Before you even read the following blog, thanks again for spending ANY TIME on my site. My dear friend and editor Allison edits my blogs to make them as short and concise as possible. (She probably would rather I not use both “short” and “concise” in this sentence, redundant or something.) But I realize they do take your valuable time to read, and for that I’m grateful.

I hoped after counting 26,000 steps to represent the preventable deaths of 26,000 kids on Monday, it would well up some emotion. I thought I’d have to type through tears while blogging about the experience. Ironically, the day started with the smell of death as I laced my shoes and noticed, of all things, a turtle had died and begun decomposing beside the road. But otherwise, it was a beautiful day with great vistas and people with which to talk. As it turns out, I average over 26,000 steps everyday on the trail; it’s about 12-13 miles. While hiking, I marked 260 hash marks on my hands, each representing 100 more steps taken; 100 more lives lost. It was still hard to connect emotionally, but what happened later that evening is what really inspired and taught me.

100 Airplanes Crash, Killing 26,000 People
In his book The Hole in Our Gospel, Rich Stearns (my boss!) asks us to imagine waking up to the headline: “100 Airplanes Crash, Killing 26,000 People.” With the recent French plane crash in the Atlantic, which killed almost 260 people, we understand the sadness and shock of a massive loss of life, even if we don’t know a soul onboard.

It’s unimaginable to think of that much death, numbing even. But the equivalent of 100 airplanes do crash every day, killing thousands of children, passengers on “poverty-hijacked airplanes.” And we have the means to save them. Imagine 100 airplanes around the world, full of children, sitting on the runway waiting to take off for the last time, piloted by the world’s diseases. Stand with your back to the cockpit door and look at the buckled-in faces staring back at you. There isn’t an empty seat. By the end of today, all 100 planes will take off and crash.

*21 planes full of children crash from birth complications
*19 planes of kids die of pneumonia 17 planes full of diarrheal diseases
*15 planes full of neonatal illnesses
*8 crash with malaria
*4 full of measles
*3 succumb to AIDS
*13 die of other injuries and complications

All of these children who die are under 5 years old; 40% of them haven’t even lived out their first month.

100 “poverty planes” will crash today. And those crashes will happen again tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.

I know many of you already sponsor a child, but not everyone. How can we get 2,200 kids sponsored? A quote I heard at the conference I attended is, “If you want to feel deeply, you must first think deeply.” It’s hitting me over the head everyday. I don’t want to fake or elicit shallow emotions. I want to continue to think deeply about what I know and what I can do. Can we, this small and unusual community of people interested in the trail and my attempted thru-hike, pull 2,200 kids out of the “Poverty Air” ticket line and buy them a ticket on “Hope Air”? Who can you ask to join our team and sponsor a child?

(more…)

Full of anxiety on Wednesday, I cautiously headed out again to see if the leg was better and trail-worthy. I was also worried if I would know a soul or have to meet all new hikers over the next few days.

As far as I can tell, the leg is at 95% again! PTL! Of course, the law of the trail: when one thing stops hurting, something else starts. I’ve had to pace myself to keep my knees happy with me. Before Wednesday I had taken 11 of the previous 15 days as Zeros, so these first days back almost feel like I’m starting all over again.

As far as friends, I’ve seen somebody I know every day! The trail is a small world and has a way of evening out everyone’s pace.

Just so you know, I’m undergoing an experiement tomorrow, one that I’ve thought about long before the hike began.  Like I mentioned in the intro videos to the site I know that 26,000 children die a day from preventable causes related to their poverty, but I don’t know what 26,000 of something feels or looks like. So, tomorrow while hiking I’m going to count 26,000 steps, understanding that each step will represent a life ended too soon because of a very simple lack. The world has the resources — where are they going?

Yeah, heavy duty. I’m not sure what to expect. I’ve never counted past…well….maybe 120? I’ll blog about that sometime on Tuesday while rewarding my leg with a much deserved day off. Until then, here’s the…

Trail Report
5/27 9.3 miles, really tired, everything feels sweaty and humid, rained a good portion of the hike, leg feels ok

5/28 16.4 miles, foggy most of the day, rained the last 1/2 hour. Lots of flies here (which would have been named a land had it not been named a fly…) saw a snake that would not get off the trail

5/29 14.6 miles, saw my first turtle! Many portions of the trail were a river because of how much it rained last night.

5/30 22.8  miles, thankful leg doesn’t hurt! Saw a deer. Might have seen a bear. Saw 2 owls sitting together!

5/31 13.6 miles, challenging climbs and rock scrambles. Had dinner at an AYCE (all you can eat) Family Style restaurant….amazing!

Welcome to my blog, fellow Franklinites and Williamson County residents! If you’re here, you probably read about me online or in the Herald. I’m so glad you’re here.

Please make yourself comfortable; muddy shoes are welcome. Be sure to visit the Sponsorship link. That’s the heart of the hike. I really would love to see 2,200 kids sponsored by the time I reach the top of Mt. Katahdin. Please consider how you can be part of one child’s life.

Thanks for coming by! There’s more to come, so sign up for the updates to find out if I make it.

-Chris

P.S. If you’d like information about my motorcycle, it’s a 2002 Suzuki DR-Z400S with 4,600+ miles. It’s in excellent condition. Email 2002suzukidrz400s (at) gmail (dot) com for pictures and pricing.