... and the winners are

Raffle
You probably remember the raffle that I promised. Well, we have five winners as follows
1. Bill McGregor - Roswell, GA.
2. Joyce Piatt - Mableton, GA.
3. Frank Jakse - St. Louis, MO.
4. Senthil Mukunthan - Indianapolis, IN.
5. Push Venkat - Chicago, IL.

Congratulations! Bill gets to pick any one of the five prizes. Joyce gets to pick any of the four prizes not picked by Bill and so on. Please scroll to the bottom of this page for a list of the prizes.

Errata:
On 6/3, I wrote from the Grand Canyon to say I had completed my hike. I incorrectly stated that we covered 13 miles in 10.5 hours. We actually covered only 6.5 miles in 10.5 hours. What can I say, it sure felt like we covered 13 miles.

Hike, Run, Cycle:
A couple of weeks back, I wrote to you all about upcoming LLS events and asked that you each consider participating and raising funds for this cause. I am happy to report that Senthiru Lakhi of Houston, TX responded saying she is going to run a half marathon. Go Senthiru!

I know there are more of you out there who can do this. Just Do It. for more info, please visit http://hikefordiscovery.org or http://teamintraining.org

Thank You:
I have enjoyed writing these weekly notes for the past 4 months. Thank You for supporting my hike, the Leukemia and Lymphoma society and for allowing me to clutter your in-box. Please let me know if you miss these notes and I can always start another fund-raiser :-)

Grand Canyon Experience

Dreamland:
The alarm rang at 3:15 AM. I woke up and did not need to hit the snooze. I barely slept actually. I switched of the TV at about 9:30 the night before and slept. I was awake at about 11:30 though and couldn't go to sleep. I was far too excited about the next day. At some point, I dozed off. I dreamed that I was boarding the bus to the canyon along with the team. I knew it was a dream when I saw captain Jerry since I knew he didn't make it to GC. It was 2:15 and I went back to sleep rather quickly. The last hour was when I slept best.

I was ready pretty quick. I called David to make sure he was up and then headed down to the cafe shortly after 3:30. Judy and Ashley wished me luck and went back to sleep (at least Judy did). I wished Judy a happy Birthday before I left.

We collected our lunch sandwich and got a continental breakfast. We also got to meet our guides, Travis and Brian. Travis is actually from Marietta, GA and was very familiar with the places we had hiked as part of our training. He now lives in Flagstaff. Brian is a Ph.D. in Geology and teaches at ASU. He gave us a lot of info about the canyon. So much so, we named him "Doc Rock".

Sunrise:
We trudged out to the bus at about 4:30 AM. We had expected the temperature to be low and I was wearing a light jacket. There was another group also on the bus with us. They were going to hike the South Kaibab trail. I was seated next to Dave and as we were riding the bus, he was trying to get some last minute fund-raising emails sent using his Treo. Unfortunately, there was no cell-service inside the park and he couldn't get that done. We could already see the skies lightening up and it was a 11 mile ride to the Grandview point. There were a few points where we drove right by the canyon and I was able to take my first glimpses of the Grand Canyon. The enormity of the canyon suddenly dawned on me.

We got to the parking lot in time to see the sun come out. It was truly spectacular. The team spent quite some time taking pictures. We saw the Colorado river far in the distance. Superlatives such as "spectacular", "awesome" and "beautiful" were being liberally thrown around. We watched the sun come up over the North Rim and we could see the canyon change with the increasing light.

After some last minute instructions from the guides, it was off to Horseshoe Mesa. It was not at all cold and so the jacket was packed into the backpack and I started the hike with just a tee-shirt.

Horseshoe Mesa:
The hike down was at a relaxed pace affording plenty of opportunities for photographs. Brian kept giving us lessons on the Kaibab layer, Coconino Sandstone, etc. I enjoyed this aspect of the hike. I guess it is not very often that you have a Ph.D. in Geology take you on a tour of a geologic marvel such as the Grand Canyon. I have since found some pretty informative sites online about the geology of the canyon. Check it out.

On the way down, we stopped at Coconino Saddle for snacks and bio-breaks. Past the saddle, we saw several century plants(agave) in bloom. We also saw abandoned copper mines and mining equipment. The hike was at a very relaxed pace and we took another break at the old cookhouse when we reached the Horseshoe Mesa. There was supposedly a "toilet" here, but according to some of the hikers, it was best not visited - if you know what I mean.

