We proceeded on....

"We proceeded on" was the phrase Meriwether Lewis often used in his journals as he and William Clark made their trek to the Pacific Ocean and back. This phrase would be quite appropriate for a few modern day travelers as they proceed on with their own expeditions.

I thought I would take this opportunity to provide an update on some of these treks that I've mentioned on this blog in the past.

Blind Hiker makes it to Damascus:
That title sounds almost biblical. However, some of you may recall a story I did a few weeks ago regarding Mike Hanson, the blind hiker who was attempting to hike the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. Mike just reached the town of Damascus in Virginia the other day. Getting to Damascus wasn't easy. In a 3/27/10 posting on his blog, Mike stated that he needed to bypass the Smoky Mountains due to the unusually deep snow and ice conditions at the higher elevations. Mike plans to hike that section after reaching Maine in a couple of months.


Hiking the AT to Restore Shuckstack Tower:
Peter Barr is also hiking the Appalachian Trail. In addition to hiking the iconic trail, Peter is also using his trek to raise money to restore the Shuckstack fire tower in the Great Smoky Mountains. Peter recently crossed Big Bald Mountain and was in Erwin, Tennessee as of yesterday. You can find more information regarding his campaign and follow along on his website.


Section hiking the MST:
Smoky Scout and Danny Bernstein continue to tackle their section hike of the Mountain-to-Sea Trail. So far they've covered 237 miles of the roughly 1000-mile trail. Both are blogging about their journeys as they make their way across North Carolina. You can follow along by clicking here and here.


13-year-old makes it to Everest Base Camp:
This story is gaining some major national and international recognition. Jordan Romero, a 13-year-old from California, has reached Base Camp on Mt. Everest. If successful this climbing season, he will become the youngest person to ever reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Everest would also be his sixth of the "Seven Summits" - the highest points on each continent. He hopes to become the youngest to reach all "Seven Summits" by tackling Mt. Vinson in the Antarctic later this year. Since his arrival at Base Camp, Jordan has been training and has already made it up to intermediate base camp at 18,700 feet.

Jordan was recently interviewed on the Today Show. Here he is at Everest Base Camp:





Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.