Jun 27

2009 AT Hike for cancer

100_1270 Last year I was privileged to hike for 5 weeks on the Appalachian Trail. Since I returned, there’s been a burning desire to get back to the trail. In August, if all goes as planned, I’ll return to the trail to hike another 500 miles or more. This year’s hike is dedicated to raising money for colorectal cancer and to the memory of my mom who died from this disease. Mom passed away in December of 2005.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m a whipmaker; I build whips for a living. My whip website is something I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned on this site. The company is Noreast Whips and the site is www.neawhips.com. I also run a blog that’s linked to the site. It refers much to whipmaking & the techniques used in the construction of the whips I build. A full post was written explaining the purpose of this year’s hike on the whip blog. Here’s the post below:

http://noreastwhipblog.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!67BCBDB7CB3E81F4!247.entry .

If you can afford to give a little to this cause, it would be greatly appreciated! The donation button to the right will take you to the Paypal website. Once you’ve clicked through & given, you’ll receive an electronic receipt from Hutt Industries. Hutt Industries is affiliated with my whip company, Noreast Whips.

As an additional promotional offer, all who give $25 or more will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a nylon bullwhip. I realize this doesn’t appeal to everyone, but if you know someone who’d like a chance to win a bullwhip, please let me them know about this fundraising event. The ’09 Noreast Whips Hike For Cancer will be from August to mid-September. Donations will be accepted all through September, with the drawing being held at the end of September 2009. Thank you again to all who’ve given & are supporting us in this endeavor.

~The Pilgrim.

Jun 18

Deep Southern Caves — National Geographic Magazine

This is just cool! I’ve never been spelunking, but really want to try this one day. It seems both eery & exciting, exploring an unknown & unpredictable region. It’s a different world beneath the surface of earth we all walk on each day. I’ve been to Tennessee & Georgia, hiking the Appalachian Trail, but that’s on top. There’s all kinds of exploration to do below the mountains & trails that most people never think about.  Read the short excerpt below, then click the link for the whole story:

Groaning and clawing, neck twisted, white head scraping against the rock. To cram his body through this basketball-size hole requires yoga-like contortions—arms overhead as if diving, hips uncomfortably twisted the opposite of chest, legs cramped underneath. The Sphincter lies at the end of a kinked, intestinal tunnel, and Marion "the Goat" Smith is the last of our six-person exploratory team to wriggle through, a task he accomplishes with veteran agility and ceaseless cursing.

Cavers can be considered the equivalent of climbers in Yosemite National Park. In the 1960s both groups developed their skills & equipment which catapulted their respective recreations into new realms of difficulty & danger. Neither activity is for the weak of spirit. What caving means to these people can be summed up in these words:  the main thing is to see what no one has ever seen before. To me, that’s true exploration. That’s what a pioneer is, and that’s really cool!

Deep Southern Caves — National Geographic Magazine

Thanks for reading,
The Pilgrim.

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