Deb's Trail Updates of Great 46 Traverse

7.8.07 Sunday
What a yucky day, torrential downpours. I hope the wet stuff dries up before the Two Idiots begin their little hike. We got up and while I sat in my pre-caffeine stupor, Kevin did some squats, puttered around with his food, etc. He TRIED…noticed the word tried to go over the plans for today with me. I am NOT a morning person! I need about 2 pots of coffee before I can think rationally.
FYI-the reason I am not going on this day trip (spread over 9 days) is because Rico said I could not take my coffee maker! Something about not dragging a portable generator along so we could stop on every peak and brew yet another pot of coffee! Ah well, their loss. With a portable generator, they could be served three hot meals per day-not the powered kind that you simply mix with water!
Back to current issues. Kevin and I were trying to figure out how to get everything done (remember, this was to be a relaxed weekend). The rain slowed us down yesterday regarding yard work. We were hoping that the rain eases up today. Our day centered around two things; church and his interview. Not knowing how long the interview would take, we finally gave up trying to plan anything for the afternoon. The reporter called about 930AM to confirm the 130PM time and to firm up a place to meet. Kevin thought Whiteface would be a good place since it was close to Esther…their starting point. We took off, went to church, made a couple of stops then booked on home so Kevin could eat, call his grandmum and tell her to come over, then head to Whiteface.
Just as I picked up the phone to ring Blanche, the phone rang. I literally threw the phone! Talk about perfect timing! Better yet, as the phone flew thru the air, Kevin simply raised his arm, caught the phone and answered it! SO multi talented!!! It was the reporter from WPTZ. She cancelled the interview. The look on Kevin's face told me what she was saying before he hung up. My heart hurt for him. He had been so excited to do this interview, in hopes of raising last minute money for the Aidan and Allyson McKenna Memorial Fund. She did ask what his schedule was this week-maybe catch him one day after work, said she would call him tomorrow.
Dead silence after he hung up. I called Blanche to let her know about the cancellation, then did the only thing I knew to do-sit with Kevin and give him whatever moral support he needed.
The rest of the day was basically shot. The fact that we planned our day around this interview, combined with the sadness we both felt made it hard to get much accomplished. We ended up doing what Kevin had intended to do all weekend- take it easy. He packed his backpack to check the weight distribution, exercised, and took his nap that Echo prevented yesterday.
He really wanted to spend part of the evening with Blanche. Blanche is the grandmum that EVERYONE wants! 87 years young and going strong! She has a quick wit that will beat most ‘young whipper snappers’ and has more love in her heart than most people will know in a lifetime. Kevin is her only grandchild, so naturally she spoils him rotten! She also worries about him; needless to say she is a bit hyper at the moment!!! As with his parents, she is incredibly supportive of him, however THIS HIKE IS PUSHING HER LIMITS OF SUPPORT! Kevin is one lucky guy when it comes to his family. They are not just family; they are all friends and enjoy ‘family time’.
We picked Blanche up and drove to Keene Valley for dinner at one of our favourite places…The Noonmark Diner. She definitely lifted our spirits with her humorous conversations. After dinner we did a few odd jobs for Blanche, then came home. Kevin called Rico to tell him about the cancelled interview and talk about MORE last minute junk! We played with the birds, watched a little television and called it a day…
I went to bed and said my prayers that Monday would be a better day.

7.7.07 (Saturday)
Ahhh, the countdown has begun! The insanity level is rising rapidly. ‘The two idiots’ (how I ‘lovingly’ refer to Kevin and Rico) spend MORE time on the phone than teenage girls gossiping!

Kevin decided to take it easy this weekend. Yeah, right. We were up and out before my IV caffeine boost had a chance to run thru my veins! We picked up MORE last minute items for Kevin, then off to do grocery shopping for Rico. For those of you not familiar with the Adirondack area, there NO super markets. Stores located in the area are not what normal people consider to be super markets…plain old fashioned grocery store (with very little to choose from) would better describe them.

Rico’s list had about a dozen items, none of which are exotic in nature, but we found ourselves in FOUR different stores searching high and low-still didn’t find everything! I finally grabbed items that most closely resembled what he had requested.

The weather was ultra conducive to afternoon napping, but Echo, our parrot had a different opinion. While we tried to let the pouring rain lull us to sleep, Echo decided to go thru his entire vocabulary..hundreds of words and phrases. Then, he began making his own phone calls. As Kevin and Rico had been on the phone continuously (calling with updates on new gadgets they found or didn’t find), most of Echo’s conversations were with Rico-telling him Kevin was a brat or telling Rico to take a hike. He ‘called’ each of my three children, each time letting us know all about them… for instance: Graham at work. Graham plays hockey. Graham drives a red truck. Truck goes Vvrrrroooommm.

