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Photos courtesy of Dan Sims.
Dan Sims recently hiked the entirety of the Appalachian Trail to the summit of Mt. Katahdin in honor of his daughter, Janie, pictured on his bag, who died from childhood cancer.
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Photo courtesy of Dan Sims.
The view from Mt. Katahdin, the “finish line” of the Appalachian Trail.
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Photos courtesy of Dan Sims.
Dan Sims' bag with a picture of his daughter Janie, who died from childhood cancer.
Eight months and three weeks to the day after he first left Talladega in January, Dan Sims summited Mount Katahdin in Maine, completing the 2,600-mile Appalachian Trail in honor of his late daughter, Janie.
“It was everything I hoped it would be,” Sims said.
Sims hiked to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer, raising about $12,000. Most of that was raised before he began hiking, he said.
While he was disappointed more was not raised, Sims said he will keep going and will think of the next thing he can do to raise money to help children like Janie, who died from leukemia at 5 years old in 2003.
“It goes back to not giving up,” Sims said.
One year after Sims and Janie’s mom welcomed twin boys who were 10 weeks premature, Janie was diagnosed with leukemia. She was treated for 15 months before passing away, Sims said.
“It blindsided us,” Sims said of the diagnosis.
Janie, though, never complained. She was, even while undergoing treatment, “fun to be around and easy to love,” Sims said. She woke up with a smile on her face and genuinely enjoyed life.
Her attitude helped inspire her father to take up this hike in her honor.
“I don’t care what obstacle, this is something I’ve got to do now,” he said at the time.
‘Every step of every day’
During his hike from January to late September, Sims experienced all kinds of weather.
“The rain is the most miserable because you’re soaked,” Sims said.
Toward the end of the hike, closer to Maine, hikers lose daylight, especially in the fall, Sims said. New Hampshire was the most challenging part of the hike, as it is “nothing but mountains.” At times, hikers must use fingers to pull themselves up, moving straight up rocks, Sims said.
“People get hurt,” Sims said.
Sims heard of a man dying of hypothermia on Mount Washington in New Hampshire in June. The weather on top of the mountain is some of the worst in the world, he said.
“You appreciate your ability to tackle every day,” Sims said.
Another part of the trail is known as the “100-mile wilderness,” during which there is no chance to get off the trail. As Sims hiked the wilderness, it rained the whole time.
Still, Janie and the thought of other children battling pediatric cancer kept him going.
“Every time I’d run into an obstacle, … it’s nothing compared to what these kids go through,” Sims said. “I thought of her every step of every day.”
Sims has always been an early riser, so that helped him get the most out of daylight, as well as allowing him to get a head start on other hikers. When he could, he would spend the night in a hostel and get a shower and sleep before getting back on the trail.
Wildlife was used to humans, including a moose that Sims made contact with.
“Experiences like that, you don’t get anywhere else,” Sims said. “There are sections [where] you feel like you’re in a National Geographic movie.”
Sims met people from all over the world, including a Frenchman he spent three weeks with, along with hikers from England, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany and more.
“It’s amazing,” Sims said. “It makes you appreciate the resource we have here.”
Sims didn’t travel with anyone specifically and while he interacted with many other hikers, he said it was not unusual to see someone in the Carolinas and not see them again until Maine. Still, a fellowship is born on the trail, he said.
“People on the trail help each other,” Sims said.
Finishing the Journey
Time on the trail was often lonely, he said.
“You really embrace the solitude,” Sims said. “You thank God for the beauty around you.”
When he arrived in Maine, the weather was perfect for him to summit the trail’s northernmost point. Rangers give permission for hikers to summit and tell them to be respectful, as Katahdin is a holy site for local Native Americans.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Sims said. “I knew it was a life-changing journey.”
Some days on the trail are similar to the journey of dealing with cancer, Sims said. You’d have one good day and then two days later everything falls apart, he said, like when the rain and cold forced him to spend the night in a public bathroom.
“You just tough it,” Sims said. “You just never give up.”
The long trek gives hikers a lot of time to reflect on their life and their future, Sims said. At night, Sims spent time reading and came across a famous quote from Mark Twain: "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."
Sims now knows his “why.” His future is tied to his past and to the daughter he’ll never forget, whose picture hung on his shirt as he climbed the top of Katahdin.
“I’m going to spend the rest of my life finding a cure for pediatric cancer,” Sims said.
