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Pristine lakes, blue skies with the perfect cotton candy clouds, and crisp mountain air. Those words are enough to give you a “Rocky Mountain High” except you won’t find yourself in Colorado, no, I’m talking about California and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT and the JMT) John Muir Trail . Extending from southern California northward into Oregon, Washington, and on up into Canada, over 2,000 miles of hiking trails, passes, 13 and 14’ers (13,000 and 14,000 feet mountain peaks), thousands of lakes, pastoral meadows, thick forests, black bears, marmots, pumas, and a myriad of insects, birds, and other small nocturnal creatures make the PCT home. Mt. Rainier, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Whitney are just a few famous names every outdoorsman will know. Those who remember the name John Muir will be reminded of his conservation efforts along with the photography and conservation efforts of Ansel Adams.
 When I first saw the mountain photographs of Ansel Adams and read about the naturalist John Muir, I knew I’d found my true love – mountains . They drew me into the wilderness and I could experience the high places through them. Not too long ago while searching for a photograph of an RV camper, I came across another mountaineer – Martin McCorkle . He is a present day citizen of California, and found his love of mountains upon high school graduation. A friend introduced him to freedom unsurpassed. Martin is the author of “Walk with Me.” This book chronicles Martin’s life from childhood through adulthood as he battles CMT (Charcot-Marie-Toothe disease) and finds an inner drive to climb the high places. This isn’t just another hiking book written by a hiker. It’s an experience of a lifetime shared with you for the purpose of motivation. It is the story of nature making a positive impact upon a young man who refuses to be enclosed by disability.
Martin McCorkle was born with a neurological degenerative disease called Charcot-Marie-Toothe disease (CMT is the shortened name). This insidious disease subtly and progressively destroys nerve endings throughout the body, most likely occurring in the feet, legs, hands, and arms first. If you are one of the lucky ones, it will slow down and may become static for a long period of time. For those unlucky CMT’ers, the progression keeps on going – never knowing at what point where it will end at time of death.
“Walk with Me” tells the story of Martin’s acquired love for hiking in the mountains with this insurmountable disease. Despite the frequent falls, near death misses on the trails, scraped knees and elbows many times over, encounters with wildlife, poor trails and companions, and unpredictable weather along with a neurological degenerative disease which affected Martin’s ability to walk safely and strongly through the passes, he stayed the course until he arrived at his goal – a 1700 mile walk though California along the Pacific Crest Trail and the John Muir Trail.
For all of you with a love of nature in your heart and dealing with handicaps, this book will be a motivation to keep you going and doing that which you love. There is more than one way to conquer a mountain! Some go around, some over, and some through the passes, others move them one scoop at a time!
 Although Martin’s book deals with hikers and backpackers, there are resort areas along the Pacific Crest Trail with lodges and also private RV parks, many camping sites and an abundance of trails for day trips into the mountains and meadows. I recommend you know your limitations and your strengths before you just go out and try to hike up a mountain! Last year while on vacation my friends and I came across a trail we hadn’t traversed before; even though the elevation gain was only 500 feet up to the “crater lake,” I needed a walking pole and more water than what was available. Being out of shape didn’t help matters either, but like I said earlier, the love for mountains is in my blood and I would live somewhere on a mountain for the rest of my life if possible. While my four hour hike was nothing compared to Martin McCorkle’s PCT experience, I will always remember it! Perhaps this is ironic since I cringe at driving on high overpasses.
Having read “Walk with Me” has encouraged me to continue pushing my limits with my life and experience “one moment at a time.” I hope you’ll enjoy reading this outdoor experience. Whatever your handicap may be, stay focused, motivated, keep camping, hiking, or RV’ing, and happy traveling!
(photos of Martin McCorkle are courtesy of his website www.martinmccorkle.com, remaining photos are courtesy of www.stock.xchange.com)
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