AT Hiker dies swimming in Pierce Pond

[Creek Dancer]

My deepest condolences to you and your family, Mary. We may not have all known your wonderful son, but as fellow backpackers, we feel a certain connection to him and a loss now that he is gone.

[Jefe]

His poor mother! You can absolutely feel the love and devotion for her son in her blog. And can you imagine how close she must have been to him to have devoted her blog to following his journey??

He was less than 250 miles from finishing. Maybe they could make him an "honorary 2000 miler" since it was obviously so important to him?

Pierce Pond is over 2000 miles from Springer. He is a 2000 miler...

[attroll]

Pierce Pond is over 2000 miles from Springer. He is a 2000 miler...

Hiking 2,000 miles on the AT does not make you a 2,000 miler. The definition 2,000 miler on the AT means that you have completed the trail. But I don't want to turn this into a debate over that.
I have written a letter/email to the ATC asking if they could make him a honorary 2,000. I hope that can help us on this.

[Jeff]

I have written a letter/email to the ATC asking if they could make him a honorary 2,000. I hope that can help us on this.

Troll, You are a good man for doing this....thank you.

[Corporal_Dusty]

I totally agree, Attroll. Good call. I will follow your lead and write the ATC too. So close and very deserving.
Mary, I'm so sorry. Thank you for taking the time to tell us a little about your son. My deepest sympathies to you and your family. Saying prayers for him here Upstate and telling people all about his hike, and of course, Nutty ;-) Paul will never be forgotten. (( hugs ))

[Goonky]

Troll, You are a good man for doing this....thank you.

Agreed. This is the right thing to do. I hope they grant it.

To the family: I'm so sorry for your loss. I have no doubt he was a fine young man. I hope there is some comfort in knowing he was pursuing a dream.

[Lyle]

Agreed. This is the right thing to do. I hope they grant it.

To the family: I'm so sorry for your loss. I have no doubt he was a fine young man. I hope there is some comfort in knowing he was pursuing a dream.

I agree.

I have sent an email myself to ATC supporting attroll's idea. Hopefully others can join. I don't think there is a need to clutter this thread with reports of sending off our emails, but hopefully others will also officially let the ATC know how their position.

[Cookerhiker]

Mary, please accept my sympathy for this tremendous loss. May your family and friends help comfort you in this time of need.

[atmilkman]

Our deepest sympathy to family and friends.

[Majortrauma]

Let this be an eye opener...when hot, tired and sweaty, one should NOT immediately jump in water, = shock, cramping, maybe even cardiac arrest....up here in Maine, these waters never warm up enough to just jump into. EASE on down in it first....

Is that what "they" suspect was the cause of death?
And great point by Mrs. Baggins. Drowning on the AT never seriously crossed my mind.

[Water Rat]

My deepest sympathy to family and friends. While I never had the honor of meeting Parkside, I have lost friends who were doing what they loved. My heart goes out to all who knew him.

[tdoczi]

Is that what "they" suspect was the cause of death?
And great point by Mrs. Baggins. Drowning on the AT never seriously crossed my mind.

i may be misremembering things slightly and this may be more of a park specific statistic than a system wide one, but i believe the number one most common cause of death in national parks (of which the AT is one) to be death by drowning.

[Ender]

My deepest sympathies to Parkside's family and friends. I hope they can find some small comfort in knowing he died doing what he loved.

I also have written to the ATC requesting he be given 2000-miler certification. Thanks for that idea ATTroll.

[Lauriep]

Dear Mary,

The staff and volunteers here at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters in Harpers Ferry send our deepest regrets to you and your family. Parkside's death is a loss to all of us in the A.T. community.

Parkside was one of the very earliest thru-hikers who come through ATC this past spring (northbound thru-hiker #11). We remember him well. He was energetic, exhuberant (despite having hiked big miles) and smiled a lot; our volunteer here that day remembered him as "charming." I remember thinking he must have been a friend to quite a few other hikers, because I heard his trail name before he even got here. He looks very happy in his photo, and the writing on the photo seems to captures his energetic, bold spirit: he wrote "GA-ME!" (with an exclamation mark). I see you posted his photo of the picture, but if you would like the original, send me your email, and we will be delighted to send it to you.

We understand the desire expressed by those here at WhiteBlaze to make Parkside an honorary 2,000-miler, even though he does not formally meet the requirements. To make an exception is not a decision we can make lightly or hastily. It may not even be something you are thinking of yourself at this time, but if you want to know more, you can find that at www.appalachiantrail.org/ATcompletion.

How remarkable that you kept an on-line journal of his hike--what a gift for him, for you, and all the rest of us. Parkside will forever be a part of the A.T. family.

We invite you to visit ATC. Call me or email me if you are up for coming, but feel free to contact me at any time. You'll be in our prayers.

Laurie Potteiger, ATC
[email protected]
(304) 535-2200 x128

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

We would like to add our prayers and condolences to Paul's family and those who developed a close bond to him on the trail.

[johnnybgood]

My deepest sympathies go out to you Mary and your family for the loss of such a remarkable son . His exuberant spirit will forever be remembered by those he touched.

[JAK]

Very sad. Not to second guess, but hypothermia or thermal shock or cramps or whatever all come quicker after a long hike. I nearly hit a moose driving home with my daughter after a long hike, then later almost fell asleep at the wheel. Not smart, but mistakes also come easier at the end of a long hike. Very tragic. Please be careful out there folks. Stuff like this also makes me spend more time with family, hold them closer, and focus on the things that matter, including hiking and stuff, but in more meaningful ways.

[jeffmeh]

Mary, our most sincere condolences to you and your family. Achilles and "the gang" stopped by here today for a quick meal on the way down to see you. Although the mood was understandably somber, we could not help but observe how fondly they spoke of Parkside, how clear it was that he was loving his through-hike, and how much they enjoyed his company. Please let Achilles know if there is anything we can do for you.

Achilles' Mom and Dad

[DLANOIE]

Mary, so sorry for your loss. My deepest sympathies go out to your family during this sad time...

[PJWetzel]

zRIP Paul.jpg RIP, Paul. We met twice on the trail, two months apart to the day. First coming down off Snowbird Mountain headed to Max Patch on March 6, and above on May 6th near the south end of High Point State Park, NJ. I keep a blog and shadow it on TrailJournals.com/2012SeeksIt . Here's the blog entry I posted for May 6th: http://www.pjwetzel.com/2012/05/connections.html

I knew him as Paul because he hadn't acquired his trail name the first time we met. His smile was ready and easy. He took my photo and said I was posing like John Muir, so then he did his own imitation. From everything I can tell, Paul died doing what made him happy.

Mary, if you would like full resolution versions of this and the photo on my blog, contact me and I'll be happy to send them along. Paul was a significant part of my AT hiking experience this year, and I shall never forget him.

PJWetzel aka 'Seeks It'