WALK 2: The Route

WEST COAST WALK ROUTE

Launch Date:  May 10th, 2014

Launch Location:  Peace Arch Park Vancouver BC






Vancouver BC to Everett WA:

Route: 543 to Portal Way

            Vista to Hovander

            West Smith to Pacific Highway

            Northwest Ave to Samish Way

            Hwy 99 to Cedardale Rd

            Pacific Hwy to Hwy 99

Distance: 90 miles.  Estimated Week of Arrival (WOA): May 18th

Everett WA to Seattle WA

Route: Hwy 99

Distance: 30 miles.  Estimated WOA: May 18th

Seattle WA to Tacoma WA

Route: Hwy 99

Distance: 35 miles.  Estimated WOA: May 25th

Route Tacoma WA to Portland OR

Route: Hwy 7 to Hwy 507

Distance:  155 miles .  Estimated WOA: June 8th

Portland OR to Otis OR

Route: Hwy 99 W

Distance: 85 miles.  Estimated WOA: June 15th

Otis OR to Gardiner OR

Routes for Remainder of the Walk: Hwy 101 and Hwy 1

Distance:  100 miles.  Estimated WOA: June 22nd

Gardiner OR to North Bend OR

Distance 30 miles.  Estimated WOA: June 29th

North Bend to Brookings OR

Distance: 110 miles.  Estimated WOA: July 6th

Brookings OR to Eureka CA

Distance: 115 miles.  Estimated WOA: July 20th

Eureka CA to Loleta CA*

Distance: 15 miles.  Estimated WOA: July 27th

Loleta CA to Garberville CA*

Distance: 65 miles. Estimated WOA: August 3rd

Garberville CA to Fort Bragg CA*

Distance: 70 miles. Estimated WOA: August 10th

Fort Bragg CA to San Francisco

Distance: 175 miles. Estimated WOA: September 1st

San Francisco to Carmel

Distance: 120 miles. Estimated WOA: September 14th

Carmel to Santa Barbara CA

Distance: 230 miles. Estimated WOA: October 1st**

Santa Barbara CA to LA

Distance: 110 miles. Estimated WOA: October 12th**

LA to San Diego CA

Distance: 125 miles. Estimated WOA: October 26th

San Diego CA to Border

Distance: 15 miles.  Estimated Date for Arrival Party:  Weekend of November 1st

TOTAL ESTIMATED MILEAGE: 1,675 miles

*Some areas of Hwy 101 don’t seem to be open to pedestrians. Alternative route may be necessary

WALK 2: Chickasaw


A Hudson and Indiana Joint


Finally after bringing the bitter and brutal weather down south from one of the snowiest and coldest Northeastern winters I’ve been in, we got a break in the weather and took advantage of it at Chickasaw State Park.

Hudson and Indiana and I spent the past half week there training and they did great.  We’ve been hiking in all sorts of conditions and terrains but the working relationships will be markedly different  than with Hudson and Murphy and me.   More on that later…

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We’re Back in the Tent Again (Cue Aerosmith)



The fuzzybutts and I have spent a night or two in our tent now and then but now we’re ramping up to the six or seven nights per week for our West Coast Walk.  

When camping out, our world is framed within 7’x9′ ripstop nylon walls and that’s all we really need.  Base camp is our sanctuary and the official Offices of Snuggles and Snuggles no matter where we’re at.  

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For the Love of Loblolly’s 

The Chickasaw Forest has acres and acres of pine trees and when we had a moment to rest, my favorite place to repose was in a grove of Loblolly’s.  

When there’s a decent wind, there’s nothing like lying on your back watching and listening as they sway in legato like the lilt of an Indian flute.  







Yer Big Dog’s Notes 1: I’ve been here before on Walk 1.  The stretch from Memphis to Nashville TN was treacherous and rife with challenges from 64 to Whiteville, 100 to Mousetail, and 412 on to Columbia and 31.  

YBD’s Notes 2:  And there’s a wonderful Mennonite bakery off of 64 that we stopped at on Walk 1.   I was so hungry and I bought a pound of their roasted garlic cheese but alas, they no longer sell it.  

