Date: 2013-08-13
To: A Tribute to Grandpa
Miles today: 0.0

This is a very sad day for the Pyke family. My father, Trevor¢s grandpa and hiking partner for several hundred miles of trail, passed away this morning. I would not typically place a tribute of this nature on a public forum such as trail journals, but feel it is an appropriate thing to do, due to the fact that he was a source of inspiration for Trevor to hike the entire trail as a ¢Thru-hiker¢. Trevor indicated to me that he wants to dedicate this hike to his grandpa. Ronald Pyke was born on April 28, 1925. He was the oldest son, and the 3rd child of 6. He had 3 sisters and 2 brothers. He grew up on a farm and learned how to work at an early age. He married Marilyn Esh at the age of 23 and together they started a family that consisted of 5 children, 2 girls and 3 boys. They bought a home in the country in southwestern Michigan, situated between two dairy farms.Dad was a very industrious man and knew how to work. He had a big garden every year, and had fruit trees as well. He would work all day and come home and work in the garden or other necessary chores required of a man to take care of his home and family. As a child I have many happy memories that included both work and play. Hoeing the garden, pulling weeds, and mowing the lawn always came before play, and we did plenty of that. As hard as dad worked he always took time to play. We lived close to a lake and in the summers went swimming once, sometimes twice a day. When dad wasn¢t working he was playing ball or swimming with us. On weekends, when he wasn¢t making a living he would go on hikes with us, play games, and go on camping trips. Our family always enjoyed the outdoors and a move south in 1969 led to a whole new world of outdoor activity in the mountains of western North Carolina, which included backpacking and hiking. Our first AT hike was from Newfound Gap to Charlie¢s Bunion in the Great Smoky Mountains. What followed in the years to come were numerous hiking and backpacking trips to the southern Appalachians. That led to backpacking trips out west to the Colorado and Wyoming Rockies. Dad was always known for his strength. ¢Uncle Ron¢ was always challenged by the cousins to an arm wrestling match, which they never won, even when allowed to use both hands. His strength was demonstrated to me as a young boy when he would lift the front end of a VW Beatle off the ground effortlessly. Dad started running after the age of 50 and ran numerous races, including several marathons, and garnered a number of trophies for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in his age division. I¢m not sure when dad decided he wanted to hike the entire AT. Being gone for months at a time was not something that interested him, nor my mother, so once it became evident that this was a serious goal we began laying plans in 1993 and 1994 to do so in sections. It became evident to me that he would need support so I became very involved in helping him and made plans to join him in his endeavor. In September of 1995 we made a trip to Maine and my son Thomas, age 9, my dad, age 70, and I climbed Mt Katahdin and hiked the 100 mile wilderness. Each year thereafter we would take 10 days in the fall to hike in the Northeast, working our way south. During the rest of the year we would take long weekends to hike sections from the south end up. Being only a couple of hours away from the southern end and from the Smokies made it much easier to complete the southern half. My brother, Gary, played a huge part in helping my dad complete the middle part of the trail: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and the lower half of Pennsylvania. Trevor began hiking with dad at the age of 9 in 2004, starting on top of Mt Greylock. He was able to hike the following 3 years and was hiking with him in October of 2007 when my dad completed the trail in the middle of Pennsylvania. Trevor also hiked portions of VA, NC, and TN and we estimate he hiked about 500 miles in total with his grandpa. Many family members hiked a portion of the AT with my father during his 12 year quest; sons (Bill, Gary, and Tom), and grandsons (Zeb, Chad, Adam, Matt, Thomas, Travis, and Trevor). I¢d especially like to recognize my mother for her support of dad as he took time away from her to achieve his dream. Dad left a lasting impression on me and my 3 sons and I¢m very pleased that Trevor has dedicated his hike to his grandfather, my father, ¢Happy¢s Pappy¢.