Progress

Mon, 24 Mar 2003

Tom called last night. He and Charlie Martin were in Franklin, NC for a few days. Both had a cold so was
going to take it easy. Been averaging about 8.5 miles per day. Said they had climbed up Albert Mt. - 5200
feet up - rocky, steep and narrow. He says he has his down hill legs now and almost has his uphills [needs
to strengthen his upper thighs]. Had some burning in his feet toward end of day, but has solved that
situation. Mid-day he takes off the boots and massages his feet. He had a funny story. Hiking with him the
other day from the Troy Hill Shelder was a couple. The husband was heavy set and had his pack
overloaded [Tom says he must have brought everything he owned].Well he was hiking behind his wife
and she came into the Muskrat Shelter at a reasonable hour. Her husband came in about 9 PM. He told of
following what he thought was the trail at a point about half way between the two shelters and ending up
back where they had begun that day. It's about 9-10! miles between shelters. Tom says no one is
following him. I sent off some brownies I bake [haven't baked brownies in years - the bakeries do a good
job but these had to be homemade] and cookies from Ken and Ginny. He should enjoy them in about a
week in Fontana Dam. Got pictures back the other day and will get them to the fellow managing the web
site so you can see how happy he is. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Until I hear again. Trudie

Sun, 30 Mar 2003

Just got off the phone with Tom. He and Charlie are holed up at the Fontana Dam Inn. Came in off the trail
[about 6 mi] to dry out.

Last night Tom slept in the shelter and felt a "bump in the night" on his feet and looked up to see an
shadow moving around. Some of the others in the shelter saw it and they think a fox visited them. Charlie
likes to sleep outside in his tent, that Tom says he pops up and down in 3 minutes. Charlie kept hearing
things sliding off his tent and when he woke up he found he was covered in SNOW!! They had about 3
inches at that point. Tom and Charlie decided to head into Fontana Dam. Some of the others went on into
the Smokeys. They are expecting about a foot of snow in the Smoky Mountain Range tonight. Tom will be
laying low until Tuesday morning. He says they are staying in the original village that was erected when
the TVA built the Dam. The dam itself is 1/4 to 1/2 mile long.

Along one of the trails they ran into a Trail Angel [these are people who leave treats along the trail or
actually come into the camp sights and bring food]. They had hiked straight up for 7 miles, reached some
flats, rounded a corner and there in the middle of the trail were two large tents, two long tables and chairs.
The angel wore a badge which said Trail Angel Apple [Apple was his last name]. He is an engineer for
IBM and he takes one week vacation each year and goes out onto the trail. The tables were covered with
Aspirin, Bufferin, soda, candy, popcorn and more and he was cooking hot dogs with mustard and relish.
All for the taking, no charge. Also if they wanted to stay the tents were set up so anyone could stay the
night for free.

Tom says the young kids on the trail hike real fast. He and Charlie start out about 7-8 AM and they are all
still sleeping. Early afternoon they go whizzing by and get to the next shelter about an hour ahead of them.

Tom has made friends with two Hebrew guys, Dan and John, from New York. They're playing leapfrog on
the trail. They can't believe that Tom at 67 is doing so well and they wanted to know if he had a trail name
yet. Everyone eventually gets tagged with a trail name. They asked him if he had ever seen the movie
Braveheart because they thought that would be appropriate but he has asked them to come up with a
Hebrew name. They are to meet at Hot Springs and he should have his trail name then - if someone doesn't
tag him first. Dan had gotten some sausage from New York and shared it with Tom. Due to get some good
New York Corn Beef for the next encounter.

Tom is still enjoying the adventure and especially all the people they are meeting. He and Charlie appear to
be a good match.

He described one experience he will never forget. They were in a shelter in a valley with the mountains all
around them. They could hear this loud roar of the wind coming over the mountains. It would pass right
over them but the air would remain perfectly calm where they were. Then a few minutes later it would
happen again.

That's it for now. Web Master should be back from Florida in about two weeks and then the web site will
have new photos.

