Middleboro man plans 2,170-mile walk to thank Randolph hospice

MIDDLEBORO — A local resident is about to begin the journey of his life, hiking 2,170 miles on the Appalachian Trail in gratitude to Old Colony Hospice of Randolph.

"They took care of my wife in her last days, it's payback," Justin Kamp said.

He said cancer was discovered 2 1/2 years after his wife had a hysterectomy.

"They couldn't stop it. It got to her liver and that was it," he said.

The 56-year-old Kamp has found his own way to thank Old Colony Hospice for the care given to his wife, Jean, in her final days of cancer in 2004.

"They mean a lot to me, they're fantastic people," he said.

Kamp is taking pledges to raise money for the hospice as he hikes the Appalachian Trail, something he and his late wife always dreamed of doing.

"I'm doing this for us, my wife and me. I'll get on top of the mountains and be closer to heaven and to her," Kamp said.

The couple were married for 34 years, spending 28 years in Middleboro raising their five children, Brenda, Lisa, Catherine, Jason and Josh.

Jean spent the early years at home with the children, Kemp said, and didn't go to work until the youngest was in college.

Traces of Jean are everywhere in their Star Avenue home. A charcoal portrait of her as a young woman watches over the living room. Her crafts, hobbies and games line the room.

"This is a positive thing area," Kamp said. "You name it, she did it."

Her hobbies included jewelry making, origami, knitting, crochet and even woodworking, he said.

Kamp and his wife spent many an afternoon wandering the trails of the region.

"I probably know every back road in New England," he jokes. "We were outdoor people. We loved the beach. We had planned one day to do the trail. Now I'll carry out the dream."

Kamp will begin his hike at Spring Mountain in Georgia on March 29, and end up on Mount Katahdin in Maine six months later. He expects to hike eight to 10 miles a day.

"On good days you just keep walking. Other days, maybe five miles, you go at your own pace," he said.

In preparation for the trip, Kamp has walked every day since 2005, testing boots and equipment, whittling down every extra ounce because he'll carry everything in a backpack.

The 30-pound backpack will be filled with clothes, maps, a first aid kit, mess kit and water siphon. He said he won't carry a cell phone or compass, just the essentials, such as an inflatable pillow, a sleeping bag, five days worth of food and trail mix. There will be moleskin for blisters, an Epi-pen for bee stings and a tiny camp stove to make coffee.

Even the "Hiker's Bible" won't make it into Kamp's backpack. It's too heavy. He'll hike with the pages he needs and every two weeks pick up the next pages to his route, mailed by his daughter, Catherine. She'll also send batteries and photo cards for his camera.

Kamp will spend his nights in tents and shelters along the way, and will stop in towns every few days for supplies and mail drops.

On chilly nights he'll wear silk long johns, on warmer nights he'll sleep under the stars, with his food sack hung high in the trees "so the bears won't get it."

"I want to be out there and I don't want to hear all this stuff ... the noise of trucks and cars," Kamp said.

So far Kamp has raised $5,000 and is still taking pledges. Anyone that wants to donate can go to firstgiving.com [http://www.firstgiving.com/hike06] will take you directly to his page.] Those who don't want to make the trip can follow his hike at http://trailjournals.com/journals.cfm.

When he's on the trail, he's known as "Jake the Snake," and will be sending journals and pictures to his daughter to post on the Web site.

There will be a fundraiser to kick off Kamp's hike at the Pratt Farm on Route 105 in Middleboro on March 18, with raffles, T-shirts and free food.