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"

Sunday, July 31, 2011

The Whites continued...

The last few days hiking thru the White Mts. have been amazing. The weather has been a little inconsistent but no worse then expected.
Thursdays hike took us up Mt. Wolf, South Kinsman and North Kinsman Mts. The weather was perfect. Blue skies mixed with the occasional clouds and cool breezes greeting us at every summit. Friday we awoke to cloud cover at Kinsman Notch. We left the safety of the low notch and climbed up Franconia Ridge. A Steep, rocky ascent crisscrossing a cascading stream. As we steadily gained elevation the clouds began to seep thru the trees and then we were surrounded. The clouds dropped moisture onto everything and a cold wind blew. As we crossed into the alpine zone, the 5200 ft. Summit of Haystack Mountain came into view. We crossed over the summit hiking along the narrow ridge with thick clouds blowing passed us. The rocky, treeless trail led us up to Mt. Lincoln and then onto Mt. Lafayette. Visibility was minimal but for brief moments the clouds would lift and reveal the rocky ridge in front of us. This 13 mile hike has to be one of my favorite sections. We camped that night at the base of south twin mt. And built a raging fire while a slow rain began to fall. I just traded my hammock in for my old trusty tent and was happy to have it back. But I awoke early that morning with wet feet. My tent had sprung a leak! It didn't mother me though my mind was on bigger things. Uncle Chuck and aunt Charlie were meeting us at Crawford Notch 15 miles away and setting up trail magic. I hiked with a purpose...Chuck and Charlie's culinary expertise should not be overlooked. He brought smoked ribs with homemade BBQ sauce. Charlie made home made cornbread, potatoes salad and Cole slaw. It was spectacular! They left us that afternoon and we trudged slowly to our campsite with a full load of leftovers. We sat around the fire that night talking about the great trail magic and the next days hike...Mt. Washington
I was encouraged this morning to find clear blue skies. We all enjoyed Monster Mochas compliments of Charlie. It was just what was needed to begin our attack on Washington. A steep climb to begin followed by a gradual ascent. The hike was full of great views. Visibility was perfect. We hiked much of the day in the alpine zone with views of Mt. Lincoln and Lafayette behind us. The 11 mile hike Brought us just shy of Washington. Were staying in the "dungeon" at Lakes of the Clouds hut one mile shy of the summit. Tomorrow it's a steep 1000 ft climb to the summit of the tallest mountain in the northeast.
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1 comment:

  1. anneAugust 1, 2011 at 6:43 PM

    wish we could all be there with you, your pictures are beautiful!! its sounds like your aunt charlie put my trail magic to shame!! :]

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