SavageLlama
10-17-2005, 15:30
Article in local Danbury, CT paper today about a thru-hiker gives props to a website by Baltimore Jack..
http://news.newstimeslive.com/story.php?id=75649&category=Local (http://news.newstimeslive.com/story.php?id=75649&category=Local)
Walk of a lifetime
Bethel woman hikes Appalachian Trail
By Marietta Homayonpour
THE NEWS-TIMES
The News-Times/Carol Kaliff
Cathy Finden, 53, of Bethel lost 40 pounds on her 2,175 journey from Georgia to Maine this year on the Applachian Trail.
BETHEL — For her 53rd birthday, Cathy Finden didn't have a birthday cake.
Her husband of 31 years didn't take her out to dinner.
Her four grown children — three daughters and a son — didn't sing "Happy Birthday."
What did Finden do on Sept. 21?
"I just kept hiking."
Finden was atop Bigelow Mountain in Maine, and two weeks later, she would accomplish what only a few hundred others do each year, although thousands try.
On Oct. 5 at 11:30 a.m., Finden reached the top of Katahdin Mountain in Maine and finished a 2,174.9-mile trek that began March 18 at Springer Mountain in Georgia.
Finden had hiked the entire Appalachian Trial.
During her seven-month journey through 14 states, the 5-foot 6-inch Finden lost 40 pounds, went through weather conditions ranging from snowstorms to extreme heat and humidity, came within 15 feet of an angry mother bear, and went through four pairs of hiking boots.
Finden at journey‘s end atop Katahdin Mountain in Maine.
She also saw magnificent vistas, met lots of friendly and supportive hikers, and discovered she had the strength to follow her dream.
Both the joy and difficulty of her journey came together near the end of her hike, in New Hampshire.
"I feared for my life," said Finden about the White Mountains' steep, wet rocks. The hike was so frightening at that point, she wrote a good-bye letter to her family — just in case.
But Finden most enjoyed the beauty of those mountains on the Appalachian Trial. "It was stunning, and as I looked back at the mountains, I felt a real sense of accomplishment."
äŸ
By no means is Finden a mountain woman.
Though she had occasionally backpacked with her husband, for decades her walks in the wild were confined to camping with her family.
"When the kids came along, it was not feasible to outfit everyone," she said.
Finden was born in the Sacramento Valley of California, graduated from junior college there, and did clerical work for the state before leaving to have her first child. She began working part-time again when her youngest child, who is now 21, was 5 years old.
A few years ago Finden made a decision. "I'd been taking care of everyone else for 30 years and it was time to do something I really wanted to do."
When her son, who has a degree in leisure and outdoor recreation and is an Arizona park ranger, told Finden about the Appalachian Trail, something clicked.
"It was the challenge of it. Not that many had done it."
According to the Web site of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, only 8,425 people have completed the trail in one season since it opened in 1936. Those hearty souls, according to the site, are called "2,000 milers."
The Conservancy says thousands of people start the trail each year. Most are "Northbounders," taking the trail from Georgia to Maine, but some are "Southbounders" who walk the opposite way.
Whether going north or south, last year only 540 people hiked the trail from beginning to end.
"Amazing," says Finden's husband, Randy, about his wife's journey. He's especially impressed because Cathy was sick with a fever and headaches from contaminated water on her final leg of the hike up the 5,200-foot Katahdin Mountain.
Randy joined her for the final leg, as he had for brief periods during several other parts of the hike.
"She was leaning on her hiking poles, crying," as she started up the mountain, Randy recalled. But after the first hour, his wife regained her strength and made it to the top before noon.
When Cathy first told Randy she wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail, he admits he doubted she could make it.
But, he didn't doubt his wife's determination and wanted her to go for it. "If you dream, dream in color," he said.
But Randy looked at the numbers and thought "statistically, it's against her."
Randy Finden knows numbers. He's project manager and analyst for the Financial Accounting Foundation. His work brought the family from Washington state to Connecticut in 1996.
In Connecticut, Cathy Finden was a bus driver for Danbury schools, a driver for the elderly at a care center, and at Danbury Orthopedics.
She quit working at the beginning of this year to devote herself fully to her preparations for the hike. To build up her strength and stamina, she joined the Sportsplex in Bethel. With the help of a trainer, she worked with weights and machines, including the Stairmaster.
Because she was overweight, one of Finden's worries was her physical capabilities.
But her preparations paid off and she was able to walk 8 to 10 miles a day at the start of the trip and as much as 20 miles a day later. Her best day was 26 miles.
Her other concern was the need to hitch rides into towns for supplies. Finden had never hitched a ride in her life. But her fears were unfounded, and the people who gave her rides turned out to be good Samaritans.