Trudie

Sun, 6 Apr 2003

Just a short antedote. Everyone who knows Tom well will acknowledge that this could happen because
they've had similar experiences being with him. Tom gets great a kick out of seeing how far he can go and
with that boyish, impish grin he usually succeeds, much to my shagrin and embarrassment at times.

From Tom's AT Journal "In His Own Words"-

"At Fontana Dam - Just back from outrigger Store - bought a frog tog. Will be sending back heavy
raincoat. Only restaurant here closes at 3PM. Well you know me - it's 3:20 - door open - I walk in - come on
Charlie follow me. We sit down -waitress comes over to tell us - we're closed - I ask for coffee that they're
going to throw out anyway - she says O.K. Then I ask what are they throwing out, back in the kitchen?
Ha-Ha- she comes back with 2 big bowls of chili. Charlie is all smiles -and it's all free - How you do that he
asks? Well I said - Charlie I'm not afraid to ask..."

Tom should be nearing Hot Springs, NC soon and will have more updates for you then. Trudie

Twice in one day. Just had a call from Thomas. He's at Fontana Dam.

Note to George - He's 3 days away from Hot Springs. Charlie's phone not working well in the mountains.
He'll try to reach you a day before but he's due to be at the post office there to pick up his food drop. If
you don't hear and decide to take a chance to meet him - Good Luck.

He and Charlie did 15.6 miles today and arrived at Mountain Mama's. It's a dumpy 8x8 cabin with 4 bunks
[only two are usable]. He says she is a good 'ole mountain girl, about 45 y.o. and looks like Dolly Parton.
He had a picture taken with her. Will post it as soon as it arrives. She said, "The Lord has brought you to
me"

Again those of you who know Tom well, know that he meets people wherever he goes in this world that
either he knows or knows someone they know. In fact on past sales trips a pool has been organized to see
how long it will take Tom to make that contact. He's done it in Paris, Germany, Bermuda, Mexico, all over
the U.S. and even in the elevator in the Dominican Republic. Well.... he met a hiker from Pookeepsie, NY
that knew the owner of the electronics firm he sold for back in the mid 1960's. His record is unblemished.

They've had some good weather the past few days but have been through some heavy rains and winds.

He sounded tired tonight, so the conversation was short but will hear from him again in 3 days. I love
reading the sections of his journal and writing these e-mails to all of you is very therapeutic for me. Miss
him a little less sharing with you..

Trudie

Wed, 9 Apr 2003

Just talked with Tom. He's so excited. We have friends, George and Muriel Hamilton, who live in
Hendersonville, NC and they drove to Hot Springs to try to connect with him. They tell me Hot Springs is
a very small town and the trail passes right through the middle of town. They had lunch in the only
restaurant in town and watched the hikers come in. They had just gone out to their car and turned it
around so it faced the direction of the trail entrance when Muriel thought she spotted Tom. Tom says he
saw this fellow coming toward him in a big cowboy hat and when he helled, "Hey, Moran" he broke into
tears. They've taken him home with them, cleaned him up, fed him [Muriel can't cook the food fast enough]
and are going to keep him until Saturday morning, when they'll drive him back to Hot Springs and send him
on his way. His partner, Charlie has gone on so we'll have to see who Tom hooks up with next. George and
Muriel are experimenting with an inexpensive digital camera and they took some photos, unfortunately
Muriel got only Tom and George's feet. George got a photo of Tom and Muriel and it is attached. The
white halo is Tom long white hair and beard. Muriel says it looks good. They did take one on Tom's
camera of Tom with a pan of brownies, lounging in George's Japanese Kimono. You'll have to wait until I
get that developed to see it. He'll be callling again tomorrow and I'll fill you in on any new adventures.
Trudie

Sat, 12 Apr 2003

Hey ya all

Am having a great rest at friends, George and Muriel Hamilton's lovely home in Hendersonville, NC. They
picked me up at the trailhead in Hot Springs. Sooo good to see their familiar faces. Muriel washed all my
clothes and after a shower George loaned me some clothes to wear. Felt so good. Muriel can't cook the
food fast enough. She says I've got to get some more weight on, before I head out again. George says he's
enjoyng all the food too. Went into Hot Springs and got fitted for new boots - a two hour process! But
they feel good.

