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Mountain climber
04-26-2004, 08:20
Dose anyone know of a person that has hiked the AT that has had MS.
I have always wanted to hike the trail but I have just been DXed with ms.
I have not heard of anyone with MS but then I have not looked into it.
All I can do right now is section hike because of my job and have done GE,NC, and part of the Smokeys and TN. There seems to be an urgancy now. I have had the dream of Hiking every sence I was 17 and My mother told me abut the trail. That was back in 1967 and I have been dreaming about the trail every sence. The last 5 years I have been able to section hike while on vacation.

Mountain Climber

Lone Wolf
04-26-2004, 08:23
Back in the 80's a man named Bob Barker hiked the AT 3 times with crutches that fit around his forearms. He had MS.

max patch
04-26-2004, 09:47
Bob Barker is interviewed while hiking in Lynne Wheldon's Five Million Steps video.

Blue Jay
04-26-2004, 09:48
Back in the 80's a man named Bob Barker hiked the AT 3 times with crutches that fit around his forearms. He had MS.

I spent a night in a shelter on Greylock with that guy. Wonderful guy, had me laughing for hours. Was it that long ago, seems like yesterday, time truly stops on the AT.

Alligator
04-26-2004, 09:50
Last summer a fellow tried to through hike but didn't get off of Katahdin. He had a journal over at Trailjournals.com. His trailname was MS Taz. From reading his account, there were several factors that may have contributed to has accident, so don't be discouraged by this one account.

My wife has MS, so if you have any concerns about your diagnosis, feel free to PM me. If you should try a thru, consider writing to an online journal. I am sure it would serve as an inspiration for other MS sufferers. Best of luck.

max patch
04-26-2004, 10:04
From Larry Luxenberg's book "Walking the Appalachian Trail."

ranking high among the most courageous and impressive hikers is bob barker, who has ms and thru-hiked with crutches and a heavy pack. bob hiked the whole trail not once, but 3 times in the 80's and he, too, hiked alone. like his friend, bill irwin, bob displays tremendous determination. he has endured his share of falls and broken bones. bob, too, is now blind but he has continued to hike.

"i don't know how he does it," 3 time 2,000 miler bert gilbert said. "the first time i met him, he was going up out of kinsman notch (in the white mountains). he was using these 2 arm braces, and he was humping along. he carried an awlful lot of stuff. he must have been carrying 75 pounds".

bob has hiked the trail in both directions. on his 2nd trip, in 83-84, at age 63, he spent 182 nights on the rrail, averaging 12 miles a day, with a longest of 26.5 miles. he wore out 6 crutch tips along the way.

Moon Monster
04-26-2004, 19:30
Here is a direct link to MS Tazs's 2003 journal: http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=1315

I passed a Southbound hiker in VA on a section hike last year who had made it from Katahdin to Damascus by late September. A friend mentioned he has MS, but the guy never stopped in shelters and rarely stayed in towns, so I didn't meet him long enough to remember his trailname. I think he had started thru-hikes once or twice before, at Katahdin each time, and that point in VA was his longest hike to date.

Mountain climber
04-26-2004, 21:32
I really appreciate all the notes with information about people that have hiked the trail with MS. I really wish to thank each of you for your replys.

thirsty
04-27-2004, 01:17
The Healer, NoBo, from last year hiked with MS. Check him out on http://www.msfocus.org.