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty

“Natural science, does not simply describe and explain nature; it is part of the interplay between nature and ourselves.”
Damnit Yer Big Dog!
Not that Heisenberg….
This one!
Way back in college when I was pre-med, I took several physics courses which pretty much kicked me in the arse… but I loved it.
I could wikipedia a link to Werner Heisenberg’s Principle for you to read and understand about how it was one of the tectonic shifts from Newtonian physics to Quantum Mechanics.
But in my best and most humble attempts over the years, I’ve reduced it down to this:  “There are things unseen, there are things known, but can we see the things unknown?”  
‘Hizzy’s P’ as it’s known in the ‘biz’, has become a much larger metaphor for me, an intersection at which I oftentimes find myself lost and without direction.  And yet unafraid.  
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Integrative Manual Therapy
Late last year our Baltimore walk organizer, Chris, turned me onto IMT and I visited their Institute back in January after her dog, Blake was DX’d with menigioma.  I spent a day with the founders and thought leaders of Integrative Manual Therapy, Tom and Sharon.  
I must admit, watching them work on Blake was bumfuzzling especially since I was raised in a ‘Western medicine’ environment as my father was a nephrologist.  Even after a lengthy conversation with Tom, I still couldn’t reach my mind around IMT.  
I tried to blog about the experience but I felt like a vegan writing a review about a Bobby Flay burger joint. But I’ve seen things on my travels most people wouldn’t believe so I’ve learned to keep an open mind.  I mean, after all, Western medicine has been around for hundreds of years; Eastern medicine thousands.  
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I Got Yer Back
Chris, ever so resolute and firm in her belief of IMT, and a whole host of others too, convinced me to get treatment on my L5 herniated disc.  I’ve written in previous posts about a work injury and subsequent car wreck that left me with, at times, crippling chronic pain that I had learned to live with and compensate for.  
The Thursday before I left New England, I went up to Hartford CT in part because of a promise I made to Chris and, perhaps, in part out of desperate hopefulness for some sort of relief.  I don’t and won’t take pain meds and have a general aversion to pharmaceuticals of all flavors.    
Following a thorough history and assessment, Tom’s conclusion was that my back’s range of motion was about 1/6th of its normal flexibility and utility and my leg muscles had been doing most of its work as a result. I kinda already knew that but what happened next is still head scratching to me.  
——–
On Barb’s Butt, Sweet N’Low, and Green Tea
I have to be honest, I was pretty skeptical going into my IMT treatment since my only prior experience was watching Blake, who couldn’t speak openly about it, and Chris’ friend, Barb, who had a packet of sugar substitute placed on her backside to see how her body reacted.  
I called Mommy G after that in an attempt to explain IMT to her and said, “Well, I thought I understood it until the sugar butt thing.”  
Trust me, you put any form of food or spirits anywhere near me and my body will say, “Yes, please.”   Maybe that’s because I’m a dog or from TX…  Still, Tom and Sharon make a mean cup of green tea and having spent time in Japan, I know a cup of tea, and I made an appointment to see them. 
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Yoga Makes You Fart
That’s what I’ve heard anyway.  
And when I was on the IMT table for the first time, that’s all I could think about as admittedly I was nervous about the experience.  
And then Tom put his hands on me.  Not like a massage therapist or chiropractor working out or through the tension, Tom was trying to find the source of it I’ve ascertained.  It’s like unwinding a clock back to zero hour.  Back before the pain.  
Those that know me know I’m not a touchy-feely sort of fellow.  And yet, after a few minutes of Tom’s and Sharon’s hands on me, I felt comforted.  They didn’t exert any force to me physically and yet after the therapy, my lower back was afire.
Now I recall my studies of thermodynamics about time and pressure but all of my erudition and the laws of science I had grown so accustomed to know and love somehow didn’t apply anymore. 
Even after therapy was concluded, Tom said I’d feel light headed and I was thinking, “Yeah, right.”  And yet I swooned. 
——–
Postscripts from a Curious Skeptic
My lower back though not healed, the daily hurt I have to contend with has lessened.  And once the West Coast Walk is complete, I will return to the IMT Institute.  
——–
YBD’s Notes 1:  You can see the unknown if you have the courage to.
YBD’s Notes 2:  Sorry Barb for using your butt as a learning lesson, but…
YBD’s Notes 3:  I can’t thank Tom and Sharon and their staff enough for their time and patience throughout this process.  
YBD’s Notes 4:  Breaking Bad is one of the best serials ever and I now understand where Vince Gilligan got his inspiration from, philosophically and sartorially.  

