Doug’s Journey
Near the summit of Whiteface Mountain there is a tiny section where the Whiteface memorial highway meets the hikers trail. On a perfectly still October morning while I stumbled over rocks and roots making my way up the hikers trail, someone else, 5 miles down the highway was also making their way up the 5th highest peak in New York State. He was not in a car or on a motorcycle or even a bicycle. His legs didn’t work but his arms and spirit did. When I came to the highway/trail junction, all was quiet except for an unfamiliar sound. I peered over the shoulder-high rock wall and what I saw amazed me. I immediately jumped the wall and yelled, “Good morning!!” A red-coated man in a wheelchair halted his upward progress and looked surprised. His gloved, duck taped hands held the wheels tightly. A red head lamp secured his red hood, and below that, as I bounded toward him, I witnessed a growing smile that lit up the foggy, gray morning. I immediately yelled out, “Have you been coming all the way up the highway!?” He nodded and smiled even wider. Excitedly, I bombarded him with question after question and then asked if I could take his picture. I asked for his phone or camera so he would have a picture of himself. He shyly and humbly said, “I didn’t bring either. I actually didn’t tell anyone I was doing this. Two years ago I only made it halfway. I started at four this morning.” I took a few photos and got his email address and then asked to shake his hand. He looked at his hands and twisted in his seat and said, “I don’t think I can let go of the wheels.” I put my foot behind a wheel and we shook hands and talked until he politely said, “Well, I should keep moving—don’t want to get too cold.” He continued on and I jumped back on the trail. My strides were quicker and longer and my smile matched Doug’s as I realized I just met someone I’d never forget. Doug sent me an email a few days later: “I ended up making it to the castle in four hours and forty five minutes. Today I feel like I was run over by a tank or something. What a perfect day to climb Whiteface, the high peaks looked like islands rising out of a sea of fog.”
Doug’s view from Whiteface Mountain