Have enjoyed reading all your e-mails. Trude saves them for me. Your encouragement means a lot. Nice
hearing some familiar voices on those surprise phone calls - they really meant a great deal. Thanks
everyone for your support.

By the time most of you read this I will be on my way to Roan Mt - about an 8 day hike. Keep me in your
prayers.

Tom

Had a call from the Hamilton's at 8:30 this morning. They had dropped Tom off at the trailhead in Hot
Springs. George said he was really anxious to get started. Grabbed his pack out of the car, lifted it onto his
back and he was off. George was amazed at how quickly he recovered. He said Tom had put in his longest
day on Wed and was wet, muddy and dog tired when they picked him up. In about four hours he was the
old Tom again. They enjoyed all his stories. Tom got a lot of phone calls, that he thoroughly enjoyed
receiving, and once Muriel answered the phone, "Tom Moran's answering service". It was a telemarketer!

Don't expect to hear from him for about a week. He will be celebrating our 44th Wedding Anniversary while
on the trail.

Next month Tom will have his 67th birthday. I thought it would be fun to get a bunch of cards for him.
Since it's hard to predict exactly where he'll be [so you could mail direct] how about mailing them here and
I'll put them in the appropriate mail drop. Then I'll include a mailer for him to return them to me and they'll
become part of his memory book. Mail to: 25 Brook Rd, Falmouth, ME 04105

Until I Hear again. Trudie

Thur, 17 Apr 2003

Hi every one:

Just wanted to say hi and I'm feeling good. Thank you all for the mail ,and support. keep those cards ,and
letters coming...Have met some very nice people so far, no jerks in through-hikers...Trail-name for
consideration to date is : Tom's of Maine:, Not official yet but i will be up-dating you later. Right now were
heading to Damascus, Va.....Love to all....... Tom.....

Know you all got a message directly from Tom but thought I'd add more that he shared with me. He called
early last evening from Erwin, TN. Had planned to stay two nights but that may change as he realized that
he would get to Roan on Sunday and have to lay over until Monday to pick up his mail drop. He was
staying in a hostel with about eight others who came off the trail with him. They had just eaten at an All-
You-Can-Eat Pizza and Salad for ........ $3.99!!! The folks who run the hostel was taking them in his van to a
rib place later. Oh, don't hikers love that fat and protein!!. He said the Elephant Story is true and he is
sending pictures. Got to go to the trail book to find out what he is taking about. Also said he got some
good shots from Big Bald. Have discovered that the Trail Book has lots of tidbits and folk lore about the
trail and am going to make an effort to start to put some of that into some e-mails for you. He sounds great.
Feet are better but still bothersome. Breaking in new boots. Let's direct some of those prayers in that
direction. Almost forgot, Tom says he weighs 170 pounds. Tomorrow the 18th is our 44th Wedding
Anniversary. Happy Easter to all of you. Trudie

Sun, 20 Apr 2003

Tom of Maine has been suggested as his trail name. Says it's not official yet. I think it sounds good.
Jeanette, our daughter, is going to get him a Tom's of Maine hat and take the " 's" off if it happens. Think I
forgot to mention last time that Tom is down to 170 pounds!! I just mailed some new photos to Tom Smith.
So far nothing new is on the web site. Keep checking. Tom may not be home from Florida, yet.

My Tom sent some more of his journal home that covers the period from Fontana Dam to just before he
got to Hot Springs. He mentions that the trail after the snow was a river of mud. One of the photos he sent
shows the trail through the snow with a hiker off in the distance. Also has a photo of a very rocky ledge
that was part of the trail and an area where some trees have been knocked down - there was a plane
wreckage below. Once again there is evidence of how small the world is - he met a couple of young fellows
from Belfast and Gorham, one had worked for Olympia Snow.

