Date: 2016-08-03
From: Rest Day. / Trail Magic

To: Rest Day. / Trail Magic
Miles today: 0.0

It was a late spring day 9 years ago when a young local from Lincoln New Hampshire was testing out equipment for his future thru-hike. Chet West was an avid outdoorsman that spent most of his time hiking, biking and snowboarding on the surrounding mountains. When he was not working at the large outfitter store in town you could find him waiting for his next call with the volunteer fire department.   Then one night when testing his new canister stove his life changed forever. It was a first-year stove and there was a major defect in the construction of it. The stove blew up in his face with fuel igniting his entire body. When the fire department finally arrived and found him collapsed on the front lawn they all looked at each other and thought the same thing. Are friend is not going to make it. Chet was flown to Mass General where he spent the next four months in an induced coma. His dad got five different calls in that time period stating to come down and say goodbye as they thought they were losing him for good. This guy never gave up. He beat all the odds. In numerous papers in New England they had dubbed him the Miracle Man.   When Chet finally regained consciousness he realized his past life was gone forever. With massive internal damage due to inhaling superheated gases among other things he was left legally blind, permanently damaged lungs, lost his gallbladder, and had burns to his throat with 45% of his body being skin grafted. Chet would be confined to a wheelchair the rest of his life.      So what is one to do? Give up, throw in the towel, quit. Not this young man. He took that fuel company settlement to purchase a very modest house. Then took part of his home and garaged and turned it into a thru hiker hostel. There would be no fees or charge for hikers to stay. He was just there to help those who needed it most. The Whites are some of the hardest terrain on the AT to resupply for food, shelter and find inexpensive housing. When my wife and I bought this little vacation condo up-north I immediately tracked down Chet. We had much in common and are interests in the Appalachian Trail made us instant friends. I never come up to the mountains without stopping by and visiting. We have been in constant contact the entire hike, as I call Chet every two weeks and give him updates from the trail. I can tell he hangs on every word like many others living vicariously through me. So when I'm having a rough day or should I say very rough start with the freezing temperatures in Georgia. One of my inspirations was Chet. So what else was I going to do? Give up, quit, throw in the towel. This guy would give anything to even attempt a thru-hike. What would my excuse be? That I'm too cold. That I miss the comfort of my bed or driving my truck, or my family that will be there the rest of my life once I get back. No way, not me, you couldn't drag me off this trail. I realize there's too many people out there that are physically or even mentally incapable of this cross-country journey and can only dream about something like this. I'm one of those lucky people who has the ability to conquer this expedition and with four hundred and fifty miles left I feel more confident than ever that I will end up at that sign on Mount Katahdin around Labor Day. Yes, I'm doing this for me. Some people say this hike is a selfish act. But I also have other reasons. I'm doing this for every Chet that is out there rooting for me and enjoying my journey as much as I am .    A day of relaxation and reflection on the Appalachian Trail.