Part 2 of 2: Dennis Stilwell, creator of NWHiker.com, tells how Dr. Mark Hosko saved his life when he had a heart attack on the trail and talks about his favorite hikes.
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Too bad you couldn’t have interviewed somebody who has a little enthusiasm for hiking! Just kidding of course. Greatly enjoyed both parts of Dennis’s interview. Now if I could just convince Dennis to change his focus to peakbagging…
Thanks, Bob. Yeah, you should have seen Dennis by the end. He was so animated and passionate I was just smiling and listening and dreaming of hiking this summer. By the way, I checked out your website. Woah.
Dennis (whom I still respectfully refer to as Mr. Stilwell) was my 4th grade teacher back in 1977 and loved to hike back then. He had our class enthralled with out door activities such as astronomy, model rockets and most of all hiking and not just for the hike but for the educational adventure you can get from hiking. So much so that he organized a full two week tour of the American Southwest. We raised money as a class all through the school year and during the summer vacation we went on what was officially called “The American Southwest Tour” – an educational adventure. In two weeks we traveled from Montana to see the likes of Brice Canyon, Zion Canyon, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell & Rainbow Bridge, Glen Canyon Dam, Monument Valley, Four Corners, Mesa Verde and Arches National Park to just name a few. We crammed all that into two weeks and the entire time we had lesson plans on geology, geography, astronomy and history of the places we saw. Mr. Stilwell always has had a way to capture your attention and imagination as he told his stories and brought them to life. The American Southwest Tour could be a story in itself for him to tell on one of your podcasts. Thanks for sharing his more recent story here. When I started listening I sat back and closed my eyes and I almost felt like I was back in fourth grade again.
Shane, I didn’t realize Mr. Stilwell was an elementary teacher, but it makes complete sense. That sounds like an awesome trip; clearly it left an impression on you. Thanks for your comment. I’ll make sure Dennis sees it.
I am Dennis’s neice from WI. It was very scary listening to his account of his heart attack. I remembered when he E mailed me about it, but hearing him tell about it wow. I think the information he was able to get out about heart symptoms is very informing to the public. So many people ignore the symptoms that Uncle Dennis experienced as they do not relate them to a heart attack. I always enjoy the pictures that Dennis sends me from his hikes. He is a very special person to me and I am so glad he is still here with us. Kris Young
Thanks for your comment, Kris. I’ve heard from a number of people that they were on the edge of their seats as Dennis narrated his heart attack. I posted a little more info about the warning signs for cardiac arrest here: http://hikeyeah.com/?p=1033.