Deaf hiker makes final trek on Appalachian Trail

Julio Rodriguez finally made it at the end of the Appalachian Trail ending on Mt. Katadin in Maine. Check out his Facebook photo.  Be sure to check out his backpacking Facebook page, too. Congrats, Julio!

Hike to Crater View

A 7 mile roundtrip hike from the 4000 ft elevation to 5300 ft on the North flank of Mt. St. Helens. Weather was gorgeous with sunshine and clear skies. We had some light breeze to help us keep cool on the way up. The temperature by afternoon was around 75 degrees at Crater View.

                                                               Start of the trail head.

On the Northeast side of the flank

 

 

 

Spirit Lake to the North behind me as I make my way up to Crater View.

 

 

Willow Spring. Fresh, clean water from snowmelt that have percolated into the sandy, volcanic soils.

 

 

Lava Dome with glacier seen on the right side.

 

Big rock! Easy to lift.

 

Near trailhead after a long hike with Mt. Adams to the East.

Hiking for health and leisure

Hiking can be a fun, enjoyable and relaxing form of exercise. I know. I do a lot of hiking (here and here, for example) in my own leisure time. A chance to get outdoors and enjoy the sights, sound, smell, touch and taste of what nature can offer you whether it's plucking some huckleberries along the way to munch on or a get a whiff of wildflowers blooming along the grassy open meadows or seeing the vast openness and grandeur in front of you. Here's a video of a bunch of deaf hikers enjoying their day in the outdoors. Take some time to "get away from it all." Do something bold. Go outdoors and hike!

The "Art of Solitude"

Exactly what is it? What's the difference for a deaf, hard of hearing and hearing person if one wants to practice the "Art of Solitude"? How can it be an "art"? The "Art of Solitude" sure sounds like a book title but it's certainly not something that you have to be a monk to enjoy it.  This is about being in a place without distraction with none of the clatter and noise (the noxious visual, auditory and smell). It's an opportunity to delve into yourself with greater introspection about the world around you. Solitude isn't dependent on having no sound at all such as having a hearing loss. Solitude could mean lying on a grassy bank, under a warm sun while next to a creek listening to the soothing, babbling noise of water flowing downstream. Or it could mean only the sound of nature be the soothing medium. Or it could mean complete and still silence. Solitude means different things to different people. Your solitude is not necessarily my kind of solitude.

First, let's get the definition of the word "solitude." It's defined as 1)The state or quality of being alone or remote from others; or 2) A secluded place.

So, having that solitude doesn't mean going out into the wilderness or forest alone. It can be anyplace where you can be able to shut yourself off and away from the outside world. But if you can get yourself some solitude outdoors then that's probably the best way to do it. I've many moments of solitude such as walking a sandy beach on an island for almost two hours with nary a soul basking under the summer sun. I've hiked the forested mountains alone and not meet anybody for miles but let nature be my companion that soothed my soul. I sat on a grassy knoll at 10,600 feet high after a few hours of hiking just to get that coveted spot and experience the vast openness with the world below me. Hiked the desert full of Chihuahuan shrubs such as creosote bush, mesquite, agave, ocotillo and the lechugilla while I enjoyed the full view of desert life. And swam in a swimming hole 200 feet below into the basalt canyon with no one around save some rattlesnakes, badgers and birds. There are times when solitude meant being by yourself to experience nature around you when you get the chance and opportunity.

Several months ago I watched a show "Flying Wild Alaska" where one guy and his wife lived in a cabin 25 miles inside the Arctic Circle in Alaska for over 25 years. The place is so remote the nearest road is 250 miles away and the only way to get there is by airplane. That couple is the only couple that live year round as a resident of his own home.  If anything, those couple mastered the art of solitude as they call it "home." If you can live there for over 25 years basically alone and not suffer cabin fever, heck, bow to that master of the Alaskan wilderness and solitude.


“I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.” ~Albert Einstein

Day 3...pictures!

Ok. No big deal. It's only day 3 and life continues to churn. I went through my picture folders I spotted a picture I took in 2008 on a hike on a trail that go to Sierra Blanca in New Mexico. It was one of those splendor that managed to catch my eye and decided it was a good spot to take a picture.  I stopped at an elevation of 10,500 feet, looked across the mountainous expanse and took a picture and below is what I got.