After a short break, we continued along the western rim of the mesa. We had a brief part of the trail where the trail got real narrow with drop-offs on both sides. halfway through the section, Doc Rock turns around and says, "I guess I should have asked if anyone is afraid of heights". sense of humor indeed. Well, we did make it past and got to the very end of the horseshoe mesa with a good view of the valley below. We saw the Colorado river and it was a lot closer than when we had seen from the Grandview point, but it was still pretty far away. It was about 10:00 AM and we broke out the sandwiches.

On Horseshoe mesa, we saw two different types of cactii and they were all blooming. There were a lot of bugs and many intent on taking up residence in my ear. dealing with them was the toughest part of the hike yet.

The descent was steep and rugged at times but it didn't seem to be as hard as the Coosa backcountry trail that we negotiated twice as part of our training.

Exploring Caves:
Brian told us about these caves on the sides of horseshoe mesa that we could visit since we were doing okay on time. Getting to the cave involved going off the trail and descending about 75 feet along a very narrow trail on the side of the mesa. Brian had a few flashlights and about half of us went into the cave first.

Apparently these caves were under water and were formed about 300 Million years ago. They run for hundreds of miles and are a constant 76 degrees year round. We really cooled off in there. We kept going deeper into the cave and there were a couple of places where we had to be on hands and knees going from one room to the other.

There was one place where we had to descend about 15 feet from one room to another. We got to this place where visitors from the past had left their signatures. There was P.D. Berry from 1897, Miles Brothers from 1906 and many more. Brian apparently left a record of our visit as well although he wouldn't tell us of the name he used or where in the cave he left it. Oh well. We got to one room and had to do what every cave explorer apparently does - turn off all our lights and see how far into the distance we could see. I could not see my fingers when they were an inch from my eyes. No amount of time was helping our eyes get used to the lack of light. freaky.

By this time, the fine dust on the floor was all over and we were breathing in liberal quantities of it. It was time to head out and let the second group smell the dust.

The sun comes out:
The second group was in there for about a half-hour or so and we headed out at about 12:30PM. The sun broke out of the clouds and we could feel the temperature going up. Doc Rock stopped us just after we got off Horseshoe mesa to point out the parts of the canyon where the stratification was along inclined lines rather than along horizontal lines. He mentioned these this was due to a fold in the crust caused by Tectonic action over the millenia and that that particular fold extends all the way into Utah. He pointed out a particularly large butte that was inclined and this particular formation was called the "Sinking Battleship" for it's shape and the angle at which it lay.

As we continued on the hike up, I started to get tired rather quickly and was dragging my feet. I had been eating my Clif bars and drinking my protein drink regularly. I also had an electrolyte drink called HEED of which I had consumed almost all of the 20 ounces that I carried. I had also been snacking on pretzels for the salt. So I was a bit confused when I felt the sharp twinge in my right heel at about 1:30 PM. I tried to continue on but the twinges kept coming and I took a big step above this one particular rock and my right calf and left wrist were now cramping. I could not grip my hiking poles.

I took a seat on a rock and popped an Endurolytes capsule. Rita Grayson also gave me a Crystal Light powder of which I took two packets, mixed in about 16 ounces of water and drank that in almost a single gulp. Sandy suggested I take one more Endurolytes capsule and stick to a dosage of two every hour. She also had me do a few stretches. They all worked and I was starting to feel much better very soon and started the hike back. We had just started on the part of the trail with the switchbacks and so I took it pretty slow since I wasn't sure how well I had recovered.

We reached the Coconino Saddle at about 2:30 PM. I checked my water reserves and I had slightly less than a quarter of my Camelbak left. Several others had already run out of the 120 Ounces and others were close to running out. Luckily for us, Sandy carried a ton of extra water and Travis had been walking around with a 2.5 liter bottle of water in his pack for just such an eventuality. After a 15 minute break, We headed back up.

Hey, there's a rattlesnake:
At 3 PM, I popped two more Endurolytes and continued up. At this point, I felt well enough to get back to trying to take pictures. I realized that the fine dust from the cave had settled on all the glass surfaces of the camera and had gotten caked and I couldn't seem to just wipe it off. All the pictures since the cave appear softened because of this problem and I didn't take too many pictures.

I did have to take one picture of the rattlesnake though. Doc Rock had to call mission control to have a bus sent for us and so he decided to go off trail so he could make a clearer call using his Satellite phone. he promised great views and a few hikers followed him. Scott Powell followed the hikers but chose to wait in the shade under a tree. He pointed casually to the rock over which him and all the others stepped over and said - "hey, there's a rattlesnake".

There was indeed a pink rattlesnake all coiled with his head under his body. We made enough of a commotion that he peeked out but seemed to go right back to sleep. Scot made his way back over the boulder and waited for the others to return so he could photograph them as they made their way back around the snake. The picture he took of Sandy was priceless. Well everyone made it back without incident. We also learned that the bus was already waiting for us at the parking lot.

