Update From Rick
Hello ALS community and Supporters of ALS,
We are so excited to be 5 days away from the finish on Springer Mt. in Georgia, Monday November, 24th in the very late PM hours! Ben has 
been pushing extra hard through the very difficult Tennessee and North Carolina sections of the trail. The ending 300 miles seems to be just as difficult as the first 300 miles through Maine and New Hampshire. What a way to end such an epic trek. Today Ben starts the very difficult 2 day section of The Great Smoky Mountains.
Ben basically wakes up between 4-6, depending on his milage for the day. On days he goes 50 miles and beyond, he wakes up between 2 and 3:30am. He then eats as much as his stomach will allow for breakfast. Normally he will have 3 packs of oat meal, a bagel with cream cheeze, 2 pop tarts, a fruit cup, instant coffee (nasty and very bitter, but he sucks it up and drinks it down) and if there is any room left for more, he will eat cookies that have been donated by our friends and supporters. He then puts on his hiking clothes (Ben is outfitted by our friends at Altrec.com), Drymax socks, gaiters, and shoes. He wears running tights, a couple of jackets, and big poofy gloves, in the cold. It has been very, very cold these last couple of mornings. (Fortunately, I'm outfitted by Blue Ridge Mountain Sports. When I'm not in sneakers, I still wear my Crocs though...); Low 20's to mid 30's. He then fills his pack up with water, and food for the day. He eats lots of cookies and sweets like danishes, he loves oatmeal cream pies. He also eats powerbars, p b and J sanwitches, nuts, chips, trail mix and sometimes I surprise him with something out of the ordinary as a treat. Recently I surprised his with a bundle of cooked baccon. His hear just about stopped he was so excited. (Pavlog's Dog!) Eating and getting dressed and packed takes about 60-75 minutes. It is by far the hardest part of the day for me, and the second hardest part, other than hiking in the crazy cold, for Ben.
Then I normally will try my hardest to motivate Ben by saying positive things to him, reading him PMA's (positive mental additude) quotes sent to his Black berry from my dad, Pappa Cheeve, reading ALS hero stories, listening to certain songs, and many other creative ways. I always send him off with a big hug, saying that I am so proud of him and as he walks away I always yell out "Go get em' Benny" (ala Ricky Bobby style)
He then hikes anywhere between 12-20 hours depending on the milage. He goes right around 3 miles per hour to give you an idea. the next 5 days, including today are 34 miles (11 hours), 42 miles (14 hours), 55,56,51 (yes right around 18 - 20 hours or even more for the last 3 days of his epic adventure.) Remember that there are only roughly 11 hours of day light and when the sun goes down, so does the temperature. He uses two flashlights to navigate in the dark, a headlamp and a hand held and yes, I always make sure he carries extra batteries for both. When he is on a big mountain after dark...it is very very cold, reaching temps in the low single digits. Ben is such a commited dude! He always has his radio on him and we are able to communicate when he is within 5 miles away via voice and GPS!!!
Ben is a (well kept:-) and finly tuned) machine that uses emotion as fuel. He is an animal, a powerhouse with a mission. His mission, as i am sure you all know, is to tell your stories. To make your voices be heard. To educate others about ALS. To inspire others to spread the word. Ben hands out stickers, as do I, to every single hiker or person we come into contact with. Many know but far to many do not know. We want them to know. You deserve them to know. And our mission is to do just that. Widen and expand the loop!
Sometimes, we are blessed enough to be able to meet up at an intersection along the days route, sometimes we are not. When we meet up, Ben resuplies his Nathan day pack, eats some food and drinks as much water as he can so that he does not have to carry as much.Sometimes I will surprise Ben with real coffee and breakfast sanwitches from Mc Donalds, or a sandwitch from Subway, etc. This will raise his spirits through the roof so I try to do that when ever I can. This usually lasts between 5-15 minutes with the goal of making these stops as short as possible so Ben does not loose any momentum. On a 18-20 hour day, Ben will take about an hour long nap, give or take in the middle of his day, to frshen up his very strong mind.
When Ben gets in for the night, he sits in the car and has a Hammer Nutrition protein shake, eats freeze drided dinner like ramon noodles, easy mac and cheeze, soup, deli sandwitch or a freeze dried meel provided to us by Blue Ridge Mountain Sports and Altrec.
He always tends to his minor wounds, sometimes he falls on the trail, has chaffing, etc. He always checks his feet to make sure they are still blister free from the Drymax Trail Running socks he wears every day, and without fail they somehow always seem to be perfect. It is simply amazing to know that Ben's feet have no blisters after nearly 2,000 miles on these crazy trails. When he comes in after being in the cold rain for an entire day and crossing directly through rivers up to his knees, his feet are still flawless with no blisters. Drymax socks are simply amazing.
This entire post-hike rutien normally takes 60-90 minutes as well. And then it is off to sleep at a donated Hostel or motel, in our stinky tent, or if it is impossible to camp, we sleep in the uncomfortable car (equally as stinky as the tent.) All in all it is no worries as we both are always looking towards the overall goal, spreading awarness for ALS and allowing your stories to be told. Finishing this trek always comes second to that.
We then sleep for 4-7 hours and then Ben is off again...and again, and again, and again, and again...(x65)
This has been the most inspriational journey I have ever been on.
Stay Well,
-Rick Cheever Crew Chief-
