Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board 5 Years cancer free today - Thank you

Hi One of the first things we noticed after opening the store was the things people can do , our first hint was Hulda Crooks sleeping behind our trailer getting ready for another trip to the summit , She was 92 that year.

Earlene comes into the kitchen and tells me a lady out front had a heart transplant and is heading up in the morning , I recall the guy at the Norco hardware store having a pump but didn't know about transplants yet but why not?


I hiked a lot with a lady in town one day she has a head ache and went in for a check up , after many test they find tumors and tell her she has 3 months , well that was about 5 years ago, she just quit driving several months ago and still comes up to the store for fresh air and a beer about twice a month.

I had a little trouble is the service and one kidney was removed , the doctor said that the high blood pressure may have did some damage and maybe I would make 30 but not much longer, So at 30 I got off the vacation tablets and see better days with Alice and the big rabbits , quit drinking and said I am going to take care of myself now that I didn't take the long ride in the big bus.

See the dreams, set your course and you will be the light as it shines never looking back always higher and ahead. We can all draw from the external power from around us once we open the door. Many on the board have opened that door. Thanks Doug

Interesting....

When I asked you if it was you who hiked with Hetchy last year, and you responded that you thought it was a hiker by the name of hike4hope, it made me curious... so I went back in the old posts on H.S.T. - I found that Hetchy was hiking with a person by the name of "Hikestrong". They were doing the Continental Divide, and dedicated it to cancer awareness. I never heard if they completed their hike.

I have a feeling that you were remembering a totally different hike....mine. Last year I started a website named "A Hike For Hope", and hiked the John Muir Trail in memory of my son, who died in 2008.

I won't go on about it here. This is an important thread, and I don't want to hijack it, but if you are interested, I invite you to visit the website www.ahikeforhope.com and read about a wonderful person by the name of Sonny.

Rosie

I THOUGHT hike4hope was a Rosie! So you are one and the same; nice to meet you. I did indeed read about your son when you did your JMT hike.

HikeStrong...maybe that was it. I get all us "hike" people mixed up! lol

Y'all are who keep me out there, even when I'm couch-bound. I am still in awe of Cindy climbing EVEREST!!!

I had wanted to do the base camp trek through Nepal this year, but that got disrupted by the leptomeningeal metastasis, so now I'm aiming for 2012.

Hi Doug Sr!
Grandma Whitney certainly was amazing, and she knew those mtns held the key to health!

My blog often gets hits from people with cancer who want to climb Whitney (it's on a lot of people's bucket lists, as I learned the day I climbed). Most recently I see someone with lung cancer wants to try it.

Given how much response we've seen in celebration of Joe's AWESOME MILESTONE (melanoma is a nasty one to fight), maybe it would be helpful to set up another section like the mtn by a fairer means, only for cancer/bucket list people. I can certainly attest to the different aspects of being out there while dealing with chemotherapy side effects and ill health, as I'm sure others can!



Aw,now, that's just beautiful poetry right there, Doug. Thank you and blessings to you and the family!

I still can't believe I climbed Everest! The trek to base camp is beautiful - keep it on your bucket list.

Congratulations Joe.

CindyAbbott said it well: many of us share similar stories and "Standing on top of a mountain fills my body and soul with such peace and power - it is very healing."

Best wishes for continued strength, healing and living life.

HikingforHope - WOW! Read your blog. You are amazing!

Cindy, I keep reading your story and saying, "How? How?" And I know the answer is "one step at a time," just like we all do, even when you hit the proverbial wall. I thought Base Camp could still be on my bucket list, but you give me the courage to dream of what I can do even beyond that.

One thing we all have in common, we know that un-a&&ing that sofa and getting out there in the mountains is a great way to rebuild while enjoying this awesome planet!

hikingforhope,

I actually used what I called "My 10-feet at a time rule" I would look up and see what it was going to take to get that next 10 feet. You can get a long way 10 feet at a time. Even up Everest

And I keep saying "How? How?" too!

http://hikingforhope.blogspot.com

In the above blog, I love how you paid tribute to your hiking buddy, Sarah. She was a beautiful girl. It's good to see that mountain lovers are animals lovers too....your blog made my heart swell and my eyes tear.