THE RIPPLE: A Tale of Two Towns Part 2

Malvern PA

Last week I posted a blog about Malvern AR  as a study in contrasts between two places on my path. 

This past weekend I was filming and interviewing the oncologists and staff and patients at Hope Veterinary Specialists, (from left to right; Tara, Dr. Craig Clifford, Tom, Katelyn & Claus von Shitz, the German Shepherd).  
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This Our Story

It was enlightening, educational, inspirational, heartwarming and, in a few cases, heartbreaking.  I gotta say, it’s a totally different experience being behind the lens instead of in front of it like I’m most used to.  But that’s the reason that we have been filming hundreds of hours of footage since the Summer of Murphy tour.  This isn’t just my story, it’s all of ours.

One of the stories I filmed Monday stands out and perfectly captures the experience.  And it’s got a little of everything; firemen, dog rescues, British royalty, three different types of cancers, and the marvel of modern veterinary medicine. 

——–

Meet Cammie

In 2008, she was found by firemen in the freezing cold with an inoperable Epulis, or oral tumor.  One of the volunteers at the rescue made helping and healing her, her mission, and that’s Stacy, her mum.  

Once it was deemed that resection wasn’t a treatment option, Cammie’s tumor underwent radiation under the care of Dr. Siobhan Haney.  And while successful in stopping its growth, within a couple of months Cammie collapsed from a Stage 2 hemangiosarcoma.  

Following a splenectomy and a course of chemo, Cammie responded well although a complication from the Epulis occurred. Radiation had killed the tumor but the necrotic tissue frequently became infected and had to be removed resulting in the loss of part of her lower jaw.  

In the ensuing months a soft tissue sarcoma was discovered on her flank and a she underwent a second course of chemo.  Three cancers and six years later, Cammie is happy, healthy, and a beauty to boot!

——–

Happy Endings

During the course of my interview with Stacy and Drs. Clifford and Siobhan I asked Cammie’s mum what message she had for pet parents who adopt dogs with costly, preexisting medical conditions and those going through cancer treatment for the first time.  

Her response: “You need to believe in happy endings.”  Indeed.  We all do.  

——–  

YBD’s Notes 1:  I like being behind the lens.  The Canon camera was generously donated by Thunder for us to record Murphy’s battle with nasal cancer back in 2010 but as it became unbeatable, I had to turn the camera off.  Maybe we weren’t meant to tell our own story unless it’s through that of others.  

YBD’s Notes 2:  Many thanks to Dennis, Craig, Kate, Siobhan and all of the rest of the crew at Hope VS for being both generous and accommodating with their time.  

YBD’s Notes 3: I even got to interview my first feline cancer patient, Shadow.  Me thinks we have to change the name of our organization to 2 Million Dogs and 1 cat.  

YBD’s Notes 4: Oh, and Cammie got her name from Princess Camilla 

The Circle Just

The other day I posted on Facebook about winding things down in New England in preparation for Walk 2 and that moving on isn’t the hardest part for an adventurer, it’s the leaving behind.  But that’s only mostly right.  

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The Shannon Door

Ironically enough this was the first restaurant I ate at in North Conway NH with our dear friends Donna & Larry and it was where we ended up Wednesday night.  

That’s them with their niece, Christina, and Jim the ball busting bartender that makes the waitstaff at Dick’s Last Resort look like Disney workers. He’s a good kid and infinitely entertaining though he makes girly drinks.  

I had hoped to get some exercise up in the White Mountains and man did my wish come true though not like I anticipated.  The accumulation of snow and ice was so steep on their driveway Larry drove his plow into the bank not once but twice and we had to dig it out both times.  


Heck I’m just a simple man from Texas and I started to think this is some strange sport up here…. Some folks down south canoodle catfish, some wrestle gators, but up here drive your truck in the ditch then dig it out.  I was ready to break out the Foreman Grill and the Brats and beer.  

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Sea Glass

When I spent my first week in Newport this past year, Valerie convinced me to go to Fort Adams for what seemed like picking up trash.   I’m all about beautifying the world we live in but it was brutal cold and dowsing wet sand didn’t seem like a productive use of my time.  Even after I uncovered a handful or two I still didn’t get it.  