Tourists everywhere are the same and Tom gave them a typical Mainiac's answer to their questions. "How
far have you come?" "Started in Georgia." "How far are you going?" "To Maine." "How long will it take
you?" " 'til September." "How much does your pack weight?" "About 40 pounds." How do you keep
warm?" "Keep walkin'."

He passed through Gatlinburg but he said Dolly Parton was not home. Shucks. Also he mentions and a
picture arrived of the bear cage on front of one of the shelters. To keep the bears out. It's a left-over from
year 2000 when many hikers were attacked and a couple of them were killed by bears. It had been a very
dry season and the bears were looking for food. Fortunately that will not be a worry this year.

May hear from Tom again next few days. he'll be in Roan, TN and then 4 days to Damascus, VA. He will
cover 550.5 miles in Virginia. His goal is to reach Harper's Ferry, Va by July 15th. That mark's the halfway
point. At the rate he's traveling and with a few days off here and there, he should have no trouble reaching
that goal earlier than that. The hike in VA is easier than what he's been through. It starts to get real tough
again when he reaches NH and the last 100 miles in Maine are real rough.

Til I hear again. Trudie signing off.

Tues, 22 Apr 2003

Heard from Tom again last night. He had stopped in Roan, TN to pick up his food drop and found the only
Motel in town was out of business. While he was there a fellow came along and offered to take him to
another motel. That one was closed so he drove him 6 miles to Elk's Park and was coming back this
morning to give him a ride back. He met up there with two policemen whom he had been hooked up with
the last two days, Sandy and Don, buddies since high school. They are 51 and 52 and were amazed when
they found out how old Tom was. They had planned to take the hike with three of their buddies, but they
were the only two who followed through. Tom said they all did a 6000 ft elevation, 9 1/2 miles in 3 hrs. He
ran into a fellow who looked at him and said, "Aren't you Tom? I'm Jake from Radio Shack in Windham.".
Ken had introduced them at some point in time. Jake had started on the 15th and was averaging 15-20 miles
per day [he's a very experienced hiker]. He said his old partner, Charlie, is a day ahead of him. The name
"Tom of Maine" has stuck. He writes in the ledgers at all the campsites, "Tom of Maine, going to Maine."
Our daughter Jeanette is going to get a Tom's of Maine hat and take the " 's " off. He was saying that the
competition among the younger hikers is causing some bad relationships. He's staying out of it. They're
trying to outdo each other and are getting sores, shin splints and injuries, along with getting sick. Tom
says the kids may learn a life lesson with this trip. The other day a physician came into the campsite from
town to check out all the hikers and there is a General Practitioner and his wife in the group he's traveling
with. He couldn't express how well the Hamilton's cared for him. He said it was hard to get back on the trail
after all the good food and company. That's all for now. Till I hear again. Trudie

Sun, 27 Apr 2003

He's made it to Damascus !

Tom called last night. They had arrived in Damascus early in the AM. The previous day they had hiked an
unbelievable 22 miles!! and were only 5 miles from town. They tented in the woods outside of town and
made their way in in the morning. Damascus is the scene of a big week-long celebration that takes place in
May. Many hikers, no matter where they are on the trail, will find a way to be there and then go back to
where they left the trail and commence their hike. At present Tom plans to keep right on moving north. He
said it's a big commercial event and I think it reminds him of all those sales weekends [vendors, etc] -
something he'd like to put in his past. Many hikers who have completed the trail will make the trip and
renew old aquaintances. We discussed that maybe we would visit next year and Tom could show me some
of the places he saw.

He has met two hikers that have May 15th birthdays. If they are all at Troutsville in about 16 days they are
going to have a big party. I will be sending a birthday cake and a big balloon. When I worked at Postal
Express, we shipped balloons all the time. Had a heck of a time keeping them in the box so we could seal it.
We shipped some fancy cakes that I'm not sure made it but with the new plastic pans, with covers, that
can be put in the oven a 9x12 should get there in one piece. Lots of Birthday cards have arrived. You still
have time if you want to add your greetings and encouragements.

