Tony and his 27 year old son Rick joined me at the hostel Saturday night. they were so excited to show their new gear and talk to the other hikers about the trail . This is so cool, Rick said about a million times . the next day after we packed up and went to an outfitters store in Luray to pick up my next section of the AT guide that Lori mailed me. She included a class picture of our grandson and so snacks. I also got protective bags for the map and tablet. We had a terrific breakfast and great lunch and got on the trail around 345. My partners were thrilled to smell the woods and take pictures of the slightest views. We stopped periodically and walked a reasonable pace. We even stopped by another hostel for some lemonade. Tony told a story about how his oldest son Brian gave his Ninja Turtle backpack to a new friend who only had a paper bag to carry his things in kindergarten. After we began to climb Rick took ill, the results of ridding his body of the chemo toxins. His port was removed a short time ago and I found out that he is continuing to get nauseous from time to time. I went ahead, dropped my pack and ran back for his pack. Then I walked past my pack, dropped his and returned for mine. I did this several times, leap frogging along the trail until we hit camp after dark. Rick set up his tent and crawled in, continuing to get sick. Tony and I stayed up to talk about the next day. Hopefully Rick will be feeling better and they will be able to hike on.
So glad you got to meet Rick (& see Tony) even for a short time–there will be more time for hiking together for you three maybe next summer. Prayers for Rick and Tony and their journeys!
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