You meet some people in this life that you will always think of with fondness and appreciation.  Hopefully you’re able to cross paths with them again and share another trail together, but, either way, their remarkable kindness and tenacity continue to inspire you long after you’re back home from your shared adventure.  Ed is one of these people.  When he first arrived to begin his Alpinehikers tour, he was coming off a year of cancer treatments that statistically were not in his favor.  In what we’ve come to understand is Ed’s classic style, he showed up and hiked his butt off. Then he returned the following year to do it again.

In the spirit of inspiring one another, we asked Ed to share his hiking story with all of us.  Thank you Ed for always inspiring us on the trail and beyond.

The great outdoors is a significant part of my life and I got into hiking in the summer of 2015, hiking the Haute Route in Switzerland with some really terrific guides and a fun group of hikers. A year before, I was dealing with stage IV cancer and was sitting in the oncology infusion center for a year and all I dreamed about was returning to normal. My new normal has taken me close to finishing the Appalachian Trail, completing the Bernese Oberland Traverse, and the Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland.

I look back at all of my achievements and the one thing I have learned is that nature is a healer. Whether it is a long day of hiking or planning a hike.  I live for the outdoors and the camaraderie that comes with sitting in camp (or the patio bar) and talking about the day with friends.

With the Pandemic, I am planning to hike and camp with a small group (hanging in my hammock) in Connecticut in October and finish that state and head into Massachusetts.

I have made a lot of good friends over the years in my hikes, and I won’t recall what I did at work today, but I will always remember my memories on some really glorious hikes!