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Halfpint
01-15-2007, 23:04
After two years off the trail fighting cancer I am now ready to complete what I started. As a section solo hiker each summer since 1999, 2007 will be my year to celebrate for many reasons. The trail experience has been filled with surprises some good and some not so good. Great friends along the way as well as some surprising personalities that changed me forever.. Being diagnosed with cancer stopped me in my tracks and I thought my dream of completing the trail was ended but not so. Now retired and with a lot of fight in me I am ready to reach Katahdin this summer. Cancer did not beat me down, did not conquer my spirit, did not shatter my hope, did not silence my courage. It can me the desire to complete what I started. Happy hiking to all.

MedicineMan
01-15-2007, 23:05
You are awesome!! and a carrot dangling in front of me!

Jim Adams
01-15-2007, 23:07
YOU ROCK!!! Keep on hik'in and good luck.
geek

Namaste
01-15-2007, 23:33
Good for you.

Courage and Passion = SUCCESS!

ed bell
01-15-2007, 23:36
May the good wishes you get from here help lift you up to your goal. God bless you.:sun

4eyedbuzzard
01-15-2007, 23:40
For many of us, you probably just put our problems in a different perspective.

I don't know waht else to say but WOW.:sun

dadecker
01-15-2007, 23:41
Sounds like you have quite a bit of passion. Best wishes - Darrel

TJ aka Teej
01-16-2007, 00:21
Now retired and with a lot of fight in me I am ready to reach Katahdin this summer.
Have fun, halfpint! You've saved the best for last, so here's wishing you a Class One Day!

The Weasel
01-16-2007, 00:23
Well, dang. Good to see another great trail walker goin' on.

The Weasel

RAT
01-16-2007, 00:58
You are an inspiration to us all (or should be), and I personally wish you the best for completing your hike and hopefully many more happy trails to come. Bless you.

RAT

maxNcathy
01-16-2007, 08:20
Blessings of health to You, Halfpint.

Sandalwood

K0OPG
01-16-2007, 08:29
Wow, to reiterate what someone else said, all we need to do is read your thread and we can forget about our whining and bitching about what life has dealt us.

Good luck and God bless you in your completion of the trail.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
01-16-2007, 09:46
Cancer did not beat me down, did not conquer my spirit, did not shatter my hope, did not silence my courage. It {intensified} the desire to complete what I started.Cheering for you to finish. Sounds like you have the grit to do it. Congrats on turning a seeming bad thing into an asset. People who can do that are the happiest people on earth.

Jaybird
01-16-2007, 09:48
HalfPint

you are truly an inspiration to ALL of us!

keep on hikin'!:D

maybe i'll see you out there this year!

Lilred
01-16-2007, 10:06
When I'm out on the trail and feeling beaten down, I'll think of you and I know it will help me to keep going. Thanks for the awesome inspiration. If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to p.m. me.

moondoggy
01-16-2007, 12:27
I wish you the best of luck, although something tells me you won't need it....If there is anything we can do to support your hike..please don't hesitate to PM me...

Where/When will you start?

hopefulhiker
01-16-2007, 12:32
2007 will be a very good year for you.....

Fly By Mike
01-16-2007, 20:08
Hope to see you somewhere around or on the big K, Halfpint. I'll be lookin' for ya. And if you need a hitch just holler.

The Snowman
01-16-2007, 20:24
good luck and have a great hike

buckowens
01-16-2007, 23:48
This is one of my favorite sayings, and seems somewhat applicable to your amazing courage and commitment. I try to keep this in mind when somebody tells me I can't do something. Hope you enjoy it:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood: who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms', the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
Theodore Roosevelt

Rain Man
01-17-2007, 11:10
... Cancer did not beat me down, did not conquer my spirit, did not shatter my hope, did not silence my courage. It gave me the desire to complete what I started. Happy hiking to all.

And "Happy Hiking" to you, too, Halfpint.

Thanks so much for sharing that with us.

Rain:sunMan

.

Big Dawg
01-17-2007, 12:20
Another shout out for Halfpint!! Inspiring,,, thanks for sharing!! :sun

strnorm
01-17-2007, 12:22
An old saying i always remember, I was feeling sorry for myself because i didn't have any shoes to wear until i met a man who didn;t have any feet to wear them on. bless you brother,and hike on

Lugnut
01-17-2007, 19:41
Halfpint, I guess I'm one of few who can really understand how you feel since we are in the same survivors club. I remember leaving Newfound Gap parking lot and heading for Ice Water Springs as one of the most exhilirating events of my life; I floated the first hundred feet! Back on the trail after three years was like a miracle, which I suppose it was. I have the trail to thank for even being alive. Had I not torn up my knee while hiking, requiring an operation, there would never had been a chest xray. I know you will feel fantastic your first step back. Thanks for sharing your story. I think it is something of a responsibity for us in the club to let people know survival is possible. Have a blast! :banana