Root beer and Snickers. This will be Norm Morris’ first order of business after he makes his last exhausted, exuberant step at the end of the 2200-mile Appalachian Trail. It will take him six months. Six months of living in second-hand hiking boots, sleeping in a thrift store tent, and eating camp food. Six months away from his wife and beloved German Shepherd. And at the end of it all, he will celebrate with root beer and Snickers as a tribute to his late son Adam.
- Norm, with faithful friend Fritz, in front of an Appalachian Trail marker.
This spring, Norm Morris is chasing a dream. More than twenty years ago, he promised his 9-year-old son that they would hike the Appalachian Trail together to a kick off Norm’s retirement and his 60th birthday. But when Adam passed away in 2000, Norm knew he would have to go it alone, carrying only the memory of his son on the long journey.
But Norm’s trek will go beyond remembering. He is hiking for a cause. With every mile he completes, friends and followers will make donations to the Adam Morris Memorial Fund, a fund that gives youth like Adam the chance to experience the transformative power of an Outward Bound course. Over the past ten years, the fund has awarded over $25,000 in scholarship aid to deserving students – a number Adam would be proud of. Norm still remembers the day they picked 16-year Adam up from an Outward Bound base camp. Adam described his course as “a life-changing experience that I never want to do again,” and then promptly requested root beer and Snickers bars to celebrate his achievement.
After his Outward Bound trip, Adam grew from boy to man, securing a job at a bed and breakfast on the Appalachian Trail, earning a degree in exercise science, applying to the Peace Corps, and ultimately deciding to become a teacher. Through all the growing up, Norm muses, Adam was a compassionate, funny, scrawny young man who, above all, cared about other people.
- Rochelle cradles a photo of husband, Norm and late son Adam.
Norm will begin his trek from Georgia to Maine on March 20th on Springer Mountain, where he and his young son had once camped – the very place where Norm and Adam made the pact to conquer the Trail together. On his 60th birthday, Norm will spread Adam’s ashes – scattering his remains on earth that once felt the fall of his son’s footsteps. And then Norm will hike. And hike. And hike some more. He’ll cover 15 miles a day, stopping for re-supplies from his wife, Rochelle, who will be travelling and blogging alongside him via RV (blog details to follow).
Sometime in September, Norm’s journey will come to an end. He will take his last step. He will have made good on his promise. And although Adam will not be there in the flesh, there is no doubt that he will be there in spirit, matching each step, watching every sunrise, and raising a root beer to wash down a mouth full of peanuts and caramel at the end of it all.
Donations to the Adam Morris Fund can be made here:
Outward Bound
910 Jackson St
Golden, CO 80401
Please make sure to note that your gift is in honor of Adam Morris.
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