Off they go!

Porter and Pace started their day in a slight drizzle. The temperature was in the 40's and it was seriously foggy as they climbed the approach trail to Springer Mountain.

Access to the beginning of the Appalachian Trail is by foot from Amicalola Falls State Park. Dreamer hiked 1 mile up to Amicalola Falls with the guys. It was foggy but the falls were still very pretty. I said goodbye to my husband Porter and asked them to watch out for each other. They promised they would. It was hard to say goodbye but I look forward to seeing them on Thursday before I head back to New York. Porter will be 47 on 3/31 so we have some celebrating to do!

Spot seems to be working and I received two "I'm okay." messages from them. Once I get back to New York and have better internet capabilities I will upload pictures that were taken their first week. It should be interesting to hear about their initial travels.


Till later,
Dreamer a/k/a Ground Control

Starting the AppalachianTrail

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Porter and Pace Have Just a LITTLE Hiking Experience

On July 4, 2003, Matt and Shelley started to hike the Northville-Placid Trail in the Adirondacks of New York State. The first night they met Mike, a guy with a leather hat, long hair, a pipe, and a 70 POUND backpack. Strange they thought.

Mike looked at this husband and wife team as they hiked in and saw a small chair on the back of Porter's backpack. He thought they must really be rookies to hike with a chair! Okay, it was a little backpacking chair, but still, it was a chair.

Little did we know that from July 5th forward we would become good friends and faithful hiking partners. Here is a run-down of our hiking experience and who was in the hiking party.

• July 2003 Northville-Lake Placid Trail – New York -  133-miles 
• Matt & Shelley (Porter & Dreamer) met Mike (Pace) this first trip and hiked two weeks together. This was the trip the guys were talking about hiking the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail dream.
• July 2004 Long Trail – Vermont – 272 miles 
• Porter, Dreamer & Pace - This is where our trail names came to be. It rained 25 out of 30 days in Vermont. It was the wettest summer in 100 years. Still, it was fun.
• July 2005 Cohos Trail – New Hampshire – 162 miles 
• Pace, Porter & Dreamer - we walked into a beautiful historic resort hotel. The bellman took our backpacks up to the room on a brass cart. Very fancy.
• December 2006 - January 2007 - The Ocala National Forest, Florida - 75 miles
• Porter, Dreamer and Porter's sister "Burps" known in the real world as Liz.
• August – October 2008 – 46 High Peaks – New York 
• 46 mountain peaks higher than 4,000 feet 
• Porter and Pace became 46's in about 2.5 months. Dreamer only completed 11 high peaks and Burps was pushing closer to her 46.
• August 2009 – Wonderland Trail – Washington State – 93 miles
• Pace, Burps, Dreamer & Porter - this was the most beautiful and amazing trip yet. Perfect weather for two full weeks.
• August 2010 – West Coast Trail – British Columbia – 47 miles
• Pace, Burps, Dreamer & Porter - can you say FOG? It was fogged in solid on the coast for the entire trip. It was awesome to walk on the beach and to see whales from the shore.

So the journey of Pace and Porter starts on Monday. Dreamer will send them on their way. It's only a couple of sleeps and off they go.

Dreamer 

St. Rose supports Adventure Challenge Program

A great way to support Saint Rose's Adventure Challenge Program on behalf of Pace.  Read on...

On behalf of Mike D’Attilio, Fr. Chris DeGiovine, John Ellis, Jason Manning, Sean Peters and Debbie Polley

 

Mike Stratton’s Appalachian Trail Adventure

Have you heard? Mike Stratton, an employee of the College for the last 17 years and the Director of Computer and Media Services is hiking the Appalachian Trail! This 2,180 mile hike starts in Georgia and ends in Maine and usually takes hikers about 5 – 6 months.   The Appalachian Trail, the Nation’s longest footpath, starts at Springer Mountain, Georgia and crosses 14 states before ending at Katahdin, Maine.  Of the estimated three million people who hike on the trail each year, only 1,200-1,500 people attempt the entire hike and, of those, less than one-third complete it.  It is estimated that it will take five million steps to complete the trail. 