Here's me hiking the mountain hills at around 10,000 feet with Sierra Blanca in the foreground. It was the same day when I took a picture seen above. A lot of hiking that day in New Mexico, 2008.



Same picture as above but without me in it.





I spotted this odd setup. A tree growing through an old, upside down and obviously abandoned car. This was taken near Weed, New Mexico about 10 miles or so down the road. Thought it was neat and took a picture of it in 2007. Thought you might enjoy it.

Solitude in hiking

High Rock Lookout. You can see the tiny white cabin on top of center peak.

High Rock Lookout cabin (summer, 2009) with Mt. Rainier behind it.

When hiking alone as a deaf or hard of hearing person solitude can either be a peaceful place or a frightening one, depending on how you relate to being in the outdoors while alone, and unable to hear should that happen. It may seem frightening to some people on not being able to hear. But for me to hear with my hearing aid gives me that added dimension to my own version of what solitude is all about. And the opportunity to hear the sound of the breeze rustling through the trees and grasses, a babbling creek, roar of a waterfall, or birds chirping in the distance. And if I'm lucky hear the rattle of a rattle snake if I don't get too close (yes, I did see one and took a picture of it from 6 feet away, that's another story for another time).

I find it very peaceful, relaxing and whenever I hike to a spot high up on a mountain peak or on a ridge line area where I can see the vast distances spread out across before me. And witness the awesomeness of nature and her beauty. I grew up hiking, backpacking and camping as a kid and continue to do so as an adult.  I know what beauty is about. Nowadays, I get more of my hiking done that is work-related, getting paid to hike in the back parts of the forest as I go and get the needed survey data for my analysis. And the only way to get where I need to go is to hike.

At other times I hike when there is an opportunity to go when good weather comes my way such as hiking up to Gotchen Creek Meadows on the flank of Mt. Adams or hike up to High Rock Lookout where I hiked once before when I was a young boy at 8 years old did I actually remember that place on a hike with my mother and father, and my sister and brother that day.  Solitude is about revisiting your past as well. And I certainly enjoyed my 2 hour solitude there by myself.

I get my solitude "high" at these high places absorbing in the beauty and fresh air knowing that only a few people actually took the time to visit these altitude challenging trails. In fact, I met up with 4 older people on my trek to High Rock Lookout where one couple was from New Zealand and the other from Olympia, Washington. I had a nice chat with the people from New Zealand, especially the nice lady who had a quaint but soft New Zealand accent to her voice. I asked her to please speak up because I told her I have a hearing loss. After our brief 10 minute conversation on High Rock Lookout I asked two ladies to wave at me so I can take a picture of them as they departed on their way down the trail. One waving at me is from New Zealand.

One particular hike I fondly remember is a hike to a 10,600 ft ridge line peak that is part of the Sierra Blanca (12,003 ft) mountain ridge line in New Mexico. My hike was work-related and it was a 4.5 mile round trip hike starting at the end of a road in Bear Canyon as I hiked along Bear Canyon Creek trail inside the subwatershed.

(copy and paste Latitude and Longitude for Google Earth)
33 25' 05.20" N
105 49' 30.65" W

My hike began at 8080 ft on a 2.5 mile trail to a 10,640 foot ridge line peak where I stopped there for lunch.

(copy and paste Latitude and Longitude for Google Earth)
33 25' 05.20" N
105 49' 30.65" W

The place was an open grassy peak where to the west it drops off with trees downslope. The stop was breath-taking with a grandeur view of the Tularosa Basin valley below me where the Chihuahuan Desert is. I could see White Sands to the southwest of me to the Valley of Fire lava field almost directly to the west. And mountain chain on the opposite side of the Tularosa Basin valley could be seen. After an hour of absorbing in the beauty and fresh air, my lunch break was over. I hiked back down piggy-backing a ridge line back to my truck, a 2 mile hike where I had to bush whack my way through in some parts with downed trees. I wasn't on a trail but above the trail where I was earlier along Bear Canyon Creek. It was an awesome hike. I just wished I had brought my camera that day.

Another hike I took was the Dog Canyon hike in the desert of New Mexico near Alamogordo. My hike started at the 4400 ft elevation up to 4900 ft elevation where I did my taping for my "Adversity" vlog for hearing parents of deaf and hard of hearing children that speaking isn't something to be ashamed about. That hike was a relatively short one yet it was steep with with an elevation gain of about 500 ft, though the trail was well built and easy to hike on with some crudely made steps that were built in.  The weather was quite warm that day being that I was in the Chihuahuan desert and all that. The view certainly looked different being almost 50 miles further south from a hike I did up to a 10,600 foot ridge line peak.

