AARP AZ - Age Disrupting 71 year old will attempt, in one season, hiking the Triple Crown in 2019
A quick update as of 4/29/19 on Age Disruptor and Triple Crown Hiker Mike Fagan. It has been a crazy 72 hours for Mike and team. Mike Fagan sustained a serious injury resulting from a fall while hiking in rain north of Harper’s Ferry W. Virginia. He pitched forward on slippery terrain in the rain and hit his left shoulder on a rock. When he got up, he discovered that he was unable to lift his left arm. Fagan continued to hike to the nearest shelter and called in the incident to his GCHH Support Team. The GCHH van and personnel took Fagan to an Urgent Care facility in Frederick, MD where he received treatment and diagnosis including x-rays. The initial findings are soft tissue damage to the shoulder and rotator cuff. He must return to Arizona for further treatment including an MRI to ascertain whether surgery is required. Fagan, 71, started the trail in Georgia on February 5, and was over 1,000 miles (nearly halfway) into his trek and was expected to reach Katahdin in Maine at the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in early to mid-June.
From the start, Mike and his GCHH team knew that something like this could happen. GCHH.org is now implementing its contingency plans. This plan involves turning a one-person hike into a “relay-hike” for fellow Age Disrupters … 71 year-old Vietnam Veteran Mukhtar Najee-Ullah, one of the GCHH Support Staff is continuing north along the trail until the next replacement hiker arrives. The Triple Crown Challenge project’s intention was always to involve as many 50+ year old individuals as possible in the support and successful completion of this mission. GCHH intends to complete the second half of the Appalachian Trail with 55-year-old female AARP member, Sherri Eggers. Sherri will hike the final half of the Appalachian Trail and attempt completion by early July. Then other carefully selected 50+ hikers will be chosen from a list of volunteers to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail – The Triple Crown of Hiking, a feat fewer than 400 people have achieved.
Mike will evaluate when he can return to the trail after doing the MRI in Arizona. The focus now will be less on Mike and more on how people over 50 can age without setting limitations.
For more details you can always visit www.gchh.org and/or I will keep you updated as I know more.
Wishing Mike a fast recovery, so he can get back to what he loves doing.
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