Guide dog helps blind man begin his NH4s quest

I think that's great, I hope Lauky and I are fortunate enough to meet them out on the trail one of these days.

Really inspiring. Thanks for sharing this.

Cool story, real human angle.

Not the first, however (in a way): Bill Irwin hiked the AT in the 80s (I think -- uh, 1990) and finished. Not sure if he had a guide dog.

Thanks for posting that!

--M. said:

Cool story, real human angle.

Not the first, however (in a way): Bill Irwin hiked the AT in the 80s (I think -- uh, 1990) and finished. Not sure if he had a guide dog.

Thanks for posting that!

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Kinda remembered that Bill Irwin did have a guide dog and found this:
http://www.njvf.org/hall/professional.asp

Scroll down and look in 1999.


This current story is quite neat as well - it will be interesting to see which routes they use.

WOW. Very inspiring!

Makes whatever your problems are seem so insignificant, which they really are.

Hope to meet them on the trails sometime.

I actually ran into him climbing Monroe on the Ammonoosuc Trail. I was told as I passed him that he was blind. He was moving along really well and there were about four other people with him.

My mom went completely blind overnight 18 months ago and without any warning so I can certainly relate to the emotions involved when someone goes blind. Life does go on and its folks like this guy that reminds people that you can do the things you love with a disability if you put your mind to it! I'm going to have to read this story to my mom...

Hey everyone. I'm one of Randy's hiking companions on this quest, and while I haven't posted to VFTT in a Really Long Time, this might be a good chance to get re-involved with the community here.

RollingRock, we saw you on Monroe! I didn't know you were a poster here, but glad to have "met" you. I was the gal with the sage-green hat. Carrie, the hiking leader for this trip, was the one guiding Randy up and down Monroe. Adventure Dawg was resting at Lakes after a long day of work.

A lot of our group's thoughts about the Mount Washington hike (and others) are written down on our blog, here: http://www.2020visionquest.org/Blog/

chipc, you wondered about the routes we use. I can talk more about that if you'd like. The short answer is, we pick the easiest routes. Randy and Quinn hike slowly, and we need to make the best possible use of our time and energy. The more complicated answer involves terrain analysis. Our speed over different kinds of terrain is *extremely* variable, far more so than most hikers. When the trail footing is excellent (like logging roads), we can move very fast. Staircases are easier than one might expect, too, like the section of the Ammo by Gem Pool. And we rocked the summit cone to Washington, much to my surprise!

But steep slabs, uneven boulders, water crossings, bridges (natural or otherwise), loose small rocks -- these all slow us down tremendously. Quinn has to pick routes and "tell" Randy about them, and Randy has to tell Quinn what needs to be done -- and though most of that communication is nonverbal (and stunningly accurate), it takes a lot of time. Also, some sections can only be safely negotiated with human leaders, and switching off between dog and human takes time too.

One of the ideas our group is pondering is how to get detailed trail info from other hikers in the NE community. The AMC guide, good as it is, just isn't detailed enough for our purposes. We can't formulate an accurate schedule or plan from those descriptions. So... we may come back to you guys for help.

Very cool I look forward to following the quest.

Jenifer said:

One of the ideas our group is pondering is how to get detailed trail info from other hikers in the NE community. The AMC guide, good as it is, just isn't detailed enough for our purposes. We can't formulate an accurate schedule or plan from those descriptions. So... we may come back to you guys for help.

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We'll all be glad to help! Especially if you are unsure about what may be the easiest route. I was thinking Ammo was chosen because of the rock staircase. I've saved the link to the blog. Even so, keep us informed of Randy's progress, or better yet, have Randy join VFTT so he can do it himself

--M. said:

Not the first, however (in a way): Bill Irwin hiked the AT in the 80s (I think -- uh, 1990) and finished. Not sure if he had a guide dog.

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After reading Bill Irwin's book, I was surprised he wasn't arrested for cruelty to animals
He apparently did a lot of stumbling over his dog.

There are a number of ways you can make some of the approaches easier, such as Carrigain Brook Road to Carrigain and old Stony Brook trailhead for Moriah. But there is going to be some tough hiking regardless.