Some fellas at a frat party in Australia, say, threw beer bottles in the ocean decades ago and I’m collecting the shards.  Still, there was something storied I found in the sea glass and their ill-lustered beauty.  I made a bracelet for Valerie in memory of her Max out of them to thank her for hosting the fuzzybutts and I this past year.  But it wasn’t easy.  

Six drill bits later and two deep puncture wounds to my thumb, I finally figured it out and finished it tonight.  

——–

We’ve had a warm and wonderful send off as we start heading down south tomorrow and god willing, the three of us will all be back up here in November. But it’s more than just moving on and leaving behind.  It’s that you can’t travel with.  

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YBD’s Notes 1: I’ve been inviting a few friends and colleagues to come out to the west coast and walk with us if even for a week.  I think it’ll make the experience that much fuller and richer…

YBD’s Notes 2:  Andre the Frikkin Giant.  Really?  


THE RIPPLE: The Glory and The Grind

As I spoke about in a previous vignette about how if we weren’t tested that first two weeks on walk 1, it’s doubtful we would’ve made it.  That may seem counter-intuitive to some.  

You see most people will look for any reason to fail at things and they have a whole litany of excuses to justify it.  

A few, however, search for that one way, any way, to succeed.  It may take months.  Or years to find it but they do.  

——–

We were trekking the Rails-Trails to DC in 2009 and I met a man who stopped us for a conversation for the ‘who, when, why, and what about the walk’.  I answered as honestly as I could about our mission and our cause and his hapless almost helpless response was, ‘You know, I’d love to do something like that.  But I have a family and a job and responsibilities.’

I suppressed the great growl within and merely responded, ‘What makes you think that I don’t?’  

——–

I’ve met many people on our travels that would’ve, should’ve, and could’ve embarked on a grand adventure, traversed the AT, or climbed K2, and though I’m no scholar on the matter, my best guess is that why they didn’t or why they did and failed can be reduced down to one simple phrase.  

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Colin Fletcher, the Godfather of modern backpacking wrote that within two weeks of an adventure, you’d know if you were going to succeed or fail.  I read his books before the launch of Walk 1 and they were only academic to me at the time.  

But in our lonely tent along the TX highways, I learned what he meant.  There was one night I asked myself what the hell was I doing there and why.  I was beat down and in a bad way because I began to see for the first time not the finish line but the thousands of miles til then. 

A few sponsors had bailed, we’d been battered by unrelenting storms, setbacks, and other challenges, too.  

——–

There’s a moment at which faith crosses the threshold of self doubt and uncertainty and the only thing you need to decide is whether you have the will to continue.  There is no Glory without the Grind.  

——–

YBD’s Notes 1:  No longer will I chapterize Book 2, The Ripple.  As I plan and prepare for WALK 2, the past and present story will unfold as it’s meant to, unscripted and non-linear.  

YBD’s Notes 2:  One should never give up on the aspiring to inspire in all walks of life. 

CyberKnife

Back in the backlot of an architecturally unassuming Westchester industrial park is the brainchild of two neurologists, Drs. Joseph and Berg, both brewed from the great crockpot of talent that is Manhattan’s AMC.  


The Animal Specialty Center is in many ways not unlike the dozens and dozens of veterinarian clinics I’ve toured around the country.  Dedicated  staff. Check.  Exceptional and compassionate care.  Check.  


One things stands out, however as the focal point.  And it stands tall.  

Say ‘Hello’ to my lil new friend, the Cyberknife.  

——–

Blake and Dr. Sue

To frame the entirety of this part of our story accurately, a bit of history is in order first.  I met Dr. Sue, one of ASC’s medical oncologists back in San Diego 2010 while giving a presentation about our Walk 1 – Austin to Boston – to the attendees of the Veterinary Cancer Society (VCS) Meeting.  

Come full circle, last October at VCS Twin Cities, we met again and she extended an invitation for me to visit their clinic in Yonkers.  A reunion perhaps of greater prescience than either of us could’ve known at the time as Blake, one of two beautiful rescue labs and part of the 2 Million Dogs family was diagnosed only weeks afterwards with meningioma becoming an ideal candidate for the Cyberknife.  

