Smoky Scout's Hiking Adventures: Heading West

Friday, July 24, 2009

Heading West

Leaving early tomorrow morning on our trip to the Grand Tetons. Trail reports show that we will be hiking in snow! Why am I so nervous? Maybe because Jeff is sending me YouTube videos of how to self-arrest with an ice axe...

2 comments:

boyandgirlscoutsdotcom said...: EEK! Stay safe!; July 30, 2009 at 2:20 AM
Anonymous said...: You'll have a great time!!
I practiced self-arrest with an ice axe when I lived in New Zealand. I got the rhythm down pat when I knew I had to self-arrest. But if I was taken by surprise, I don't think I would have been able to do the moves.
Have fun and tell us all about it.
Danny
www.hikertohiker.com; August 3, 2009 at 10:15 AM

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Smoky Scout's Hiking Adventures

How do you handle a midlife crisis? I chose to head mine off at the pass. As my 50^th birthday and the empty nest of my last child leaving for college approached, I set a huge goal for myself of hiking all the trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park – in one year. I am very proud to say that I accomplished my goal, walking 1,075 miles between April 11, 2008 and April 11, 2009. While completing the challenge in itself was rewarding, the process led to new friendships, new skills (including blogging) and a new sense of self.

Now I’m a dayhiker and backpacker rambling around the mountains of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia…and occasionally venturing much farther. I’ve got a lot of good years left, a lot of new trails to travel, and I plan to die with my hiking boots on.

Thank you, Donors to the Great Smoky Mountains Girl Scout Challenge!

Eileen & James Alexander
Suzanne Bahr
Danny & Lenny Bernstein
Daniel Binford
Teresa Blackwelder-Taber
Stacie & Dan Bullard
Andrew Butler
Cathy Campbell
Betty & Tim Chambers
Leida Cruz & Carlos Rodriguez
Ellen Dale*
Sally & Michael Daley
Mike Davis
Jane Dennis**
Dan De Setto
Tom & Betty Dietz
Janis Dorsey
Doug Foreman
Don Gardner
GS Troop 3501
Mary Hall
Mary Anne Hogue
Glenn & Diana Horne
Carol Horowitz
Terry Irvin
Karen Lattimore
Ilia Lively
Terry Long
Kelly & Kathy Lord
Joy Malone
Anne Marie McCarthy
Bill & Caroline McCarthy
David & Melinda McCarthy
Kevin & Carolyn McCarthy
Megan McCarthy
Tony McCluney
Glenn & Terry McCorkle
Karen McCraw
Cindy & Greg McKenzie
Tony & Donna McKenzie
Colin & Mary McKinney
Marcia Newton
Paul Ries
Taryn Rimland
"Secret Santa"
Holly Scheppegrell
Susan Schultze
Jill Sisskind
Marsha Smith
Charles & Ellen Snodgrass
Lora Stone*
Leslie Toney
Suzi Thornberry

Lynn Wilkerson
Kelly Yale

*in memory of L.F. Arrington
**in memory of L.F. Arrington & A.T. Arrington

Bank of America
ExxonMobile Foundation

Shout Out to my Hiking Buddies

Walking Miles For Girl Scouts

I hiked all the trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in one year as a personal challenge and to raise funds for outdoor programs for Girl Scouts in North Carolina. There are over 800 miles of trails and I walked over 1,000 miles to cover them all! Over $4,000 was donated to my local council, Girl Scouts, Hornets' Nest Council.

Kids need to get outdoors for physical and mental health, recreational and environmental awareness reasons. Donations to this challenge can help to fund camp scholarships, backpacking equipment, even a hike group for inner-city girls. The needs are great and the benefits are even greater.

I continue to support Girl Scouts by planning and leading outdoor camping weekends, parent/daughter outdoor events and monthly dayhiking outings.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Heading West

2 comments: