ASHLAND, Ky. (AP) - The expedition through the East Coast wilderness of America is complete for Bill Shelton.
It was a sojourn of the heart - a journey taking him through the depths and peaks of the Appalachian Trail stretching from Georgia to the mountaintops of Maine. With each step, Shelton’s goal wasn’t just survival - it was to help children in the Tri-State who have autism.
“One area where there is a huge need when it comes to autism is in early intervention,” Shelton said. “In the medical and social worlds surrounding autism, it is now recognized that if you start early you can get people a lot of help. Early intervention makes a huge difference in peoples’ lives.”
Shelton was a longtime worker at AK Steel. He also has a special place in his heart for helping those with autism. He is particularly impressed with the work being done at Pathways - a local nonprofit with a new center that diagnoses and treats kids with autism and other disorders. Shelton wanted to help in any way he could, and he’s now selling calendars documenting his journey while encouraging donations to support Pathways’ mission.
“It is a fundraiser and I’ve made calendars that have images of the trail on them so I’m selling the calendars and all the proceeds from the calendars go to Pathways,” he said. “They are local here in Ashland and they help the local autistic community….it will be a huge benefit to people locally.”
Shelton read a book about a similar journey called “A walk for Sunshine” that gave him the idea for the hike, but Shelton really wasn’t deeply involved in hiking when he got started. He traveled to Damascus, Virginia, to learn more by training with a group of hikers led by Warren Doyle. The group meets up with a van every night in a practice some call “slackpacking” the trail. In the van is your food and your tent.
He started on his journey April 29. The journey was filled with adventure through difficult weather, grueling physical demands and tests of mental endurance.
“The logistics were figured out but I had to do the walking with a light pack,” he said.
In months of exhausting hiking he had just a few days of rest. The rewards of the experience were worth it though. In one episode while hiking through Virginia he saw a sign pointing to a side trail leading to “Dismal Falls.”
“It was only like three quarters of a mile away,” Shelton said. “I saw that sign…and I thought, well I’m going to go. It was a beautiful sunny day and I got down there and it was beautiful. It was a great swimming hole….just really beautiful, and there were two Amish people with a real little kid. A real pretty picture and I was there for a while and then here come all these other Amish people with their kids and I never saw bigger smiles on peoples’ faces. They were just living. It is beautiful out here, look at this. It stuck in my head.”
In Maine and New Hampshire he was overwhelmed by the majestic beauty found at the peaks of grueling climbs.
“New Hampshire, it was rugged and beautiful, and there was one day where it got a little scary,” Shelton said, referencing a visit to the top of Mount Washington in freezing weather.
“It was foggy you are walking over boulders and even on flat good ground the wind would still move you,” he recalled. “It is intimidating….and it concerned me….at one point I came up on the edge of cliffs, and it’s not really a trail, it’s boulders….and you don’t have all day to sit there and figure it out….it was a bad feeling. You feel vulnerable.”
The adventure provided a lifetime of memories but what is really important is supporting Pathways and the treatment of kids with autism.
“We can really make a difference in peoples’ lives,” he said.
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Information from: The Independent, http://www.dailyindependent.com
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