by Ed » Fri Dec 08, 2017 4:17 pm
I returned Ward's trekking poles to him today, and we had a good conversation. He talked to his doctor, who thinks the problem is vaping. Ward was a 25-year one-or-two packs a day smoker. Switched to vaping four years ago. I don't know anything about vaping, but sounds like it took care of the nicotine problem, but may not be great for your lungs. He has no doubts about the need for a rescue, he feels he was not far short of a complete shut-down. He will be doing easier hikes for a while. Unfortunately, you are looking straight up at the Skyline route from his parking area!