February 14, 2019

Double W blog

My adventure for 2017 is in memory of my father and son – William C. Olson and William K. Olson.  They were both remarkable men.  During their 90 and 25 years on this earth they endured four bouts of cancer, three plane crashes, heart problems, hearing loss, vision loss, a broken back, loss of childhood dreams, stem cell transplant – just to name a few things life threw at them - and they never failed to learn/try something new, do something nice for someone else, and make you smile every day.

They set examples as leaders in sports, Boy Scouts, friendship, academics, sustainability, stewardship, perseverance, tenacity and spirituality. 

I had hiked the lower 300 miles of the AT as a young man with my dad.  And it was always a dream of his to do a through hike of the Appalachian Trail, the AT.  A through hike is from end to end of the AT---from the North Georgia mountains to Mt. Katahdin, Maine (or the reverse).   So, it is in their spirit that I am setting off on my journey with a 45 pound backpack full of my food, tent, water, fuel, clothes, sleeping bag…everything I’ll need to survive in the woods.  My trip begins in mid-February and I hope to finish before October’s snow falls in Maine. 

As part of this journey, I hope to raise money for the Rally Foundation which gives 93 cents of every dollar to find cures for childhood cancer.  I hope to hike the 2100+ miles with your thoughts, prayers and Rally pennies, nickels, dimes or dollars for every mile--or day-- I hike in memory of my favorite Williams!  Your donation of any size makes a difference in what Rally can fund.  The Rally Foundation originated in 2005 in honor of my son, William, and since its humble beginnings in a prayer circle, Rally has donated    $9,000,000   across the US to improve childhood cancer survival.  You can find out more about donating at the following link: Rally Foundation

I value you positive thoughts and prayers for my health and safety as I go on leave from a great career to pursue a passion to hike the AT.  I'll look forward to your blog comments as I reflect on the AT's joys and challenges.  "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." Lao Tzu--- so I will try to step out with both feet to cover over 2,000 miles!