Precerpt from Raising God's Rainbow Makers -- Huff and Puff on the AT
On Donnie's bucket list since he was a child was hiking the entire length of the AT. Those who did so were called thru-hikers. Donnie aimed one day to be a thru-hiker.
One day came after moving to Washington DC, where I had just landed a new job and Donnie was between jobs, Perfect time to hike the trail.
Shane at the time was ten, four years ahead in school, healthy, and strong. He had had a tentative relationships with Donnie, mainly bcause Donnie was big, strong, and imposing, with a bushy beard and deep voice. But, yes, he wanted to hike the trail with his Dad. The school agreed to let him have the time off (six months was the typical hiking time) since he was so far ahead and they did not know what to do with him, anyway.
Thanks to his forestry training and days working for the US Forest Service, Donnie knew all the forest lore needed for a safe trip. He also knew what supplies were needed for a comfortable trip. So, off went father and son to the local version of LL Bean and outfitted themselves. Shane would have to carry his own bedroll and half of the cooking equipment and food, but his pack had to be light enough for a 10-year-old back.
That taken care of, they had to be in good shape so that they would not pass out on the first day or fail to cover an adequate number of miles each day. For more than a month, every morning, they would dress in their hiking clothes, put on their backpack gear, and hike the hills around Arlington, VA. Not the trail exactly but definitely good preparation for it. Every day, they covered a little more territory until Donnie thought that they were ready and the trailhead in Georgia would be open--and Shane was no longer intimidated by Donnie.
I drove all of us down to Florida for a short visit with Donnie's ailing grandmother, then turned around and dropped Donnie and Shane at the AT trailhead in Georgia. Maine, here they come!
Two days later, Grandma died. No way to word to Donnie, but it seemed much more important that they had seen her just the week before while she was alive.
Soon, they had acquired the trail names of Huff and Puff for obvious reasons. Heavyset Donnie huffed his way up and down the mountains. Lithe Shane puffed along them like a thistle blowing in the wind. Shane often outpaced Donnie and ended up joining other groups as they all headed to the same overnight stop.
At those trail stops, there were cabins, a place for rolling out sleeping bags, and a place to cook. Donnie and Shane split tasks. Sometimes, Donnie would go down to the nearest spring or river to draw water; sometimes Shane did, using topo map and compass, skills that few 10-year-olds have. The other person would start the first and prepare the supper.
At each trail stop there was a book where hikers could leave helpful notes. When a book was filled, a hiker would take it, mail it back as soon as he had a chance to the person who had left it, and leave a new one in its place with his/her name and address. In that way, Donnie received the best souvenir of all from the trip: a filled-up book that he had left.
Shane would enter notes, too. It was from his notes that he earned a nickname among other thru-hikers: Spock. When I read the trail. I saw one of them in the book that was returned: "For those in need of water, there is a small, running brook approximately .165 miles on an approximate azimuth of 79.25." What? Why "approximately?" I understood right away the nickname.
Shane kept a diary. This was to cover his school writing requirement. I mailed him appropriate books to read, like Walden, or Life in the Woods by Thoreau, Longfellow's Evangeline (Remember "This is the forest primeval?"), and other such literature. I also mailed a pack of Dentyne and between the gum and the wrapper, I would place a $20 bill. Donnie spent profligately and Shane pecuniously. I knew to whom to send the little bit of money I could spare for them to pick up a hot meal or hot shower when they came out of the hills to pick the freeze-dried food to replenish their backpacks. for another couple of weeks.
Shane, being the youngest thru-hiker ever, got a lot of attention. Not only from other thru-hikers though it seemed that as they passed hikers going in the opposite direction, news about the father-son team had spread. It spread to Georgia public television, and a TV crew hiked up to interview them. (Donnie was interviewed, too, later, by a NY health magazine-- for his tremendous weight loss - over 100 ;pounds).