Ice Cold Water:
As we hiked up, we started seeing tourists who were just taking the view from under the rim and getting a taste of the trail. Someone in our group said "Civilians.... that must mean we are close to the end.." We were indeed very close to the trailhead and completed the hike shortly before 4 PM. I took two more Endurolyte capsules and just stood gazing out at the canyon. I noticed Horseshoe mesa down below and even the cave we explored.

The place was teeming with tourists and one of them asked me how long it took for us to get to the river and back. "I don't know ..." I said, "we never got to the river ". In any case, we took some group pictures and headed to the bus. Our driver was handing out cold water bottles from a cooler. Oh, how sweet that water tasted. I sat in the very first row of the bus not wanting to walk anymore than I really had to.

Celebration:
We were going to meet at a bar at the bright Angel lodge for drinks, but it was almost 5PM when we reached the lodge. Judy and Ashley were waiting along with the Markert family - Dorothy, Dana and Delaney. They had seen the IMAX movie at the visitor center earlier in the day and walked 3 miles along the rim and then waited for us to show up. It was Judy's birthday and she even got a free admission to the IMAX.

We boarded a park shuttle to where Dorothy had parked the car. On the way, we saw two huge elk that were sporting massive sets of antlers. We got back to the hotel and had just enough time for all of us to get a shower and head down to Dinner.

Dinner was a south-western affair, with tacos, ground beef, fish, chicken, etc. I loaded up on coffee, proteins and cheesecake. After dinner, it was time to dance and Ashley had fun doing the Chicken Dance and the Macarena among others. Some of the hikers from other teams seemed to be having fun and provided plenty of entertainment for us. We did not stay long. Most everyone headed back around 8:30PM. It had been a long long day, but one that I will definitely remember for a while.

Encore:
We made plans to go out to Grandview point the following morning so Judy, Ashley and the Markert family could see the sunrise. The plan was to meet at the Lobby at 4:30AM. I woke up at 4 and found a note under our door from Dave saying they won't be making it. They were going to sleep in so they could go back later in the day and hike a bit. I met Katie, Sarah and Scot in the lobby waiting for their 5AM departure to Phoenix.

Judy, Ashley and I reached Grandview point at about 5:30PM. It was a bit chilly and Ashley was wearing my huge yellow jacket. We watched the sun come up and I showed them Horseshoe mesa, the cave and the approximate route of the trail. We also got to take a few steps into the trail before they headed back to the warmth of the car. I stayed a little longer, went a little further and reflected on the previous day.

We headed back to Tusayan after stopping at the park entrance for pictures at the National Park sign. We got a good breakfast at McDonald's and I crashed for a couple of hours since I knew I would be driving most of the way to Las Vegas.

I think, we all had a great time at the Grand Canyon. It was every bit as advertised and is an experience not to be missed.

Photos:

• My Grand Canyon Experience


• Me, Me, Me - Photos of me at the GC by other hikers


• Dave Markert's Album


• Doc Rock's Album

Prologue

Westward:
After months of anticipation, it was finally time to head out to Arizona. We were all excited. Ashley was excited because she got to fly (among other things I guess). As usual, I was up late the previous night wrapping up stuff and barely got to sleep before we had to wake up at 4:30AM. We got to Phoenix on Thursday 5/31 and rented a car and drove to the Embassy Suites. We traveled separate from the team. We met the Abhazis on the flight. The trip was uneventful. Unfortunately, the team didn't have such a smooth flight. Thanks to Airtran, some were left in the check-in line, others were left in wrong gates. Everyone made it to Phoenix sometime during the day.

Phoenix:
We spent the afternoon indoors (away from the 105 degree heat). Judy and Ashley went to the pool for a very brief time. They beat a hasty retreat when they realized the heat (dry or otherwise) was unbearable. We visited the Desert Botanical Garden and were there from 6 till about 8PM. This park was quite neat. It was small enough to be covered in 2 hours but was packed with all kinds of native and non-native cactii. The plants were also blooming this time of the year. We got back to Scottsdale and drove by Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West. We wanted to visit the place, but didn't think the entry fee for Ashley would be justified... We had dinner at a chinese buffet on Cactus Blvd near the Embassy Suites. The best thing that can be said about that is that the food was served with no delay.