To prepare for the hike, Finden read books about the trail as well as on the Internet. A particularly helpful site, she said, is one by "Baltimore Jack," who gives advice about where to resupply along the route.
Finden learned she'd need about $4,000, or $2 for every mile of the trip, for supplies. She also prepared 10 "drop boxes" of supplies her family shipped to different spots along the trail.
When she started, Finden got the lightest gear she could, including lightweight hiking boots weighing about 2 pounds. "They say that for every pound on your feet, it's like 5 pounds on your back."
Her backpack, sleeping bag, and her two-person tent weighted less than 8 pounds. At the start of her hike, the other 20 pounds she carried on her back was made up of water, food, a lightweight cooking pot, a digital camera, a cell phone, and a 6- by 3-inch computerized "pocket mail composer" to send journals home to her husband.
The cell phone often didn't work, and Finden had to find land-line phones to hook up the pocket composer for transmission. She tried to transmit every three to five days.
Finden's food included packets of oatmeal, powered cider and hot chocolate, cereal bars, fruit bars, peanut butter, bagels, cheese and crackers, and hard salami.
Most nights she tried to make it to one of the shelters along the trail. All were three-sided —the front was open — had roofs, and held from two to six people.
When the bugs weren't biting, Finden slept in the shelters if room was available. Otherwise, she set up her tent near the shelters, or — when she didn't make it to a shelter — picked a good spot in the woods.
Finden remembers a harrowing night in Maryland when a rabid raccoon repeatedly bit another woman in the shelter. "But she got shots and was back on the trail the next day."
äŸ
Twice during her hike, Finden thought of quitting. Once the reason was physical and the other time emotional.
In Pennsylvania, said Finden, "I had so much trouble with my feet." There were blisters on her heels and bruises on her soles. But instead of giving up, she "changed shoes and the new shoes helped."
While on the Appalachian Trial in Connecticut, Finden came home for a few days. It was one of several breaks she took from hiking — a couple of days for her daughter's bridal shower and, near the end of the trek, 10 days for the wedding.
But the stay at home was particularly emotional. "The weather was crummy," she said, and she realized how much she'd missed her family.
Still, she went back to the trail and she doesn't regret it.
"I'm glad I did this because I showed myself I can accomplish this, and I showed my daughters that you can do anything. They can complete their dreams no matter how difficult."
When Finden finished the last stretch of the 2,100-plus-mile trail in Maine, she laid her head down on the sign atop Katahdin Mountain.
"It felt so good. I thanked God because he had gotten me here."
# # #
http://news.newstimeslive.com/story.php?id=75649&category=Local (http://news.newstimeslive.com/story.php?id=75649&category=Local)
Walk of a lifetime
Bethel woman hikes Appalachian Trail
By Marietta Homayonpour
THE NEWS-TIMES
The News-Times/Carol Kaliff
Cathy Finden, 53, of Bethel lost 40 pounds on her 2,175 journey from Georgia to Maine this year on the Applachian Trail.
BETHEL — For her 53rd birthday, Cathy Finden didn't have a birthday cake.
Her husband of 31 years didn't take her out to dinner.
Her four grown children — three daughters and a son — didn't sing "Happy Birthday."
What did Finden do on Sept. 21?
"I just kept hiking."
Finden was atop Bigelow Mountain in Maine, and two weeks later, she would accomplish what only a few hundred others do each year, although thousands try.
On Oct. 5 at 11:30 a.m., Finden reached the top of Katahdin Mountain in Maine and finished a 2,174.9-mile trek that began March 18 at Springer Mountain in Georgia.
Finden had hiked the entire Appalachian Trial.
During her seven-month journey through 14 states, the 5-foot 6-inch Finden lost 40 pounds, went through weather conditions ranging from snowstorms to extreme heat and humidity, came within 15 feet of an angry mother bear, and went through four pairs of hiking boots.
Finden at journey‘s end atop Katahdin Mountain in Maine.
She also saw magnificent vistas, met lots of friendly and supportive hikers, and discovered she had the strength to follow her dream.
Both the joy and difficulty of her journey came together near the end of her hike, in New Hampshire.
"I feared for my life," said Finden about the White Mountains' steep, wet rocks. The hike was so frightening at that point, she wrote a good-bye letter to her family — just in case.
But Finden most enjoyed the beauty of those mountains on the Appalachian Trial. "It was stunning, and as I looked back at the mountains, I felt a real sense of accomplishment."
äŸ
By no means is Finden a mountain woman.
Though she had occasionally backpacked with her husband, for decades her walks in the wild were confined to camping with her family.
"When the kids came along, it was not feasible to outfit everyone," she said.
Finden was born in the Sacramento Valley of California, graduated from junior college there, and did clerical work for the state before leaving to have her first child. She began working part-time again when her youngest child, who is now 21, was 5 years old.
