Update on Appalachian Trail hiker Linus Gillis

http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=170330&sc=118

Update on Appalachian Trail hiker Linus Gillis

The Journal Pioneer

The following photo and caption information was submitted by Monette Burnett:

"On Sept 2 /08 RON MURPHY & ALLAN MAC KENZIE Leaving To meet our hero LINUS GILLIS being on the Trail for 6 months now.
300 miles left to do. Destination Gorm New Hampshire On Thursday afternoon Ron went looking for Linus On a turn to the trail LINUS happend to see RON first and a big shout came off Linus :(EH are you lost?????) the 2 was so happy to see each other big embraces and one more was to be deliver for FAYE Linus s wife Linus doing super good.
Linus is doing good encounting his long hr of hiking and his body full of sores and bruises looking to be back soon to SUMMERSIDE back where he belong with friends and familly."

Summerside man takes break from Appalachian Trail walk

http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=151369&sc=118

Summerside man takes break from Appalachian Trail walk

JIM BROWN
The Journal Pioneer

SUMMERSIDE — Alan MacKenzie hasn’t had to worry about poisonous snakes or black bears these past couple of weeks.
But he’ll be encountering these risks again soon.
MacKenzie, 60, has taken a break from walking the world-famous Appalachian Trail — resting his feet in Summerside while visiting friends and family.
But he’s driving back to resume a remarkable odyssey that will take him through 14 American States by the time he’s done.
“It’s hard to put into words the reason why I’m doing it. The trail is a powerful force that goes to work on you.”
So far, so good.
MacKenzie has seen just one bear during the first third of his journey. He also nearly trod upon a venomous copperhead snake, but managed to move it off the trail with a stick.
MacKenzie is about 300 miles behind his travelling companion and friend, Linus Gillis, 59, who also lives in Summerside.
But he’ll catch up in a hurry when he returns. MacKenzie is driving down to join his friend on the trail.
Doing that will allow him to finish weeks earlier in Maine before cold weather, heavy rains and snow strike in the mountains.
“In October the streams rise so high it’s almost impossible to wade across them.”
It’s a grueling six-month journey and MacKenzie plans to complete every last foot of 2,175 mile odyssey, even if he has to double back and complete the southern stretch he bypassed at a later date.
While in Summerside, he hasn’t stopped walking altogether. Every Saturday morning he and members of a Summerside walking club take 10- to 15-kilometre walks in picturesque locales throughout the Island.

Trail blazers
Two Summerside men embrace the challenge of the Appalachian Trail

Trail blazers - Two Summerside men embrace the challenge of the Appalachian Trail

http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=125611&sc=118

Trail blazers
Two Summerside men embrace the challenge of the Appalachian Trail

Alan MacKenzie, left, and Linus Gillis
at the start of their Appalachian Trail odyssey.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

SUMMERSIDE
JIM BROWN
The Journal Pioneer

Faye Gillis doesn't expect to see her husband until late August or early September. Linus Gillis, 59, is hiking the famed Appalachian Trail, which winds 2,175 miles across 14 American states and through mountains and other rugged terrain.

He left March 31, accompanied by fellow hiker and Summerside resident Al MacKenzie. The two started in Springer Mountain, Georgia and are working their way to Maine's Mount Katahdin.

"He calls when he can," said Faye. His last call was Wednesday evening.

"We've got a map at home, and each time he calls I mark the map and that way I can keep track of his progress."

Gillis and MacKenzie aren't carrying a cell phone and have to make calls from communities along the route.

One of Faye's biggest fears is the wildlife they could encounter - notably bears and snakes.

"The main thing is avoiding injuries," she said.

Faye isn't entirely cut off from Linus. There are places along the trail, including little country stores, where mail can be forwarded from family and friends.

He's sending back socks and other gear because it weighed down his packsack.

"That's what happens, walkers drop stuff as they go along," said Faye, who is preparing to pack a pair of sneakers for Linus in time for warming weather.

Gillis and MacKenzie are treading a well-worn path. Thousands of hikers test their mettle every year on the Appalachian Trail. MacKenzie's daughter conquered the trail with her husband in 2001.

Gillis and MacKenzie aren't novices. They recently travelled from one tip of P.E.I. to the other.

They spend most nights sleeping on the trail in a small tent.

"They take with them only what they can carry on their backs. They've got a little tiny stove and noodle packages and coffee, porridge, chocolate bars, wafers, anything that is light," said Faye.

That meager diet will likely be supplemented along the way, thanks to a little "trail magic."

People who live near the trail often leave bottles of water and soft drinks on the trail, as well as snacks.

"Some churches have basements you can go to during the day to clean up and rest. "And if you are at the right place at the right time you'll get a free barbecue," said Faye.

There are no plaques, certificates or other honours for completing the journey, just "the satisfaction of knowing they've done it, they've fulfilled their dream," she said.

---

Happy Trails to you

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a public footpath that follows more than 2,100 miles of Appalachian Mountain ridgelines between Maine and Georgia. It takes five million adult footsteps to hike the entire trail.
The Appalachian Trail stretches through 14 eastern states.
Approximately four million visitors hike a section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail each year.
Volunteers monitor and maintain the Trail and its shelters and help with operations at headquarters. There are thirty volunteer trail-maintaining clubs associated with the Appalachian Trail.
The trail is marked with two inch by six-inch vertical white paint blazes. A double blaze, one above the other, is placed before turns, junctions, or other areas that require hikers to be alert. There are approximately 165,000 blazes along the Appalachian Trail.
Conceived in 1921 and first completed in 1937, it traverses the wild, scenic, wooded, pastoral, and culturally significant lands of the Appalachian Mountains.