Blake’s mum, Chris, is one of our PUPS out of Baltimore and last week I spent time at ASC filming their story and learning about the relative benefits of Cyberknife vs. fractionated radiotherapy vs. stereotactic radiosurgery.  


Since I’m no scientist, I always try to reduce things down to their most basic elements and from my understanding, the differences between the three are merely a matter of time and precision.    

——–

Murphy

When he was DX’d with nasal adenocarcinoma just weeks after the conclusion of Walk 1, I chose  IMRT  once Withrow at CSU ruled him ineligible as a surgical candidate. I chose a slow course of radiation for an inoperable tumor and not only did it fail, Murphy developed a secondary Sarcoma in his nasopharynx.  

I got the best clinical advice at CSU but ultimately, I made a decision as a father rather than a patient and that faultline proved fatal and Murphy didn’t even make it a year.  

——–

That’s the trade off between the three types of radiology at least from a textbook perspective.  Time and precision and clinical outcome.   Blake underwent three days of Cyberknife treatment and godwilling, that’s all she’ll ever need.  

I firmly recommend exhaustive research and due diligence for the best most effective long-term treatment plan if you have a companion animal with cancer, along with the wise counsel of a vet oncologist.  

——–

I was grateful to be an honored guest at ASC last week; to herald in their 6 year anniversary, and most importantly, be there for friends of ours, Chris and Blake.  

And although I didn’t get a slice of their birthday cake, I have bigger sights in mind.  To a few trusty friends I texted the image of the Cyberknife and it scared the hell outta them in a RoboCop sorta way.  

Not me.  I’m from Texas and all I could think of was mounting it and riding it like Slim Pickens did a nuke in Dr. Strangelove into a blaze of glory.    

Thanks to the staff of ASC for being generous and accommodating during our time there and to Drs. Joseph and Berg for being pioneers in the field of veterinary medicine.  

THE RIPPLE: Ablation

From Dictionary.com

ab·la·tion  [a-bley-shuhn]  noun

1. the removal, especially of organs, abnormal growths, or harmful substances, from the body by mechanical means, as by surgery.

2.the reduction in volume of glacial ice, snow, or névé by the combined processes of melting, evaporation, and calving. Compare alimentation

3. Aerospace. erosion of the protective outer surface (ablator)  of a spacecraft or missile due to the aerodynamic heating caused by travel at hypersonic speed during reentry through the atmosphere.

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Years ago, my ex HJ – Murphy’s Mum, and I were playing water volleyball in Lake Travis when I cut the hell outta the bottom of my foot – slashed open by a sliver of glass.  

Like some bad sci-fi feature, planter’s warts infested and infiltrated that wound, and grew weirdly into a cauliflower type colony that became crippling to the point that I could barely wear sandals.

I went to see a podiatrist in San Antonio and the news was not good.

Two treatments were available.  I chose the harsher but surer. Chemical ablation.  It took weeks and weeks to burn it down during which was a pain so severe. 

——–

Surprisingly, I only had two foot problems on the first walk: A corn that blistered up occasionally.  And a left phalange that when quashed down by the weight of my pack lost a toenail times two.   

——–

YBD’s Notes 1:  Still don’t know what the hell a corn is but it’ll travel with me on Walk 2.

YBD’s Notes 2:  It was an amateur’s mistake.  I carried so much weight on the first walk that my toes grew by a half inch.  My 11.5 became a 12.  

YBD’s Notes 3: There’s no shelter for love.  There are some things that just don’t burn down and love is one of them.  




Regarding Hudson

Even though we’re a few months away from the start of our Walk 2, there are already grumblings in the background.  Some of the planning and preparation aspects of the excursion are still underway and I can’t respond to them yet but the loudest one I can.   

Let me begin by saying thanks to all of those voicing their concern about Hudson’s health.  To me, that speaks to your love of my little boy and that you care enough to stand up for his safety.  Can’t thank you enough.  

In a few weeks time, on our way down south to start phase II of our training in warmer climates, Hudson will have a full evaluation of his health, physical condition, and road readiness by a vet.  Muscle strength, joints, tendons, pads, etc. will all be examined.  