A few years ago Finden made a decision. "I'd been taking care of everyone else for 30 years and it was time to do something I really wanted to do."
When her son, who has a degree in leisure and outdoor recreation and is an Arizona park ranger, told Finden about the Appalachian Trail, something clicked.
"It was the challenge of it. Not that many had done it."
According to the Web site of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, only 8,425 people have completed the trail in one season since it opened in 1936. Those hearty souls, according to the site, are called "2,000 milers."
The Conservancy says thousands of people start the trail each year. Most are "Northbounders," taking the trail from Georgia to Maine, but some are "Southbounders" who walk the opposite way.
Whether going north or south, last year only 540 people hiked the trail from beginning to end.
"Amazing," says Finden's husband, Randy, about his wife's journey. He's especially impressed because Cathy was sick with a fever and headaches from contaminated water on her final leg of the hike up the 5,200-foot Katahdin Mountain.
Randy joined her for the final leg, as he had for brief periods during several other parts of the hike.
"She was leaning on her hiking poles, crying," as she started up the mountain, Randy recalled. But after the first hour, his wife regained her strength and made it to the top before noon.
When Cathy first told Randy she wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail, he admits he doubted she could make it.
But, he didn't doubt his wife's determination and wanted her to go for it. "If you dream, dream in color," he said.
But Randy looked at the numbers and thought "statistically, it's against her."
Randy Finden knows numbers. He's project manager and analyst for the Financial Accounting Foundation. His work brought the family from Washington state to Connecticut in 1996.
In Connecticut, Cathy Finden was a bus driver for Danbury schools, a driver for the elderly at a care center, and at Danbury Orthopedics.
She quit working at the beginning of this year to devote herself fully to her preparations for the hike. To build up her strength and stamina, she joined the Sportsplex in Bethel. With the help of a trainer, she worked with weights and machines, including the Stairmaster.
Because she was overweight, one of Finden's worries was her physical capabilities.
But her preparations paid off and she was able to walk 8 to 10 miles a day at the start of the trip and as much as 20 miles a day later. Her best day was 26 miles.
Her other concern was the need to hitch rides into towns for supplies. Finden had never hitched a ride in her life. But her fears were unfounded, and the people who gave her rides turned out to be good Samaritans.
To prepare for the hike, Finden read books about the trail as well as on the Internet. A particularly helpful site, she said, is one by "Baltimore Jack," who gives advice about where to resupply along the route.
Finden learned she'd need about $4,000, or $2 for every mile of the trip, for supplies. She also prepared 10 "drop boxes" of supplies her family shipped to different spots along the trail.
When she started, Finden got the lightest gear she could, including lightweight hiking boots weighing about 2 pounds. "They say that for every pound on your feet, it's like 5 pounds on your back."
Her backpack, sleeping bag, and her two-person tent weighted less than 8 pounds. At the start of her hike, the other 20 pounds she carried on her back was made up of water, food, a lightweight cooking pot, a digital camera, a cell phone, and a 6- by 3-inch computerized "pocket mail composer" to send journals home to her husband.
The cell phone often didn't work, and Finden had to find land-line phones to hook up the pocket composer for transmission. She tried to transmit every three to five days.
Finden's food included packets of oatmeal, powered cider and hot chocolate, cereal bars, fruit bars, peanut butter, bagels, cheese and crackers, and hard salami.
Most nights she tried to make it to one of the shelters along the trail. All were three-sided —the front was open — had roofs, and held from two to six people.
When the bugs weren't biting, Finden slept in the shelters if room was available. Otherwise, she set up her tent near the shelters, or — when she didn't make it to a shelter — picked a good spot in the woods.
Finden remembers a harrowing night in Maryland when a rabid raccoon repeatedly bit another woman in the shelter. "But she got shots and was back on the trail the next day."
äŸ
Twice during her hike, Finden thought of quitting. Once the reason was physical and the other time emotional.
In Pennsylvania, said Finden, "I had so much trouble with my feet." There were blisters on her heels and bruises on her soles. But instead of giving up, she "changed shoes and the new shoes helped."
While on the Appalachian Trial in Connecticut, Finden came home for a few days. It was one of several breaks she took from hiking — a couple of days for her daughter's bridal shower and, near the end of the trek, 10 days for the wedding.
But the stay at home was particularly emotional. "The weather was crummy," she said, and she realized how much she'd missed her family.
Still, she went back to the trail and she doesn't regret it.
"I'm glad I did this because I showed myself I can accomplish this, and I showed my daughters that you can do anything. They can complete their dreams no matter how difficult."
When Finden finished the last stretch of the 2,100-plus-mile trail in Maine, she laid her head down on the sign atop Katahdin Mountain.
"It felt so good. I thanked God because he had gotten me here."
# # #