Everyone in the family participated in the AT adventure, whether they were hiking or not. The kids picked out the foods to send to each stop along the way, with glee and occasional disagreements. I got a second job at night, working at AAA Super Number - made great friends and learned a lot of new things that I would never have had a reason to learn. The night shift was slow, and each worker got to take an hour break for the mid-point meal, but no one ate at that hour. We just stretched out on some bunks that were in a nearby room and slept. That little bit of sleep, added to another 3-4 hours when I got home, left me in decent shape for work the next day. It was worth it; it gave me the money I needed to fill in for Donnie's lack of income, new friends, and a really good working climate. Lizzie watched her siblings; it definitely was a special six months.
When Donnie and Shane reached the part of the trail (Shenandoah Valley, for example) nearest to us, we would pick them up after they hiked down the mountain into a town, help them get situated for the next part of their journey, and spend some time together. (We is the right word; 15-year-old Lizzie had her driver's permit, and those long trips to and from western Virginia and West Virginia gave her so much driving practice that she not only got her driver's license easily on the day she turned 16 but it was unmarked in the way that the state of Virginia indicated a teen driver in those days.)
Normal life does not stop, however. On one of those pick-ups, I had to throw Shane into the shower, scrub him clean (but missed the back of one leg, somehow), and take him to a tester for his end-of-year seventh-grade tests. He aced all of them, perfect scores on just about everything, missing only one question, which puzzled the tester. He failed a giveaway question: Who was Christiopher Robin? Huh?? I never thought to send him a copy of Winnie the Pooh to read among the forest-related classics! But Winnie the Pooh did live in the forest! Oops! Well, you cannot think of everything.
At each stop, Shane would return the books I had sent, along with his diary for the last 2-3 weeks. Using the content, I put out a regularly irregular newsletter for family and friends who were following Donnie and Shane's adventures: The Trail Notes of Huff and Puff.
Recently, in unpacking stuff that had remained boxed for decades, literally, Shane's wife came across a quote from Shane that tickled her and that showed me that Shane had done more than lose his fear of his dad; he had become close to him and proud of him.
The entry: "Tonight, we ran out of food, and we are still a day from the intersection with the road into town. We just did not hike fast enough, but Dad was not concerned. He took a piece of string and a bent wire that he found and made into a hook and attached it to a short tree branch. With that, he caught a fish! And to think, this is my dad!"
Book Description:
Raising God's Rainbow Makers
A Family Memoir of Grace, Grit, and Growing Up Different
What happens when a military family welcomes four children—each with wildly different needs—into a world not always built to support them?
In Raising God’s Rainbow Makers, one mother shares the remarkable journey of raising two children with complex disabilities—one with spina bifida, one with CHARGE Syndrome—and two intellectually gifted children, all born in different states during years of military life. Through medical crises, educational challenges, and societal roadblocks (both intentional and unintentional), this honest and inspiring memoir tells the story of how one family built a life of strength, compassion, and resilience.
With warmth and unflinching honesty, the author reflects on emergency surgeries, IEP battles, unexpected victories, and the fierce sibling bonds that formed in the face of it all. The children—now grown—bear witness to the power of support, faith, and never giving up.
This is not just a story of survival. It is a celebration of difference, a chronicle of hope, and a powerful testament to what love and determination can build when the world says "impossible."
Keywords:
Parenting memoir; Special needs parenting; Raising children with disabilities; Military family life; Family resilience; Inspirational family story; Faith-based memoir; Coping with medical challenges; Sibling support stories; Gifted children; Spina bifida; CHARGE Syndrome; Hydrocephalus; Congenital disabilities; Complex medical needs; Pediatric neurosurgery; IEP and special education; Gifted education; Educational advocacy; Inclusive education; Hope and healing; Courage and strength; Love and perseverance; Raising different children; Disability acceptance; Parenting through adversity; Overcoming barriers; Finding joy in hardship; Special needs journey; Family unity and support; For parents of disabled children; For parents of gifted children; For educators and therapists; Christian parenting memoir; For families facing rare diagnoses; Real-life parenting stories; Memoirs about raising children; Stories of medical miracles
For more posts about Elizabeth and her books, click HERE.
Read more stories -- and photos -- about the Mahlou family in the blog (no longer maintained), Clan of Mahlou.
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