Amyloidosis‏

In 2007 my father, Dennis Blake, was diagnosed with a rare blood disease, Amyloidosis. After years of battling the disease, the correct diagnosis was finally given less then a week before he passed. Amyloidosis is a rare blood disease that can affect one or more organs when abnormal deposits of the amyloid protein are produced. It is debilitating and life threatening. The disease meant nothing to my family weeks before we first heard the word, and then it defined the rest of our lives. It is only in the last 25 years that physicians have started to understand the disease. I have been hiking the Appalachian trail for a little more then a month. Hiking 8 to 12 hours a day, I have had plenty of time to think of my father and what kind of differences I could make in his name. I would love to make this epic adventure about more then myself. The amyloidosis foundation's mission is to increase education and awareness in hopes that it will lead to earlier diagnosis and improved treatment. My goal is to raise $1,000 in the name of my father. I have roughly 200 miles left. Just one penny per mile adds up to $20 when I complete the trail of 2,000 miles. If anybody would like to donate a small amount per every mile I complete, then I am confident that I can reach my goal. Here are the directions and the page link for the donations: Check "In memory of" and add my father's name "Dennis Blake"

Friday, May 6, 2011

Dismal Falls to Pearisburg

Great hiking the past few days and even better accommodations. I can't say the weather has been so great. Tuesday afternoon the temperatures started dropping and a steady rain fell all night. We camped next to Dismal Falls, a wide stream with numerous cascading falls and deep clear pools. It was cold and damp the next morning but the sun was doing it's best to poke thru the clouds. Bluegrass and I made it out of camp well before Sabertooth and Squirrel. The first 6 miles was a perfect hike. We walked thru a valley covered in a dense pine forest and crossed swollen streams lined with rhododendron trees. The hike was the flattest six miles I've done yet. I was really enjoying myself until I ran face first into Wapita mountain! A steep 800 ft climb, I was happy to reach the top and walk along the top of the ridge the rest of the day.

I had been hearing great things about the Woods Hole Hostel so when the clouds began to darken and the temps were falling we were happy to hike the half mile off trail into Woods Hole. An 1880s log cabin and bunkhouse on a 100 acres, was discovered by Roy and Tillie Wood around 1940. They opened the hostel in 1986 and for 21 years ran it until there passing. There granddaughter, Neville, runs the operation now with her husband Michel. Two of the most generous people I've ever met. They made all the hikers feel right at home. But Neville was straight to the point when there was a stinking hiker sitting in her living room. Anyone with "hiker funk" was politely asked to shower....immediately. I think we hikers are becoming to comfortable with the terrible smell we give off after a week with no showers or clean cloths.

Lots of hikers arrived that afternoon mostly because of the weather turning. It was raining and cold when Sabertooth and Squirrel arrived. I couldn't think of a better place to be when I noticed it was sleeting outside.
All the guests pitched in to help with the family style dinner. Neville pounded dough while Michel ran the wood oven stove outside. An assembly line of hikers loaded home made sauces, meats and vegetables on the dough as Michel slid the pizzas into the hot oven. 25 pizzas later, dinner was served. Fresh salad straight from the garden with home made dressing put the meal over the top. After a good nights rest in the bunkhouse the breakfast bell rang from the porch early. Breakfast was just as good as dinner. It's not often we get a nice home cooked meal out here and I enjoyed it immensely! It was the best stay I've had on the trail yet.

We left Woods hole with a full stomach Thursday morning and headed to Pearisburg. Michel drove our packs into town and we hiked 10 miles carrying only snacks and water. My bones and feet ached the entire hike though. As fate would have it, there was a nice Spanish restaurant next to the grocery store where we picked up our packs. Since it was Cinco de Mayo we decided that a hotel and coronas were in our future. After resupplying we hit the restaurant for $1 coronas. Blue, Sabertooth, and I had a great time. Lots of hikers had the same idea we did. Good times were had by all. But when the alarm went of at 6:30 the next morning my heavy head and aching feet screamed one thing, Zero Day!!! It felt great to relax all day and give the body a break. Stan and Cactus Jack stayed here with us to help with the cost. We will head out early Saturday morning and head 92 miles to Daleville over the next 5 days.

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. anneMay 10, 2011 at 11:42 AM

    great blog matt i was laughing so hard i cried!! luv u much son, keep the faith!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)