(copy and paste Latitude and Longitude for Google Earth)
32 44'53.19"N
105 54'35.90"W

Solitude means different things to different people. As a person with hearing loss my solitude is about nature and the environment where I get the opportunity to enjoy the high altitude views. It's about the smell, the sound, the view and even the effort to get where you want to be will experiencing solitude be more refreshing than ever. The crunching steps of my boots on the trail. The swiping of a few handfuls of huckleberries to quench my taste buds.  A car trip cannot replace that same feeling of solitude, nor will it get you that same feeling of reward the effort it took you to a place few people hike to. The spirituality is different when you are one with nature, hiking a trail while you mull over your thoughts, alone. I have a lot of hiking ahead of me and lot places to visit in Washington and Oregon, especially next on my radar is my "super-secret" swimming hole near Tygh Valley, Oregon that I went often went as a kid with my folks who grew up nearby in Dufur, Oregon. There is solitude in hiking. When will you take yours?

Hike to High Rock Lookout

I reported earlier about my planned trip to High Rock Lookout near Packwood, Washington but those days were rained out if anybody wanted to join. And finally I had a chance to hike on a perfect, gorgeous day with sunny weather, blue skies and warm temperature. Previous hike I chronicled was to Gotchen Creek Meadows on the southern flank slopes of Mt. Adams if you're interested in reading. Enjoy my slideshow that ends with a video shot at the top of High Rock Lookout panning the landscape below me. The fire lookout is still being used today during fire season to watch for signs of forest fires. It is on the National Historic Register when the lookout was built in the 1930s.

Be sure to click on the YouTube screen and enlarge to fullscreen. Also, be sure to view it in high definition. It's more spectactular that way.

Enjoy!

Deaf and blind hiker on Appalachian Trail

Here is something you don't see. A deaf and blind hiker on the Appalachian Trail in his attempt to hike the full length of the trail.

The 2,160-plus-mile Appalachian Trail is daunting enough for most hikers. For Roni Lepore and Roger Poulin, the trail presents extra challenges.

Lepore, who is deaf, and Poulin, who both deaf and blind in one eye and has tunnel vision in the other, talked about their special relationship with the trail when they spent several nights with Carol and Ron Baker at the Huffman House Bed and Breakfast at Creekside Farm near Newport, which is half a mile off the trail.

The hikers had accomplished more than 600 miles by the time they stayed with the Bakers, after starting their adventure in early April from Springer Mountain, Ga., on the trail that runs from Georgia to Maine.

The Bakers, who thru-hiked the AT – from end to end – in 1999 and said they found it “extremely difficult.” They noted Lepore and Poulin “hike faster than we ever could. They managed around our house and ‘talked’ to us by writing things in a notebook.

“Roni is very patient and loving and really cares that Roger makes it all the way to Katahdin, Maine. Roger is determined to hike through ‘thick or thin’! He gets banged up a lot, but trudges on! He generally comes in to the pick up site (I shuttled them) after Roni. She whoops and hollers and jumps up and down and claps for him. She is truly glad that he has made it,” said Carol Baker. “We can’t fathom how either of them is doing this!”

Lepore’s trail name is “Ram Sham” for Rambling Shamrock. The New Jersey resident holds bachelor and master’s degrees from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York in the area of Information Technology.

Maine resident Poulin’s trail name is Adventurous Cane. He was born with Usher Syndrome, the most common condition that affects both hearing and vision, which also comes with balance problems – not able to walk steady.

Read the rest here.

And here's a story about a hiker's dream to hike the 100 mile Wilderness Trail where he met a deaf hiker.

I also met a deaf hiker named Caribou and his dog, who had flipped from New Jersey and was now hiking south to there going 20 miles per day. Don’t think he’s quite on that pace though, as I just saw him at breakfast in Monson this morning a week after we met.

Deaf hikers on the Appalachian Trail? How often does that happen?

Anyway, if you live in the Northwest and like to hike then check out my next hike if you want to join and perhaps start the first get together of Deaf and HH Hikers of the Northwest.

See ya.