To raise money for Cancer Research

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Thursday, July 28, 2016

Chase

Its been unusual to get 2 consecutive days off of work, Last week was my first full weekend off in 3 months, This week i was down for Wednesday off so i booked an over night stay at Hanging Rock SP again as its my nearest mountains and i am getting to know the trails well, Just before leaving work on Tuesday afternoon my boss said i could take Thursday as well, On my way to Hanging rock my mind was whizzing around with what to do, Do i stay an extra day at HR or just stay overnight and then whip up to the Appalachians again and stay overnight at McAffee's Knob again and get a sunset and sunrise, I phoned my wife and asked her to check the weather report, Looks like a 90% chance of rain she said and that was that, The weather here has been oppressively hot and humid, Like 99 degrees hot and 90% humidity, I got up later that i wanted and quickly hit the trails, Hanging Rock has 5 main peaks, I have hiked to 3 of them and thought i would try to do all 5, I started off on the toughest trail which is Moores wall, This is a loop trail, I took the hard way up which takes me around 40 minutes, Once on top i took my time taking images, The weather on top was cool with a nice gentle breeze, I had taken my Jetflow Minimo stove with me and made a coffee and enjoyed the views, I made my way down and then at a crossroads on the trail made my way up a steep incline towards the Cooks wall trail, This trail would take me to House Rock overlook as well as Cooks, As i got to House overlook i met with a young guy called Chase, Chase is at school but volunteering at the Park keeping it pristine but collecting any trash that others leave, We started chatting and it turned out that Chase is a Cancer survivor even as his young age of 16 he has now been cancer free for 7 years, I told him of my plans to raise funds for Cancer research by trekking to Everest Base Camp and also of my previous en-devours on the Camino De Santiago, The cancer Chase had has left its scars and he is not able to do any sports but instead of staying on the sofa and living behind an X box he has found his love of the outdoors and enjoys hunting and fishing as well as enjoying the views that his local mountains give, He is hoping to finish his schooling and after college get a job in the great outdoors, He reminded me of myself when i was his age, At 16 i loved to be on my own sitting outside and watching bird life and fishing as much as i could, We walked and talked for over an hour making our way of the steep trail to Cooks wall and enjoying the magnificent views, On our way back i split off and went to Wolf Rock over view whilst Chase carried on with his work, It was a pleasure to meet with him and bought to light why i am trying to raise as much money for Cancer Research as i can, As well as loosing family to Cancer we have to realize that it can hit anybody at any age, I do not believe that Chemo is the answer as it kills as many good cells as bad, Certain cancers that used to be killers are now curable and with more research other strains of Cancer will in the future be curable but it all costs money and thats why people like Marian and myself push to raise money, I ended the day in 85 degree heat and with 10 hard miles under my belt, It had been a very good workout and i managed 4 of the 5 peaks only not reaching Hanging Rock overlook due to running low on water, I know in the future that i can do the 5 peaks and only a few months ago that would not have been possible, I weighed myself when i got home and have now lost around 25lb so the hiking and gym work are paying off and still have 2 months before i leave, As much as i enjoy a good work out in the gym you simply cannot beat a good hard trek on a beautiful day,

Click on images to enlarge

A boxed Turtle getting hassled by Mosquitoes


Life on the edge at Moores Knob

 Taking my Jetboil stove was a good move

 Chase enjoying the views at Cooks wall

To donate or get more info please go to our website www.walkingforacure.org. All money goes directly to the CRI

Dave

Sunday, July 17, 2016

A change of scenery

I have been hitting Hanging Rock State Park as much as i can and also threw in an 11 mile hike on the Mountains to Sea trail near my home, The MST nearly turned into disaster when i fell crossing a small creek, slipping on a wet rock and crashing to the ground, My little finger went between 2 rocks and bent backwards, At first i thought the worst but it was just badly bruised as was my arm, For the first time in 3 months i managed to get a weekend off of work so after work on Friday i hit the road heading for Roanoke in Virginia, I stayed in a motel for 2 nights and early Saturday i went to Highway 311 and hit the Appalachian Trail, A 4 mile hike up to McAfee's Knob, From the car park you cross the road and then hike steeply upwards for 5 minutes, The ground then levels out and a couple of minutes later you can see an info kiosk to your right, I did not know but you should take a right there to get on the AT, I carried straight on which is the fire road route, An easier and slightly shorter route, The place is very very busy and there were about 10 cars in the car park at 6.45am, I made it to the top by 8.12 feeling good about myself until i was told i took the easy route, I took some shots of the famous and most photographed landmark on the AT, The light being behind me was not ideal and evening shots would be better, I hung around for a couple of hours talking to lots of people including a couple who thru hiked last year and a woman who had completed it in sections last year, My hats off to them as its an epic undertaking, I made my way back this time on the AT trail and yes its way different to the fire trail, I felt i spent more time going up even though i should have been descending, I made it back to the car and then back at the hotel went through the images, It was a pretty hot day, I was back at the car before mid day and it was already in the 80's, I have been using Oboz hiking boots and they have been brilliant for these hot temperatures, So far no over heating of the feet and no blisters or hotspots, I use these with Wrightsocks and its been a winning combo, I carried my backpack with around 20lb of gear to make sure i get a good workout,
The images i took were OK but one bugged me where i had cut my feet of behind a part of the over hang, I guess only a photographer would notice but it stayed on my mind all day, Sunday i had planned to head along the Blue-ridge Parkway and photograph Mabry mill which i had done a few months before in not great weather i.e sunny with shadows but as the day went on i realized to clear my head i would need to hike back to the outlook and re shoot, Here is the image in question


