Cancer survivor Ryan Krabill has crossed over the Oregon border. As of Aug. 18, he has hiked, mostly solo, the past 100 days and 1,700 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail for the benefit of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research. (See Democrat-Herald article May 5, 2009, "Hike for Hope.")

Having faced numerous challenges - including a detour around forest fires in northern California and fighting a continual battle with sore feet - he perseveres toward the finish line in Canada with now less than 1,000 miles to go, expecting to arrive in late September or early October.

Last week, we, his parents, met him at the trailhead near Etna, Calif., and found him looking more slender but good, and needing encouragement. Home-cooked food, a clean motel, a good bed and connection gave him a "shot in the arm." Less than 24 hours later, we said goodbye and watched him disappear into the woods … an eerie feeling to be sure.

Go to his website, hikeforhope2009.com, and click on Trail Blog for his latest update. You too can be an encourager through prayer, a comment on one of his blog postings and/or a donation to his cause. Contributions to Livestrong may be made at his website, anonymously if preferred. Every time a donation is made he receives an e-mail from the LAF and another morale boost when he has cell service … and more people can be helped through research.

Oh, and by the way, on a very different by current subject: Ever wonder how much $1 trillion really is? My husband's engineering mind has a penchant for such facts, along with the capability of computing them, so consider this: a trillion seconds is 31,000-plus years; a trillion dollar bills stacked flat would go around the world approximately 21/2 times; a trillion new gold dollars would go approximately 21/2 times to the moon and back. Wake up, America!

Carolyn Krabill, Albany