Hiking for life.

Simons, Don R.

"Have your ears been burning?" asked Dr. T.

"Is that another damned side effect of the medication?" I snapped sarcastically.

"No, I have been bragging about you to my other patients. Some of them complain about walking out to their mailboxes. I tell them about this patient who is a park ranger and hikes miles every day [a bit of an exaggeration]." She went on to say that my career as frontline park interpreter is the best thing for a person with Parkinson's disease (PD). Being active is the key to slowing the progress of neurological disorders. I say hiking is good, physically and mentally, for everybody.

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Parkinson's disease affects the nervous system. It limits a person's ability to control some muscles. In many people, it causes movement problems. This may be uncontrolled shaking of the arms and legs, called tremors. At times, muscles may feel somewhat stiff and rigid. Eventually, walking may become a process of taking small steps and slow movement. According to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, PD is estimated to affect as many as one million Americans. About 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease every year. Boxing champion Muhammad Ali, TV and movie star Michael J. Fox, and former Attorney General Janet Reno are all living with PD. I was diagnosed with PD in 2003 and have come to recognize it as a daily challenge to live with.

In his memoir, Always Looking Up, Michael J. Fox suggests, "It may be one step forward and two steps back, but after a time with Parkinson's, I've learned that what is important is making that one step count. ..." It's hard leading hikes backwards. Foot cramps, another symptom of PD, don't help.

My professional career started in 1981 as a seasonal naturalist. Remaining a frontline interpreter all these years has been by choice. In 2000, I transferred to Mount Magazine State Park, outside of Paris, Arkansas. Being one of the first staff members of this new park, I became a "park pioneer." Part of my early duties included exploring the mountain's rugged landscape and planning its trail system. These trails lead to a rich diversity of scenery, wildlife, and history. They also provide me with a high quality of livelihood. I challenge myself and park visitors to explore and experience all that Mount Magazine offers. Hiking and leading hikes for a living, can life get better? I submit that it cannot.

One activity I offer to park visitors is to meet me for a short morning walk to take in a sunrise over a magnificent landscape. There is no better way to start a day. A low percentage of our visitors take advantage of these natural events, but those who do are never disappointed. Many of them say they would not have gotten up so early if I had not scheduled the activity. Hopefully they will continue to broaden their horizons.

I love small groups for better one-to-one contact. Groups of zero to 12 are great. "Zero?" you ask. If no one shows up for a scheduled hike, I often go out alone; it beats staring my computer. This practice provides quality opportunities for solitude, trail maintenance, and impromptu interpretation.

I've led many school groups on guided hikes. Unfortunately, most school groups are too large for quality interpretation. Hikes with more than 20 students turn into marches with few interpretive stops. However, every school group has a few young minds in which a flame of curiosity can be sparked.

One of the most challenging and rewarding hikes I have led was for a group from the Little Rock School for the Blind. With the students was special guest Erik Weihenmayer, the first sight-impaired person to climb the world's Seven Summits--the highest peak on every continent. As a motivational speaker, he talks to audiences on harnessing the power of adversity, the importance of a strong "rope team," and the daily struggle to pursue dreams. His accomplishments show that "one does not have to have perfect eyesight to have extraordinary vision."

Our park has 14 miles of hiking trails. The trail they selected leads up Signal Hill, Arkansas's highest point at 2,753 feet above sea level. A little more than half a mile and an elevation gain of only 153 feet would be no challenge for Erik. It would be a major outing for these high school students.

An orientation class introduced many of the participants to walking canes. Before that, I mistakenly thought all sight-impaired people used them in everyday life. Each student had a sighted partner to assist him or her up the trail.

My plan included exciting their other senses along the way. Bird songs were described with mnemonics. Trees were identified by leaf and bark texture. Sizes of trees were explored through hugs. A sack of sassafras roots excited their olfactory senses. The theme of the hike, "Sensing the Woods," was made personal for them, just as Freeman Tilden instructed.

After the high point hike, Erik led the students on a short rock climbing adventure. They are braver than I. While they were getting geared up, I watched one student pull a bit of root out of his pocket. Another student said, "I smell sassafras." I grinned and thought to myself, "Mission accomplished." This was an eye-opening (pun intended) experience for me. My physical problems pale in comparison to theirs. I try not to wallow in self pity.

I have now been living and working with PD for eight years. My symptoms are daily obstacles. As I enter this phase of my life, I find myself on a journey of self-discovery and reinvention. Fortunately, I have a good "rope team" helping me along. My wife Lori is the team leader, encouraging and assisting me through personal challenges. I cannot do it without her. She has the ability to push ropes uphill. Other members of that team include personnel in Arkansas State Parks. My park superintendent, Becky Bariola, gives me flexibility in planning my interpretive activities. Jay Miller and Kelly Farrell, the hearts and minds of our agency's program services section, have visionary insights that challenge my creative side. A collection of friends has become more important in softening my crusty exterior. Thanks to an effort by Shea Lewis, many of them combined their resources to give me a set of expensive binoculars with an image-stabilizing feature. This has renewed my interest in birding as a hobby and for park programming. NAI is also an important part of my rope team, offering tools, training, and colleagues that keep me motivated and inspired.

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My PD medication often causes extreme hand tremors for a period before I see the benefits. Typing becomes a bigger challenge beyond my limited hunt-and-peck skills. Another side effect of the medication is drowsiness. For cross-country trips, like driving to NAI National Workshops in Oregon and Connecticut, I purposefully reduced my medication. It beats falling asleep at the wheel.

As I travel around our country for training and vacation, I explore unfamiliar trails at every opportunity. Some of them have been challenging, like Guadalupe Peak, the highest point of Texas. All have been therapeutic. Any day in wilderness is a good day. My collection of hiking medallions has filled one stick and started another. I carry it as I lead interpretive walks. It has become a merchandise resale tool and an interpretive conversation starter. I have no way of knowing how many visitors have been inspired to start medallion collections after seeing mine, but I hope and suspect it is more than a few.

Recently, I was pleased to see eight-year-old Jonathan, a repeat visitor from Texas. His thick glasses and facial expression remind me of the kid in A Christmas Story. For five years running, he has requested to camp at Mount Magazine to celebrate his birthday. This morning he and his father walked with me on my first sunrise walk of the year. He proudly carried a new hiking staff, which is a foot taller than he is. He asked why my hands were shaking and easily accepted my simple explanation. He patiently waited as I had to stop for a few moments to ease a foot cramp.

Later that day, I helped Jonathan attach his first hiking medallion to his new stick. I explained that these medallions were more than trophies to be collected. They serve as reminders of special places and experiences. Of course, Jonathan says he wants to grow up to be just like me. I am proud to have helped him with a good start.

As a testimony to the therapeutic effects of hiking, just look at Wil and Sarah Reding, lifetime naturalists and longtime members of NAI. Wil appears to be as old as dirt, but his love of nature and hiking has allowed him to keep up with his younger, vibrant spouse. Watch Wil as he enthusiastically examines and interprets objects from nature. Watch his eyes. There is a twinkle there that can only be fueled by boundless love and curiosity. Nature is a powerful energy that makes him a perpetual motion machine. Sarah is no slouch either. Their 1,000-mile trek in 2006 to retrace John Muir's walk down to Florida was quite an accomplishment.

John Muir wrote, "In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks." My lifetime of walking with nature has given me everything I have and has provided me with a high quality of life and livelihood. I might be moving more slowly than I used to, but I am out there hiking for life.

Don R. Simons is a Certified Heritage Interpreter at Mount Magazine State Park in Paris, Arkansas.