Yaeger set to hike Appalachian Trail
Mark Yaeger takes no offense if you tell him to, “Go take a hike.” In fact, the Westfield native is preparing for a very long walk home.
“For years, I’ve had the dream of ‘thru-hiking’ the Appalachian Trail,” he said. “Having grown up in northern Maine, I wanted to complete the entire trail and finish — literally — at my front door in Westfield.”
That dream, however, took a backseat in 2005 when Yaeger was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
“Along with the known physical complications and constant difficulty in properly managing the disease, it had another effect on me that proved to be even tougher. It diminished — on a fundamental level — my self-confidence and the belief I once had in my ability to persevere and overcome obstacles and challenges,” he said. “Having grown into young-adulthood healthy and active, I felt as though I was resigned to living within parameters as I was faced with the reality of daily medication and inconsistent health.
“I’ve worked hard to improve my health in a demanding lifestyle, and have been slowly rebuilding the confidence to really challenge myself,” said Yaeger. “After 2005, I had all but given up on the idea, but have finally reached a point at which, I feel, I can make it a reality.”
After years of taking injections, Yaeger said he has since switched over to an insulin pump.
“Though I am hooked to something 24 hours a day,” he said, “it actually has allowed me a lot more freedom, and the idea to hike the Appalachian Trail resurfaced and I felt like maybe it was time to give it a go.”
Yaeger, the son of Andy and Carol Yaeger of Westfield, will begin his journey at Springer Mountain in northwestern Georgia.
“The official trail, if you’re going south to north, is to finish at the summit of Mount Katahdin, but there’s also kind of an extension that continues up through, and a lean-to on top of Bigrock is part of that extension,” he said. “My plan — hopefully — is to continue from Katahdin for another week or so and walk to Bigrock, dart off the trail, and actually walk to my front door.”
The initial Appalachian Trail, Yaeger said, is about 2,189 miles.
“I’ll be flying to Georgia on April 18, and plan to start hiking either the 19th or 20th depending on logistics when I get there,” he said. “There are a lot of towns and places to restock and re-supply along the way as far as food and gear, and sometimes those towns will be 2-4 miles off of the trail itself, so it’s pretty common to hitchhike from the trail into the town and back, but other than a little hitchhiking side detour, it’s 100 percent walking.”
Yaeger estimates that he will reach his front door around the second week of October. He said he’s planning the hike to prove something to himself.
“The first few years with diabetes I had really put ideas like this out of my mind because I didn’t think they’d be a possibility for me anymore,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to proving that I can do this.
“I’m also looking forward to just seeing the country from a different perspective, and maybe most of all, kind of slowing everything down … at least for a small stretch of my life,” said Yaeger. “For a few months, I’m looking forward to dealing with really the only things that matter — food, shelter and whatever else I have to deal with on the trail.” He does, however, plan to carry his cellular phone and a small solar charger. “I doubt that there will be adequate reception along the trail in a lot of places, but probably once a week I’ll make a stop in a town and stay a few days at a cheap hotel, and at those times I plan to keep up with my communication.”
Yaeger has set up an online fund-raising campaign to help with various expenses including food and equipment, transportation, continued health insurance coverage and medical supply costs.
“My goal is to raise $12,000,” he said. “So far, people have donated about $9,000. Any funding that I am able to raise beyond my goal will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to help in its goal of finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes.”
To contribute, log onto http://www.gofundme.com/markyaegerAT.
Currently a professional ski patrolman at Aspen Highlands in Colorado, Yaeger is a 1996 graduate of Presque Isle High School.
