UnlicensedPI
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I guess it is possible, but our hiker had an ultra-heavy pack and walked very slowly. He also hiked fairly long stretches with the same people, and they never mentioned him being sick at all. Even with a disease or illness that would allow him to hike, I can't imagine he would be symptom-free for such a long time. And I haven't seen any concrete proof indicating he knew or wanted to die. As Gardener stated, he had plans for the future.That’s what I thought, too. But after I saw @EllieGato ’s post about Andy “Astro” Lyon yesterday, I read up on him a bit, and I’m not so sure ...:
“YAKIMA — You’re 23 years old with recurring cancer.
Do you withdraw from society? Visit every doctor you can find?
Or embark on an epic adventure?
Andy Lyon chose adventure. In April, the Laguna Beach, Calif., native loaded his backpack and set off alone on the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada.
Now, just 361 miles from the finish in British Columbia and facing the last few weeks of safe weather, Lyon’s Hodgkin’s lymphoma has flared up again. But he’s hoping a new treatment he received Wednesday will get him back on the trail at White Pass by this weekend.
[SBM]
He started April 7 after extensive preparations. He invested in an ultra-lightweight backpack, sleeping bag and tent, which together weigh less than 5 pounds. With food and water, his pack hovers just above 20 pounds.
That’s a good thing, as he has to walk about 20 miles a day through often grueling terrain: The PCT passes through the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the Mojave Desert in California, then through the Cascades in Oregon and Washington.
[SBM]
‘I knew that … whatever happened on the trail, even if I died on the trail, that would be the right thing. That would be my time and my place to go, and what better way to go than on an amazing mountain?’
His mother, who chronicles his journey through a blog and sends him food along the way, is on board.
‘I just want him to be happy,’ said Betsy Gosselin, who came to Yakima to help arrange treatment for her son.
[SBM]” (BBM)
Hiker with lymphoma finds healing on 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail
“There’s a tradition among thru-hikers to take on trail names. Not only do these handles represent membership in the tribe, they’re also an acknowledgement that the things that happen on a long-distance hike transcend normal life.
Andy wants his trail name to be about his diet. Whereas other hikers’ food bags—especially guys his age—contain Snickers Bars and instant ramen noodles, Andy’s is an apothecary of organic foods and vitamins. He wants to be known for running on such premium fuel. Then, a week and a day after leaving the southern terminus, he meets Gourmet.
Andy is already in his tent when Gourmet cruises past on the purple-painted desert flats 75 miles north of the border, rapping about snowboarding. He camps a short distance away, and, the next morning, Gourmet apologizes for the disturbance. But Andy just laughs and asks him to sing the lyrics once again. Gourmet is a 39-year-old musician from Seattle, doing his first thru-hike, but Andy doesn’t ask his real name. Nor does he tell him—or anyone else—that he has cancer. The two become quick friends.
[SBM]
Ten months after finishing the PCT, Andy steadies himself against the railing as he walks to the Crystal Hermitage Guest House at Ananda Village, his spiritual community in Northern California. Four days later, on the morning of August 30, his mother wakes him so they can watch the dawn. It is Andy’s last sunrise.” (BBM)
Gone Hiking | Backpacker
I really wish the coroner/CCSO would just clear this up already!