We were all still on Eastern Time and so were pretty beat. So it was off to bed. I noticed the nice golf course and the hills just south of where we were and thought the sunrise would be pretty cool to capture and so set the alarm for 5:30 AM and slept. I woke up at 5:15 when I realized the room was already pretty bright. Apparently, the sun rises pretty early out here.. explain that to me. There were already folks out on the driving range and a queue was forming on the first hole waiting for the sprinklers to finish.

The plan was for the team to meet at the lobby after breakfast and head out at 9AM. We loaded the car and headed to breakfast at Tatum's and there was a long line since pancakes, eggs, etc were being cooked to order. After the dinner the previous night, I did not mind the wait for a good breakfast and it was good. I met the other hikers at breakfast. Most importantly, I met Sandy and confirmed that she did have my hiking poles. Since they were a bit unwieldy, she carried all our hiking poles - there's a leader for you. I noticed there was an REI just opposite the hotel and I guess I could have bought a pair if mine had been misplaced. In fact, there were some hikers who went over for last minute stuff.

Sedona:
The plan was to stop in Sedona at about 10:30AM and spend till 1PM when we would head out to the Grand Canyon. I followed the two buses for a while, but they were going too slow through the mountains so I figured I would pass them and let them catch up as we got closer to Sedona. We never saw the buses until we got to the Grand Canyon. We got off the highway and drove to Sedona, via Cottonwood, AZ. My decision to leave the highway and take the back roads was rewarded by a Starbucks at the exit :-)

The terrain in Phoenix was stark, drab and brown. I know some people love it. Seeing Phoenix, we realized how much we love the greenery in the eastern US. The scenery got better as we headed north. We took a detour through the main street in Cottonwood, AZ and then headed out to Sedona.

Sedona had these neat Red Rock formations. We stopped at the Red Rock State Park, took pictures around the visitor center and then it was on to the downtown area. We drove around looking for good locations to take pictures. We got a bite to eat at the Burger King (yeah, I know it doesn't sound very exotic) and then drove to the Coffee Pot rock. The rock formations all had names. Coffee Pot rock, Sphinx Rock, Capital Butte, Chimney rock, etc to name a few.

We spent about an hour taking pictures from a couple of spots, did some shopping at the Safeway and headed north on 89A to Flagstaff. On the way we made more stops at the Midgely bridge and at a spot in the Coconino National forest to look at the Oak Creek Canyon. These were all dramatic and it seemed to slowly raise our expectations of what we would encounter at the Grand Canyon.

We reached our hotel in Tusayan at around 5PM. This was just outside the entrance to the Grand Canyon National Park and the team had arrived earlier and visited the park. For several hikers, it was their first view of the canyon. As for me, the first view had to wait until the next morning.

Inspiration Dinner:
A temporary archway made of hiking poles greeted us as we entered the Canyon Star restaurant at the Grand Hotel. We had a buffet that featured lots of pasta. Hikers who had raised over 10K were recognized. The GA team had two hikers namely Cathy Lewandowski and David Markert who had raised over 10K. David in fact had at that point raised slightly over 20K. We also recognized all the LLS staff, the mentors and the hike leaders who have been crucial to our journey these past few months. The last group of people to be recognized were cancer survivors who were now hikers doing their part to beat cancer. The Georgia team had two survivors as well - The husband and wife of Anne & Ed Abhazi. There was no more doubt as to why we were there.

After Dinner, there was a dance presentation by members of the Navajo tribe. The GA team met briefly to go over departure times, etc and then gathered for a group photograph.

I had earlier been told that I would have to report for breakfast at 3:45 AM and that my group would have 13 hikers - 11 from GA and 2 from Columbus, OH. We left for our rooms at about 8:30PM. Judy and Ashley crashed almost immediately. I packed my Camelbak, made sure everything I needed for the morning was readily available and settled in with the Gladiator playing on TV. The last thing I remember before sleeping was "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." I was very sleepy, but I didn't sleep for long.....

Photos:

• Phoenix


• Sedona

I made it

I wanted to drop a quick note to say that I did make it out of the canyon. We hiked a total of 6.5 miles on the Grandview Trail to Horseshoe Mesa and back in about 10.5 hours. We descended some 2,700 feet. The weather was great. The sun was behind the clouds except for a brief period which made me dread what it would be like if the sun had been beating down on us all day (more on that later).

It was a great experience and I was glad I did it. More details and pictures will be in a later post :-) right now, it is off to Vegas.

A shot of inspiration

We started our training on February 10th with a hike up Stone Mountain. Several hikers had returned for mid-week hikes to Stone Mountain. This past Saturday, we returned for a group hike to close out the training. It was a relaxed walk up to the top. We had several guests who joined us. The kids were a lot of fun and the ease with which they were running up and down the trail was enviable. One of the kids was also a survivor. Caleb Kight was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma when he was 18 months sold. He underwent successful treatment and has been in remission for 6 years. It was great seeing him have fun. Here's Caleb with a magnolia he found....



