Retired Creedmoor police chief hikes the Appalachian Trail to help critically ill children
A retired Creedmoor police chief has been attracting donors through FaceBook to help "make a wish" come true for critically ill children.
Keith King collects donations for the "Make-A-Wish Foundation of Eastern North Carolina" while hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. He regularly posts updates for social media followers. In one early post, he said, "Lunch time, day seven, closing in on that hundred-mile mark."
His goal is to hike the entire 2,200-mile length of the historic trail. King said, "The Appalachian Trail came on my radar about 11 years ago. I love outdoor activities."
Typically, on the trail, King sleeps in a pup tent. There are times when he’ll check into a small motel on stormy days and meet up with his wife Tara, as they did at mile 164 in Fontana Village, North Carolina.
Tara King said, "I’m here supporting and restocking him with supplies." She added, "I’m not actually on the hiking journey with him."
At a good hiking pace, King says he averages about 15 to 17 miles a day. His inspiration for the journey was the death of a close friend, Mark Gillam.
"I was around for 12 of his 16 years of life," said King.
Gillam’s wish, made possible through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, was one last hunting trip when he was 15, less than a year before he died.
That’s why King totes a heavy load and endures sore feet on the Appalachian Trail. He wants to make more wishes come true for children who need something special to look forward to.
King said, "We set our initial goal for $10,000. In our first two weeks, I think, we’re somewhere around $7,500 now."
Since that interview, Tara King said they have had such a great response that they’ve raised their goal to $15,000."
Tara King says the response from friends and others who follow her husband on Facebook has been a heart-warming experience.
She said, "He has so much support from family and people in Creedmoor, which is my hometown. Of course everybody in Creedmoor knows him and respects him and loves him. He’s just had so much support and I’m just so proud of him."
