WHO 13 NEWS – Iowa veteran Joedy VanVelzen surpassed 900 miles hiking the Appalachian Trail: an expedition that extends nearly 2,200 miles between Georgia and Maine and passes through 14 states.

After taking a few days to rest and recover from Norovirus, he made it into Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

The illness appears to be spreading among hikers. Norovirus alerts are posted along the trail, warning hikers to treat all water, wash their hands, report illness, and seek medical treatment.

VanVelzen said fellow veterans a part of the Warrior Expeditions group have been hit hard with the illness, with one requiring evacuation from the trail to the ER. 

He said it’s difficult to determine the source of the sickness, but they are taking precautions. Thankfully, VanVelzen is healthy, feeling good, and back to hiking.

He’s grateful for all the support he’s received on the trail, including a “Quilt of Valor” from the North Carolina Quilters Guild. The group made and delivered a quilt to each veteran in the two Warrior Expedition groups. 

A warm blanket could come in handy with all the rain VanVelzen continues to see on the journey.

“Meanwhile, got this beautiful waterfall behind me,” VanVelzen said in a video update posted to his Facebook page. “Purely a product of all of the rain that we had. So all the streams and brooks and creeks and rivers, they’re all flowing incredibly well just because of the three to four days of rain.”

VanVelzen still has less than 1,300 miles to go until the end of the trail in Maine. He hopes to get there by the last week of August.

If you’d like to follow along, follow his Facebook page: On the Appalachian Trail with Joedy