More pictures from Stone Mountain are here.

Last week we all received a note from our honored hero Elijah Cox. I wrote about Elijah back in March. Here is Elijah's note.


Elijah Cox
5/15/07

Hike For The Fight

Thank you so much for letting me be the honored hero for the Hike for Discovery team. I know it's hard to train and do all the other things you have to do each day. Your time and energy you put into this cause... it means a lot to me and patients around the world. Hang in there during your walk and I will be praying for the team while you are there. Thanks for walking for me.

Sincerely,
Elijah Cox


It was pretty cool to receive this note. Speaking of Elijah, I learned last week that he is done with his once a month chemo regimen. He will have the port removed shortly and will be on maintenance for a while. Go Elijah.

Hike for Discovery:
... and so this hike will end on Saturday... but, the hike goes on for the millions of cancer patients. Atlanta LLS will be kicking of fall hikes to the Grand Canyon and Kauai, HI.

I hope you will consider joining this worthwhile cause. You can find more information about the GC and HI hikes at the Atlanta HFD site. The kickoff for these hikes is on June 9. Now is the time to step up.

If you do not live in the Atlanta area, you can find your local chapter at the HFD website - http://www.hikefordiscovery.org.

Perhaps you are a little more athletic and would like to run a marathon or complete a 100 mile bike ride, then Team in Training - http://www.teamintraining.org/ is for you.

regardless of whether you choose to Hike, Marathon or Ride, remember that no prior experience is needed. You will get professional training. A will to fight and make a difference is the only requirement. Hope you will consider this.

Counting to 10

This past Sunday, we headed back to Vogel State Park to hike the Coosa Backcountry Trail. We did this trail just the week before last and this was the last big hike before the trip to Arizona. The objective was simple.... finish the 12.5 miles faster than the 7 hours and 34 minutes it took last time.

The conditions were very different. It was a clear day with temperatures in the mid 40s as we started the hike. By the time we finished the hike, the temperatures had gone up to the mid 80s. The hike was just as hard as the last time. We made a lot fewer stops and I struggled to keep up with the lead group of 6 hikers. After a brief stop for lunch at the end of the first climb, We headed out without waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. It was that way the rest of the day.

We completed the hike in 6 hours and 30 minutes. The last climb up from Wolf Pen gap was where I struggled the most. That climb itself was very similar to the climb up to Kennesaw Mountain... not much of a challenge by itself, but it sure was hard after the first half of the hike. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the tripod that I was carrying... I had to force myself to take a 100 paces... counted 1 to 10 ten times, before I could stop for a 15 second break. Once we got to the top, we had to hike down that same brutal slope. I sure was glad Sandy chose not to hike in the clockwise direction.

Pictures from Coosa are here.

Fund Raising Update:
On 5/23, I will be turning in the last few checks and cash and calling this one done. Looks like the final tally will be $4,590.00 You guys are awesome.

We actually have a countdown meeting at the LLS office tomorrow evening. I will not be able to attend though. I will be at Turner Field watching the Braves beat the Mets along with a group of Atlanta area Vincentians. Go Braves!

Red-Eye Trail

This weekend we were going on a "short" hike and the plan was for Judy and Ashley to join as well. We were going to hike at the Sweetwater Creek State Park in Lithia Springs. I spent the latter half of last week in Redwood Shores, CA and if all had gone as planned, I would have had just enough time to get off the red-eye, go home, pick up Judy & Ashley and be at the park at 8AM. As it turned out, my flight was delayed and we got to the park only at 8:45 AM.

The group was long gone and it was up to us to make the best of the day. We chose to hike the Red trail. This trail was rated "moderate" and would take us along the creek to the "falls" overlook. It was only a mile to the falls from the parking lot, but it was a beautiful walk with the trail getting quite rugged at times. The rain overnight had caused the creek to swell up.

By the time we got to the falls overlook, Judy and Ashley had had enough. We decided to take the Blue trail back to the parking lot.

We had been to this park before for a picnic. We had no idea that there was such a beautiful hike (not that we had looked). Despite being a bit tired, Judy and Ashley enjoyed the hike. Next week, it is back to Vogel state park and the Coosa Backcountry trail. Two more hikes to go before the big one.

Pictures from the hike are here.

Fund Raising Update:
We did it. We have now met the goal. We are actually at $4,550 at this point. Words cannot express how happy I am at having met the goal. Thank You all.