-hike Planning, Tulsa Charity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.