The Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, WV.
Aaron was on my crew - 623-J1 Trek 23. We returned home 7/6. He had a
great time!
Ed Dzierzak
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Blind Boy Scout takes on 10-day hike
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Aaron and Rob Preece
Monday - June 23, 2008 - The Herald Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, WV -- About 24 area Boy Scouts, fathers and staff started a
75-mile, 10-day hike over the weekend called the Philmont Expedition at
the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M.
It is a treacherous hike that takes campers between elevations of 6,500
feet to more than 12,000 feet, all while carrying up to 50 pounds of
hiking and camping gear.
It's a daunting task for anyone, but Huntington High senior Aaron Preece
is challenging the mountainous climb without sight. Aaron Preece was
born with very little sight and is legally blind. He uses a white cane
to get around, but on this trek, all he's got is a regular walking
stick.
But he laughs when he talks about who will have a harder time, him or
his dad, Rob Preece.
"I don't know about him," Aaron Preece joked during an interview last
week.
Even Rob Preece said his son is better prepared, sight or no sight.
"He is definitely more ready," the elder Preece said. "They never
questioned whether (Aaron and the other scouts) could do it. It was more
of a question for the adults."
Both have trained rigorously for the expedition, spending two days a
week at the HIT Center in Huntington and going on practice camping trips
in West Virginia. The toughest one was Dolly Sods, a U.S. Wilderness
Area in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia. Part of the
Monongahela National Forest, it is the highest plateau of its type east
of the Mississippi River with altitudes ranging from around 4,000 to
4,770 feet.
"If you can do Dolly Sods," Aaron Preece said, "you can do anything."
Doing anything has been a lifelong motto for the Preece family. Aaron
Preece said he's never been treated differently by his parents and
especially not by his scout leaders, dating back to when he started as a
Cub Scout.
"They've never treated him like he has a disability," Rob Preece said of
his son. "They never made any exceptions or exclusions."
Aaron Preece said he's always picked up on things quickly, but he
admitted he hasn't had to start a campfire yet. And he's not about to
bring that one up to his Scoutmaster. But he's done just about
everything else, including chopping firewood with an ax.
"There's very few things that they can't show me by hand," he said.
His most prized badge, he said, is his Pioneering Merit Badge. It was
all about tying knots, and he was able to master about 20 of them. He
credits the instructor with helping him by closing his eyes to make it
easier to explain.
The Preeces and the rest of the group, which includes scouts from around
the Tri-State, will return after the Fourth of July holiday. But Aaron
Preece won't have much time to recover from the trek. He'll be working
on one last badge, which will help him ascend to Eagle Scout.
He is the landscape supervisor for a project at Fourth Avenue Methodist
Church in Huntington. To accomplish this project, he is using the same
vision he has with all his other achievements -- a determination that
will not let his disability get in the way of living.
Received on Mon Jul 7 10:55:55 2008
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