One of Mike’s hopes and dreams for this trip is that in some way it might benefit the College and particularly the students. In order to assist in the fulfillment of that dream, a group of us have begun a scholarship fund to assist students who might want to sign on to one of our programs but do not have the funds to do so. Mike has been the guiding force and director for our Adventure Challenge program, a part of Pathways to Saint Rose, a first-year experience, including Adventure Challenge, Arts Encounter and Urban Launch.  All three programs offer once in a lifetime memories, hone critical skills for teamwork and develop student leadership skills. Adventure Challenge focuses on group process, problem solving, communication and trust through low and high ropes course activities, canoeing, raft building, swimming and hiking.  Arts Encounter introduces students to the artistic and musical riches of New York’s Capital Region.   Urban Launch provides an immersion experience for students eager to explore the City of Albany through service and urban awareness.  The cost for each student is approximately $135.  If we had a scholarship fund we could support students who cannot afford the cost but still want to participate.

If you are interested in supporting our Pathways scholarship efforts in honor of Mike’s Appalachian Trail adventure you can send a check made payable  to The College of Saint Rose to Jason Manning in the alumni office.  In the memo line on the check please note that this donation is to be used for the “Stratton Pathways scholarship”.  You can also make a gift online by visiting www.strose.edu/giveagift.  When asked to designate your gift, select free type and enter Stratton.   Any and all donations small or large will be gratefully accepted and will help our students attend the program. 

It is one small way we can let Mike know how much his Saint Rose family supports him and his work with the Pathways program and that we’ll be cheering him on throughout this challenging adventure.

Our Information Technology Services will be keeping us updated on Mike’s progress throughout this adventure.  Watch the Digital Signage monitors on campus to follow Mike’s progress. We will also post the information on the Blackboard portal page.   Or follow his blog site at http://porterpace.blogspot.com/

An Interview with Pace

Michael Stratton works for The College of St. Rose in Albany New York. He was granted a six-month leave of absence to fulfill a longtime dream. He got the trail name "Pace" while he hiked the Long Trail in Vermont. It is short for Pacemaker. It is not because he sets the pace when he hikes but because he has a pacemaker installed to keep his heart beating regularly. With a recent "tune-up" he should be good to go for this amazing hike.

What inspired you to hike the Appalachian Trail?

• When I was a kid, my parents took me hiking near the Delaware Water Gap. On the trail we met two girls that were thru-hiking the A.T. I asked them what was their favorite dessert was on the trail. They showed me small peppermint candies. That stuck with me. It is all about keeping the pack weight down they said. I was hooked and wanted to hike the trail too.

You have a birthday in May, isn't that right?

• Yes, I will turn 40. What a cool way to celebrate life.

So how is Pace getting ready for his hike? 

• I have been jogging Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays and usually run about 4 miles. I have also have been snowshoeing, taking the stairs instead of elevators, stretching and strengthening my legs and knees. Porter and I have also taken training walks of up to 20 miles in a day.

What else have you been doing pre-trip?

• Recently I visited the 4th grade at East Greenbush Red Mill Elementary School. Mr. Goodwin's students asked lots of great questions. They wanted to know about the trail. They also wanted to know what I was going to eat and what kind of clothes I would wear. Another question is where I would go the bathroom. In the woods off the trail of course. (Leave no trace.)They were also concerned about what kind of animals I might encounter like bears and snakes.

 Is there anything else you have done to prepare?

• Yes, I have carefully gone over what I'll be carrying in my backpack. I have a gear list that I put together and I weighed everything down to the ounce. It is important not to carry too much weight. But, it is also important to have all the necessities for safety.

Porter and Pace show how light their packs are. Porter uses 1 finger.

Porter's little Yorkie Scout watches Pace check out his gear. Scout wishes he could go on the hike too.

Come SPOT Come! Testing SPOT, Porter's new best friend.

This is a test of SPOT the GPS system. If you can't see the map, play with the settings. It will show if you use the "Hybrid" setting. 

Porter and Pace plan on checking in morning and night. Over the next few days Porter will be testing the GPS unit to see how well behaved SPOT will be. How will the maps look? Are they easy to use?

We will find out together. Please be sure to leave a comment. If you don't sign up with a user name, please be sure to leave your first name with your post.  This should be fun!

Dreamer a/k/a Matt's wife Shelley

GPS Test

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