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Appreciate All Of Your Senses

8/27/2012

 
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Here is a bit of inspiration to get this work week started. Jesse Smith and his wife Shirley climbed LeConte to spend the night. The inspiration is the fact that Jesse is completely blind. I had a great chat with him about what it takes to do something like this. He said he has climbed other mountains. He created a solution so he could run by himself. He uses two canes. He was telling me about running road races and how he holds his cane to the side and the other person grabs ahold and guides him through the course. I was really impressed when he told me he likes to trail run. I understand how difficult this is. He said you take high steps and your other senses are heightened. We asked Shirley if he held on to her while hiking up the trail, she said "No, he would be stepping on my heels the whole time." She also said that she never tells him he can not do something, "that would make him want to do it even more." One thing I did note was Jesse was telling how amazing this mountain is. Without seeing the views we all love and admire, his other senses were used to achieve the understanding of just how special this mountain is.  I believe I will take this lesson of determination to Africa  with me and remember Jesse as I am struggling to summit Kilimanjaro. A "can do" attitude is sometimes all you need.

The weather is still amazing up top. The high yesterday was 67 with a low of 45.
Jacque J
8/27/2012 01:07:08 am

Amazing story! How inspiring!

Nadine
8/27/2012 01:18:15 am

Wonderful inspiration for a Monday morning. It's making my day better already.

Connie G.
8/27/2012 01:52:01 am

In the early 80's I hiked up with a little blind boy! What a wonderful trip!

Linda M
8/27/2012 01:57:32 am

Great story! What trail did they use?

Pam
8/27/2012 01:59:30 am

Wow thanks for sharing. I shared with my 4th grade classes and told them they can do anything they want to if they try. Jesse is an great role model!!! I too would love to know which trail they took.

Debi link
8/27/2012 02:00:16 am

WoW!

Susan B.
8/27/2012 02:32:07 am

Absolutely an inspiration!

Becky Moore
8/27/2012 02:55:20 am

Awesome inspiration!

Pat N.
8/27/2012 02:57:57 am

Jesse and Shirley...my 2 heroes of the day!

Rod R
8/27/2012 03:02:06 am

Very impressive. I have heard of this being done before. A couple who documented their climb a couple days before mine came across another couple, of which one was blind. (video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E4_7AmZjAo ) I simply can't even imagine myself trying such a task without my sight, and is awe inspiring to see those who do.

Mark
8/27/2012 03:35:31 am

I always complain that most of my time hiking is looking at the ground trying to clear rocks, roots, streams, etc. This is very impressive. As a kid, I loved to watch the television show Kung Fu, and his flashbacks with his blind teacher. Jesse in my book is the "mountain zen master".

Denise
8/27/2012 08:34:38 am

I agree Allyson...the "can do" attitude takes you to the top. What a great inspiration! Wondering what trail you'll be taking to the top of Kilimanjaro and how many days to reach the summit? Maybe you've talked of this in a previous post and I missed it...would love to tackle it...if only....

Holly
8/27/2012 09:12:39 am

My husband and I recently went to Tanzania. While we did not hike Mt Kilimanjaro, we did have glorious views of it from out first tented camp before going on safari. It is a magnificent county. We talked to a few, young and old, who had recently hiked the mountain. They found it to be a most doable challenge. The best advice was to take time acclimating and adjusting to the time change. You can do it!

Also, my daughter and father hiked to your lodge while we were on our trip. He raised me with the can do attitude.

Doug
8/27/2012 01:52:59 pm

Bravo Jesse ! I have a person in my life who tells me I'm getting too old to do certain things, so I asked them to read this blog.

Ken T
8/27/2012 03:55:45 pm

Great report, I have great respect and admiration for people like Jesse and Shirley. They are a real team !!!

Paul
8/28/2012 12:18:11 pm

Talk about a trail runner, what an inspiration Jessie is .No more complaining about a bad hip


Comments are closed.
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