When he grew tired of phone calls, the burping, coughing, hiccupping, sneezing (and other bodily noises) began. Yup, entire set of burps, etc. for every person he knows. During this period, he would stop talking only to reprimand ‘the babies’, our three cockatiels. If they made a peep, he would tell them to BE QUIET! His grand finale was a perfect rendition of our home security system. When the sirens suddenly began going off, Kevin and I nearly jumped out of our skin, at which point Echo started laughing.

Needless to say the afternoon nap never happened. Instead I cleaned, Kevin kept organizing supplies and made a batch of goo. I was quite impressed with his cooking abilities…stirring several ingredients together. The humour began when he tried to put the goo into baggies. His frustration and my laughter grew simultaneously! I decided to help him get this slimy stuff into bags without having it run all over the counter, or drop on the floor.

Somewhere between calls to/from Rico, Echo’s chattering and goo making, a reporter from WPTZ television called to confirm Kevin's interview. It was scheduled for 7.8.07. She called to see if we could meet her in the morning. Kevin told her we were going to church, so the interview is set for 130PM. All of us had hoped Rico and his family could be here for the interview, but this being the last weekend to spend with his family plus the 3-hour trip over made it impossible.

Kevin is really stoked about the interview. He has been in contact with WPTZ for quite some time, hoping they would run the story early, giving people the opportunity to make pledges/donations. Sadly, WPTZ has shown little interest in such a worthy cause…or the traverse itself. Kevin hopes some of the people who watch the interview will make pledges, even this late in the game.

On that note, I would like to say that my love and respect for Kevin has grown immensely. Kevin has no children of his own. He had no part in raising my 3 children, so he doesn’t fit ‘step dad’ criteria. He thinks of my children as three young adult friends and loves them in that way. Kevin never knew Aidan or Allyson-he didn’t even know Rico when they were born. Though he has never known the love felt for biological children, he has continued putting his heart and soul into an expedition that is raising money for a hospital he has never seen, in memory of twins he never met. Why is he willing to put his body thru such a brutal 9 day adventure? Rico. Rico is Kevin’s best friend. True, these two idiots think of the hike as fun-had actually planned it long before it became the Benefit Traverse. Because it has become a benefit very dear to Rico’s heart, Kevin wants nothing more than to help achieve this goal as well as be with his best friend during the traverse, asking nothing in return. If he ever did ask Rico for help, I have no doubt that Rico would give 100% to help Kevin.

They may be nuts, but they are two most incredible men. I thank God daily that one of them is my husband…and I thank God even more that ONLY one of them is my hubby!!!

Smile and Be Happy, Crazy

7.6.07 (Friday)
Good day everyone…. what am I talking about? This is the day I take over as the ‘webmaster’. YIKES, more computer work. Wow, what a powerful feeling when I think of myself as a master of something other than making pancakes! FYI-Kevin eats about 200 pancakes per week as a snack. Trying to make different recipes each week so he doesn’t get tired of eating them has been quite a challenge this past year and a half. All in all things have gone quite well, except for the time I decided to put GREEN food colouring in a batch! He said they tasted great, but had difficulty eating them because they looked funky! So, the next time I made apple cinnamon pancakes, I coloured them red.

Back to my new job. This week has been a bit wacky. Preparations have kicked into high gear (so has the anxiety level for Rico’s dad and Kevin’s grandmum). My trips to the super market have increased significantly and I have become intimate with the food dehydrator! Constant emails between Rico, Kevin and myself regarding food, Rico’s boo boo on his pinky toe (severe sprain or possible break) have kept me glued to the net much more than usual. Good news, Rico says his toe is about 99% healed.

In one of the emails about his toe, I casually mentioned that I was preparing food for a cache that will be placed before Rico comes in for the little jaunt he and Kevin are taking thru the woods. I asked him if he needed me to grab anything for him. I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THE EMAIL HE SENT BACK MY WAY! Rico didn’t just send a list, his engineering brain kicked in so the specifications for the ‘rationing’ of the food was as detailed as the Constitution of The United States! I almost fell off my chair laughing when I read it! Made a copy of it and put it on top of the ever growing pile of Kevin's camping junk…sitting in the middle of our living room.

Kevin came home from work, took his evening hike, ate dinner, then began organizing, reorganizing, re reorganizing (you get the drift) his stuff. He looked like a female attempting to cram all of her favourite clothes into a carry on bag. I fell asleep laughing at him!