Have to go see if the April showers brought May flowers. Last year they were out mid April. It's so
fragrant on the back patio when they are in bloom. Trudie

Fri, 2 May 2003

He's in Ashville, VA. and movin' on. Running 6 days ahead of his planned schedule, even with the days off.
Two days ago the sickness caught up with him. Had severe stomach pains and vomited twice - he's says
lots! Felt O.K and hiked 15 miles next days but came into campsite exhausted. Went to sleep at 4 PM and
slept right through and felt great the next day. He said the kids have been down a couple of days. He was
telling me about a modern campsite [can't remember where] that was built in memory of a 34 year old young
man who had died. Tom came in from a day of rain, thunder, lightening and hail. It had hot showers and a
telephone connected to a variety store in town. You could order Pizza, etc and it would be delivered to the
campsite before 6 PM after that you had to meet the delivery person at the roadside. Guess what everyone
had to eat that night?

Got more of Tom's journal today and he neglected to tell me he had fallen and sprained his wrist [I'm always
concerned about his weak ankle]. He wrote, "Guess what? There was a troupe of Boy Scouts on the trail and
they examined it, put an elastic wrap on it and set up a cold pack." He said he was doing fine,

I guess everyone is watching out for him. He said when people come into a camp site they ask if Tom of
Maine is there yet and when he does arrive there is applause as he enters the shelter.

One of the policeman he hiking with is from Troutville, VA. He's the one who has a birthday on the 15th
which is about the time they will arrive there. Tom has been invited to spend the night there and celebrate
both their birthdays. Troutsville is also where he'll gets his food drop with the birthday cake and cards. I
have a fun balloon for him [was going to do the usual birthday balloon] but was in Hannafords picking up
some treats for his last drop when I spyed a Snicker display and two Snicker Balloons. Snickers is the energy
bar of AT Hikers. I asked if I could have the balloon in a few weeks and explained why. They gave it to me
right then and offered to blow it up if it needed it just before I pack it.

Til I hear again. Trudie

Mon., 5 May 2003

Received some more pages of Tom's journal. Says 4/27 "Met a raccoon on the trail today and also a guy
from Minnesota." The gentleman from Minnesota is a retired Trial Judge [24 yrs] whose trail name is
"Recycled" because this is his third attempt

at completing a through-hike. He's same age as Tom. He has a friend from Jay who made it and two other
friends who also completed the trip. In his previous two attempts physical problems occurred that stopped
him.

Tom describes an interesting supper. "Started with 6 marshmellows and Ritz crackers, then pasta with Ritz
crackers, then Oreo cookies and 3 quarts of water." He then topped that with toasted marshmellows on an
open fire.

Muriel you'll love this - from Buzzard Rock he took pictures of some wild horses at a distance BUT....the next
day he walked through seven of the horses and a colt. He took pictures that are on the film he sent today.
Maybe by late next week we can get a photo on the web site.

That's all for now folks. Trudie

Sun, 11 May 2003

Have heard from Tom on two occasions in the past week. Should have let you all know, but had to do some
catch up on projects at home. He is still doing well. The first call was on Tues evening. He surprised me at
work. He was camped out on a bluff and heading into Pearisburg the next day. Then he called on Wed. Had
been to one of the hikers friends for a BIG dinner and was to go back for breakfast in morning before
heading to Troutsville. Should arrive there on Tues/Wed and will be taking two days off to celebrate a
couple of birthdays. The cake, cards and balloon should be there waiting. I will be on my way to Etna and
Bangor Wed afternoon to do the cemetery flowers. I'll be staying over so we'll talk via cell phone and I'll try
to update you as soon as I get back.

Tom met an interesting fellow, according to his journal notes. A policeman from Paris, France who speaks
very little English. Started the trail on April 11 [a month after Tom and he caught up!!] He's in a hurry to
finish by Sept 1st when his visa runs out!! He's carrying 50 pound's in his pack and Tom says he just books
it down the trail.

Had a great Mother's Day and hope all you Mothers had happy times with your family.

