August 14, 2002

Bud Ward nears end of the trail

By LISA PERKINS
Herald staff writer
       One step at a time - that's the way Bud Ward of Williamsburg decided to take the hike he began on March 10 in Springer Mountain, Ga., the south terminus of the 2,168 mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
      "I thought I'm just going to walk 200 miles at a time and access how I'm doing," Ward said. "I just wanted to enjoy the hike."
      Ward is no stranger to long walks. The experienced outdoorsman hiked the 212 mile John Muir Trail from Yosemite to the top of Mount Whitney in 2000 and the 93 mile Wonderland Trail that encircles Mount Rainier in addition to the 46 mile West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island in 2001. Ward decided to take on a much bigger challenge this year.
      "I saw it as a long distance adventure, even though I was hiking alone there were always other hikers on the trail," Ward said.
      "One day blurs into another with a sameness, and yet each is different. New faces and new places, but always the long hours of hiking," noted Ward in his journal on April 17.
      Ward, who hiked as many as 30 miles per day, found he had a lot in common with fellow hikers like Voshca, a 54-year-old retired bank executive - and former circus high-wire performer - from Atlanta. The pair discussed everything from running, wives and their past lives over the several days they hiked together.
      As a retired teacher from Traverse City's Long Lake Elementary, Ward and "Walking Waldo," a retired English teacher from Pennsylvania, shared many miles comparing experiences.
      On day 16, Ward met up with a group that included a young man, Carl, who had just finished chiropractic school. With complaints of tightness in his back, Ward received an adjustment - with promises to repay the favor with a wind surfing lesson when Carl makes a visit to Traverse City this month.
      Eventually most conversations turned to one topic - food. Ward estimated he burned an average of 4,000 calories per day so keeping hunger at bay was always on his mind.
      "When I got to the Barn Restaurant in Bland, Va., I couldn't resist the 'trucker's special,' which included two of everything on the menu, plus an extra order of three hot cakes," Ward said.
      "Hiking is the ultimate weight loss plan - you have to carry all your food on your back and walk up and down mountains for 12 to 14 hours a day," Ward noted.
      While hunger didn't surprise Ward, the difficulty of the trail did.
      "After hiking in the west on 10,000 to 14,000 foot mountains, you wouldn't expect mountains under 6,000 feet to be more difficult," Ward said.
      "The trail is much more rugged and steep but very beautiful. I spent a lot of time scrambling, using all fours," he noted.
      With exhaustion as a daily foe, Ward found the generosity of anonymous supporters heartwarming.
      "One day I saw a sign that said 'Water.' I went down the path to find a four foot cooler filled with everything you could think of from bottles of water to toothbrushes and toothpaste, just there for whoever needed it" Ward noted.
      After nearly three months and 1,615 miles, Ward had to make a decision. With black fly season at it's peak, severe weather in the forecast, a lingering headache he had been unable to shake and a new granddaughter waiting at home, it seemed that taking a break was the wisest thing he could do.
      Ward returned home, to the surprise of his wife and family, on June 10, exactly three months after beginning his adventure.
      But don't think that this self-described "adrenaline junkie" has called it quits. He will return to Vermont and the trail early next month to complete the remaining 550 miles - one step at a time.