But that won’t be the last evaluation.  As we train together, I’ll be assessing his weight bearing capacity and stamina amongst other things.  Keep in mind Murphy, too, was 7 years old when we left Austin and on a much bigger frame than Hudson.  
The second concern we’ve received is regarding Hudson’s cancer.  We got the best possible prognosis from his two path reports combined with wide margins and there’s a 95% chance of no recurrence within two years.

Everyone is going to have their own opinion about this understandably but getting The DX, diagnosis as I call it, shouldn’t automatically be a death sentence nor life limiting.

My route and start and finish dates have been finalized.  We’ll launch from Vancouver the weekend of May 10th and arrive in San Diego the weekend of November 1st.  That’s approximately 1,600 miles or roughly 65 miles a week of walking for the fuzzybutts and me.

Lil’ Nana will be fine.  Hell, it’ll be hard to get him to stop at 65.

But the question, it seems, is will that be too much and too taxing for Hudzers?   

——–  

My last thoughts for you in the wee hours of Wednesday morning is one of the main reasons Hudson and Murphy and I made it as far and as long on the road was because we weren’t hot dogging it out there.  Pun intended.  

I didn’t take unnecessary or uncalculated risks and, equally important, I had contingency plans in place.  My job was to get the fab fuzzybutts from point A to point B safely.  Walk 2 won’t be any different.

Phase II of training entails working with both boys separately and in tandem.   Even still, that probably won’t answer the question.  Nor will even the most skilled and learned veterinarian be able to say whether Walk 2 will increase the risk for a recurrence of cancer in Hudson.

——–

I must press ahead with reason, faith, and the love of my boys as my guide.  

THE RIPPLE: Chapter 1: Man Plans. God Laughs. Dogs Poop

In the first week of launching the Austin to Boston walk in 2008, the whole weight of universal forces bore down on us like the wrath; a swift and unforgiving maelstrom that tested our mettle absolutely.  
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First there was the crippling weight of my pack because I didn’t want to be caught on the road without some essential tool, doo-dad, device or sundry to assuage the uncertain world I had just thrown myself into.  
Though I made a pact with God to get me and my boys to Boston safely didn’t mean I didn’t have a backup plan. Or two.  
Hudson and Murphy’s safety was of paramount concern to me and I packed for it. Shit, I carried enough medical supplies to run triage in a war zone.  I had a secondary leash that could counter as a tourniquet, micro flasks of iodine and isopropyl alcohol, and gauze pads of all sizes and shapes.   
A NOAA radio, batteries of all flavors, my clunky Dell laptop, and a seven iron to ground against lightening strikes and guard us from gophers, golfers, or god knows what.  
I barely made it five miles the first two days and even though I was in supreme physical condition, the weight of my pack almost became walk ending.  My lower back was already badly damaged from a work injury and later a car wreck and the sheer act of lifting my overloaded 5500 cc Osprey tweaked it even further. 
——–
And then the skies unleashed their fury.
Scientists say that of all of the senses, smell has the longest memory.  For example, you’ll never forget the acrid, stinging stench of a skunk.  That’s true, but I’ll never forget two sounds.  
One of which is the shrilling of my NOAA radio warning followed by the voice of the Atari Man, the nom de plume I assigned to that analog version of a linesman casting weather forecasts like a Pong match.  
Tornado warning. Wind speeds up to 50 mph.  Freezing hail.  Flash flooding.   Seek shelter.  
And indeed, Atari Man called it right.  Lightening storms and unrelenting rain opened up all around us and it got so bad that we abandoned our $20 Walmart tent off the northbound side of 973 for the underbelly of a nearby bridge.  
Clearly, this wasn’t the way I planned it.  
And that was just for starters.  
Fire ants, crazy sponsors, a lost bag, forgotten antibiotics, bad burritos, and a mad cow man followed in that first week. 
——–
YBD’s Notes 1:  I have a good friend going through a tough patch and in her words, she’s in ‘Protection Mode’.  

There are some things in life for which there is no shelter and if it wasn’t for the proverbial kitchen sink being thrown at us the first week of our walk, we would have never made it.  

I remember with perfect clarity in the tent with my boys what made the difference.  

YBD’s Notes 2: Early on, I had to understand which weight to shoulder and which to shrug.  That wisdom carries forth to our second walk.  

YBD’s Notes 3:  Very few things are worse than being in a bad bad storm when your dogs gotta poop.
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