I had breakfast with my granddaughter, Brooklyn and son, Louie, spent time with my mother and had a late
lunch with daughter, Jeanetter. Turns out to our surprise my meal was free.

Until I hear more.

Trudie

Fri, 16 May 2003

Tom called last night rather late. He was staying with the family that had hiked the trail last year. He had to
wait for the kids to get off the computer to use the phone. He said that they couldn't do enough for him -
gave him the keys to one of their cars so he could run some errands. He got the Birthday Cake and balloon
and wants to thank all of you for the cards. He was especially overwhelmed by a card from his brother, Dick,
and cried when he opened the Express Mail with two homemade cards by his granddaughters. He met Don's
wife. Turns out she was a cheerleader for the Washington Redskins Football Team. This call was rather
short as Tom was anxious to get to bed and get an early start but he surprised me with another call about 1
PM today from the trail - had stopped for lunch. He feels they will be in Harper's Ferry by end of the month,
which will take him out of Virginia and into a short hike in Maryland and then it's on to the infamous rocks of
Pennsylvania. Harper's Ferry is almost the half-way-point. Will be back probably by weeks end. Trudie

Sun, May 18,2003

Had another surprise call from Tom at about 1 PM today. The hikers had been experiencing heavy freezing
rain and sleet. Last night they had to sleep outside and a couple of the fellows woke up this morning with
water in their tents. So they called Homer, owner of a motel at the next town and he picked them up at the
trailhead. Tom had done a wash and was attempting to dry out his boots. Just another adventure to share in
front of the fire this winter. Be back soon. Trudie

Sun, May 25, 2003

The boys are having fun with Don's new cell phone. Tom has been calling several times a day, these last few
days. From top of mountains, to valleys low and woods in between. I missed one of his calls but the
message went like this, "Here I am on top of this stupid mountain that someone decided to build a trail on!"
They had been climbing over rocks and were exhausted on the way up and it pretty steep. Speaking of Don,
Tom said he rounded a corner [Sandy was behind him and then Don] when he saw a group of people waving
their arms and shouting. As they got closer Don recognized his family from the D.C. area. They had driven
down for the weekend and had a big picnic lunch in the car. They were 35 miles north of Waynesboro. Tom
had developed some tendenitis in his ankle. He said the greatest ice pack in the world was a mountain
stream. Don and Sandy had slowed the pace to accommodate him.

Got some more photos today. Tom took a great shot of the James River [was suppose to be brown but it had
picked up the refection of the blue sky] and a photo of a 300 year old oak tree, also one of an Audey
Murphy Memorial. He had several photos of the trail - wooded, bare mountain top and a portion of the trail
that was a short tunnel through a rock. One photo of him shows how much wait he has lost.

Went to breakfast with our son, Louie and granddaughter, Brooklyn, who is 6 years old. Brooklyn looked up
at one point and asked, "Is grandpa dead?" I thought my heart was going to break. Fortunately I had the
new pictures with me. I think the question was prompted by the fact that there have been several deaths in
Becky's family and she must have associated the long absence with death. Reminded Tom he needed to call
the girls again.

Will be leaving June 4 on my trip and will not be on line until about the 22nd. Tom picked up the last of his
messages a few days ago and will not be stopping in areas that have computer access for several weeks. So
I would suggest no more e-mails to Tom until after I get back as I'm sure it will be loaded to capacity with
Junk. Will alert you when you can start the messages again. Between now and the 4th I'll keep you posted
as to his where abouts. Trudie

Sun, June 22, 2003

Well folks back on line. Great trip. Covered England, Scotland from it's length to it's breadth and then some.
Got over to Paris for a day. Was late getting in Friday the 20th so missed Tom's call but talked to him
Saturday morning [he sounded tired] and again Saturday evening when he was more rested. They are now
traveling through Pennsylvania and it's notorious rocky trail. This is not a rock here or there. It's ALL
ROCK - slimy, slippery, pointed, unstable rocks! Rough going. Tom said he talked with Dan St. Peter and
he told him this was the really tough part. Get over this and it will be easier. When he called he was in
Delaware Gap. He and Don have calculated the miles left and figure they can have this thing completed
sometime after Sept 1st and the 15th.

