April 20, 2006- I regret to have to report that my planned 2006 hike has to be delayed for about a year. Our family has had a run of extremely good luck for the past five or six years and I suppose that the law of averages had to catch up with us and 2006 seems to be the year.

Starting in January we have had several major thunderstorms and lost several large trees. These storms did quite a bit of damage, It seems that we no sooner got repaired and cleaned up from one when another rolled through. While insurance covers actual property damage it offers little if any reimbursement for actual clean up. Our total un reimbursed cost ran into the thousands. We've had major appliances go out and unexpected hospital stays. I lost the entire month of March due to illness. In that one month I had 2 separate colds, the flu, and a bout of pneumonia. As I'm writing this I still cannot make it up 2 flights of stairs without gasping and choking. I've been assured that the condition will clear but that it will take several more weeks to do so. A hernia I've had for about 30 years decided to become unbenign and has been giving me considerable problems and a tooth abscessed and had to be extracted. Last, but not least, our dog died.

After taking everything into account, I decided that it would be best if I put of the hike for a while. My immediate plan is to come out of semi retirement and replenish my nearly exhausted bank account. I will also be monitoring this hernia and making a decision about getting it fixed. I also plan to do some shorter hkes during the spring and fall.

It one time, I would have been extremely disappointed but I've learned to take things into perspectve. I'm glad no one was hurt or injured when the three quarter ton tree crashed into the roof. I have no long term or permanent problems from my March illnesses. I should be financially sound in 3 to 4 months and I've been told that the hernia would be a quick, easy repair should I decide to get it done. I'm still more than a little skeptical about that. I do miss my dog and tooth though. At any rate, I feel OK about not going this year. At least, I have no reason to doubt that I will be ready to go next year.