My week started with a visit to my Movement Disorder Specialist first thing Monday morning. I met with Tyler Southern PA-C at Asheville Neurology. The semi-annual evaluation usually consists of going over my medications, discussing new issues and a brief physical evaluation that has me doing a repetoire of certain tasks like walking down the hall, touching my finger to my nose and so forth. As I completed my “catwalk” for Tyler I balanced on one foot for several seconds. I was hoping for him to offer that my balance was great but had to setttle for his “pretty good” comment. I asked for a prescription of Diamox, a medication often used to treat or prevent altitude sickness and Tyler was happy to fulfill that request.
Next stop was to an optical store to get new prescription glasses both clear and sunglasses. I wanted a place where the staff would take time to consider my needs at high elevations. The higher one goes in altitude, the more damaging the ultraviolet rays from the sun can be to the eyes as well as the skin. My research beforehand led me to The Optical Shoppe which is a family run business, and it did not disappoint. I spoke to Susan Henderson, a Licensed Optician and the Owner of the shop, who was very delightful and even offered a discount when I presented my official Team Fox letter. I decided to use my old frames and only replace the lenses. Susan made helpful suggestions and treated me with professionalism and courtesy.
Next stop was to REI to get some of the gear I needed. The Fox Foundation sent a 2 ½ page list of equipment, clothing, footwear, and supplies needed for the trek. We will be traversing through five different climate zones and will have to be prepared for each of them. They range from farmland, tropical rainforest, the Afro-alpine moorland, alpine desert, and finally the artic zone. Since I do a lot of hiking, I have most of the things needed but still wanted to acquire a few more items. REI was having their biggest sale of the year so I was hoping Monday morning would be slower than other times and since I would be asking for help, did not want to impose an inconvenience upon the staff. I entered the store and asked to speak to the manager. Within a few minutes a friendly woman named LJ came up to me and shook my hand. I presented my official Team Fox letter and explained the purpose of my visit. I asked if there was someone who could help me find and choose the appropriate items I would need. She said that could be arranged and called a young man named Austin from the clothing section and assigned him to assist me.
Austin was all smiles and excited about my adventure. He started by bringing me an item from the Cotopaxi line. I told him I had actually been to Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador. That led us into a fun conversation about places we had lived and hiked around the world. He showed me different fleece pants and outer rain pants that I was looking for. He was very knowledgeable about the structure and fabric of the garments and made helpful suggestions. I settled on the ones I wanted and then he handed me off to Andre who was just as delightful as Austin. He took me to the equipment section and helped me decide on a duffle bag, new daypack with a rain protection cover, lots of snacks needed for energy especially in the high altitudes and a whistle to clip to my daypack. Then he very courteously offered to check me out at a back register, so I didn’t have to wait in the very lengthy line. The shopping excursion was a wonderful experience made special by my own personal shopping assistants, Austin and Andre.
Tuesday and Thursday were conditioning hike days. The first hike was on a trail about three miles from my house called Greens Lick. The 7.6-mile trail with 1,200 ft. elevation gain was a shaded, forested path. The Mountain Laurels were in full bloom and the trail was bountiful with glorious flowers bursting forth in beauty. We traversed over several small streams and found lookouts with beautiful vistas. The adventure was accomplished in 3 hours and 11 minutes.
Thursday I returned to Waterrock Knob with a different group of hikers to accompany me on this challenging and technical hike. Once again, the sky was blue and the sun shining. The views were beautiful as before but this time there was more haze in the air restricting the clarity of the ridge lines in the distance. There were different blossoms showing off their grandeur than just two weeks prior. The steep parts of the trail offered a good workout to all my muscle groups and challenged my balance. We visited the downed plane wreckage again and felt the sacredness of this mountain shrine to two men who lost their lives on this mountain. So, another week of getting ready has come and gone and now to enjoy a holiday weekend.
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Trekking Upward 