Sorry this is so short, but I am still adjusting to the time change. Want to go to sleep. It's 5:30 but my body
says 11:30 and it's a 12 hr. work day tomorrow. May hear from Tom in a few days but probable not for a
week. Trudie

Sunday, June 29, 2003

This is the kind of weather I would expect Tom to be having and he is, only hotter. The day we hit 90
degrees here he was experiencing 100 degrees and that was on top of a mountain where it should be cooler.
When they came down he and Don went looking for an air conditioned motel - no matter what the cost!! As
they were hiking into town a fellow, by the trail name Butch Cassidy, picked up Tom, Don and Mule and
took them to a motel and offered to wait and take them somewhere to eat. Butch joined them and paid for
the entire meal. He routinely leaves water, candy and fruit along the trail. Another day they were stopped at
a site near the road and Dennis B. Pegg, trail name Desperado, drove up, opened up the back of his Van and
fed them. He's been doing that for the past 15-20 years. Also along the trail they have found cookies and
bottles of lemonade left by Desperado.

He should be in Vernon, NJ and may possible have hit the NJ/NY border. Cross off another state. He is
looking forward to a visit with friends, Nan and Art Gagnon when he reaches CT. Nan has a feast prepared
and she and Art plan to help them slack pack for a few days. Slack packing is when you travel light to a
predetermined spot, are picked up at night, returned to your starting point for the night and go back out the
next day to continue where you left off. They were doing this with the help of Don's friends, while coming
through part of Maryland.

He sounds good and we are discussing the possibility I will meet him in North Adams, MA [corner of MA
near NY/VT border]. Hopefully the timing will be right.

Stay cool. Trudie

Friday, July 4, 2003

July 4th. Just a few minutes ago finished talking with Tom. He and Don made a little extra time so they could
be in New Haven, CT. today. Nan took some pictures that Tom says she will e-mail to me. I'll try to forward
so you all can see the latest. Tom says he is down to 158 pounds. He's a little concerned. Legs are fine but
he's tiring more easily. He's going to start doubling up on vitamins and we discussed some additions to his
diet.

Nan and Art met them at the trail. The back of their van was loaded with strawberries, peaches, blueberries,
warm brownies and bread, shrimp with dip, coke and water. Another Tom joined them for the feast, a CPA
from Texas. Then it was off to the Gagnon's house where they will be housed at night and will "slack pack"
for a few days from there. Tom said she had Ribs for lunch that was 5-6 inches thick with salad. He said
they were too full for dessert. Tonight it's a filet mignon. I think she's a one women crusade to add a little
weight to their bones. Go for it Nan!!

Wow. Connecticut. the New England States. Four hours away by car and 2 1/2 months by foot.

Hope you all are having a fun 4th. Trudie

Friday, July 18, 2003

Hi Folks,

I'm sure you have noticed a lack of reports on Tom's progress. Well sometimes challenges get in the way of
goals and Tom's challenge started this past Friday when he came off the trail complaining of pain in his
upper back and right shoulder. Fortunately he was with Jim who took him to Albany Medical Center
Emergency at 2 AM last Sunday. A cat scan left the question of gall bladder or kidney stone causing his
pain. After a shot of Morphine Jim put him in his new Jaguar and brought him home. Brooklyn, our 6 year
old granddaughter, wanted to know if he could find his way back. He has been in considerable pain but is
finally getting some relief with a stronger pain medication. He has a few hours where he is pain free and has
gotten his appetite back during those times. Another cat scan Thursday night showed a large kidney stone
that is lodged at the opening, in layman's terms, of the tube that passes from the kidney to the bladder. He
is scheduled Monday at 12:30 PM to be put into a bath of water and have electrical shocks break that
troublemaker up.

He is already making plans to continue his adventure after a short recovery and God willing he will. Will
keep you posted as soon as there is something positive to report. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Trudie