Its not a bad image especially as the sun is high up and behind me but the feet and i forgot to put my backpack on for the ultimate selfy-DOH

I made it back into the car park exactly the same time on Sunday but there were now over 30 cars, Why are these people not in church i thought, It seems a lot of people camp out up there and i walked past nearly 30 people heading down on my way up and was very surprised to see only a couple of people there when i arrived, The sky was clear and blue which was not what i really wanted, I guess next time i will camp up there and get the light early and late and enjoy the spectacular views with the stars above, Cant wait

Here is the new image with feet showing


Its the classic Mcafee image that you see everywhere including the 'walk in the woods' book and movie, By the way i have dreadful vertigo and did not suffer one bit there for some reason,

I took my new tiny carbon fibre tripod that i will be taking to Everest and it worked fine, The D800E and 24-70 triggered by a Hahnel remote release.

Here are a some more images taken this weekend



The actual Appalachian Trail, Narrower than i expected and a mix if hard trail, Very rocky and with areas of sand


A pano showing the amazing views, Click on images to make them larger


Its been a great weekend and i have had a good workout, The few sessions at the gym are starting to pay off, The clock is ticking but so far i am happy with the way i am progressing although everything is hanging off me as i am now around 23lb lighter than when i started

Dave

Monday, July 4, 2016

3 months and counting

Well its been an age since i last blogged and there are reasons, Firstly i have a new job which unfortunately for me gives me 1 day off in 8 and sometimes 1 day off in 9, Leaving little time for anything, Most weeks when i can after work i drive straight to my nearest mountains and camp overnight, The next day i am awake early and hike around the area, up some very steep inclines, I stay at a place called Hanging rock state park, There are 5 peaks in the area and on a good day i can do 3, Last week when i was there i nearly bumped into a black bear in the camp sight, The area is very scenic with 5 waterfalls, Some nice foliage and plenty of wildlife,
Secondly i am still plagued by the rash that i have had since my shoulder operation last October, its not getting in the way of my plans but i have had various tests which show nothing positive that is causing it like an allergy and then the trips to the dermatologist which eat into my free time,
On a positive note i have plenty of new gear, I now have a great tent from Big Agnes, Its a 2 man super light weight with built in lighting, Will be great on the Appalachian trail, It only takes a couple of minutes to put up which is great as it rained last week and every time i use it there is some design feature that impresses me, I also bought one of their sleeping pads but after a few uses i sent i back as i was not happy with its performance, After checking it out they sent me a new one which is the latest version which is a huge improvement, I have to say that i can highly recommend products from Big Agnes, A small company but the people who design the products obviously know what they are doing, My wife got me a new sleeping bag for my birthday especially for the Everest trip, Its a North Face Inferno rated at -20, I wish i had it a few months ago on my first camping trip to Hanging Rock as it was bitter, It even snowed and at night there was no way i could get warm, It will get a lot of use that's for sure, Last week i purchased 2 pairs of the Northface's hiking pants that zip off at the knees, These have a new stretchy material and are slimmer in the leg than most convertible trousers, They are very comfortable and will go into the Everest boxes until the big day,
I have booked my Trek with a company called Ian Taylor Trekking, There are a lot of companies doing Base Camp treks but Ian's stood out for various reasons, Firstly he has a 99% success rate, He doesn't take just anybody and you have to fill in paperwork with previous experience, He has some very good video's on his site about preparation and what you will need and he can be contacted 5 days a week on Skype and lastly his trek has a 1 night stay at Base camp whereas most trek there from Gorak Shep (the nearest accommodation) and back without staying over night at the actual camp
One thing is for sure and that this will be the hardest thing i have yet done but i am sure it will be hugely rewarding,
So the deposit on the trip is paid as is the accommodation in Kathmandu, I have a couple of spare days before the trek to get over jet lag and do some touristy stuff in the city, The travel insurance is sorted and covers me up to 6000m of which i should be around 5545m tops at a place called Kala Pattar where we should get the best views (and images) of Everest
The one thing still to be sorted is what to take Camera wise, Nikon D800 plus a couple of lenses or get a Sony a6300
I have had very little time to start raising funds for CRI or the Cancer Research Institute and have a long ways to go so Please dontate what you can, Every dollar/pound/euro etc is greatly appreciated, Donate direct through our webpage www.walkingforacure.org, Every single penny goes directly to CRI

Here are some images taken on my treks at Hanging Rock State Park in North Carolina

My Big Agnes tent is dwarfed by my friends 8 person tent
 At the top of Wolf Rock


 Hanging Rock peak
 Even the waterfalls are a work out for the legs to get to




 A bitter first and second night


 Eastern spotted newt
 Mist rising at Moores wall loop peak

I hope to be able to blog on a more regular basis in the future, More trips to Hanging rock SP are planned as well as Mount Mitchell which is the tallest mountain this side of the Mississippi

Dave