WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

  • We lost Raymond Myers, Rain Man

    This is cut and pasted from the Facebook page of Bill Cooke (Cookerhiker).

    The hiking community mourns another loss with the passing of Raymond Myers aka "Rain Man" last weekend at the age of 66. Coming a mere two weeks after the passing of Don “Hikerhead” Hoke, this is quite a jolt.

    A native of South Carolina and proud graduate of Clemson, Rain Man lived in Nashville, TN where he practiced law and was active in his Christian faith community. He and his wife raised 3 daughters, one of whom I met by happenstance before I knew him; my hiking partner Keith Bance and I shared a shelter on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia with his daughter Sarah.
    My first contact with Rain Man occurred through the AT-oriented website whiteblaze.net in the mid-2000s. We finally met face-to-face in 2011 at the annual Trail Days festival in Damascus, VA. Like me, he was hiking the entire AT in sections over a multi-year period. It was my great pleasure to host Rain Man at my Vermont condo in the summer of 2017 as he was hiking another AT section in his quest to complete the trail, a quest he attained a few months later. Pam and I shuttled him to the trail heads and on one day, I joined him for a day hike which included ascending Killington Peak.

    Rain Man was a generous person. One personal observation occurred atop Killington at the café where he noticed some AT thruhikers and offered to buy them a meal. He explained that he had witnessed much such “Trail Magic” provided to Sarah on her 2004 thruhike and enjoyed dispensing the same to subsequent hikers.

    A devoted and loving husband and father, a devout Christian, one who helped others whether prospective hikers or people in need, Rain Man will be missed by many, many people. May he rest in peace and may God bless and comfort his family.

    Comments 8 Comments
    1. Teacher & Snacktime's Avatar
      Teacher & Snacktime -
      The above picture, from Rain Man’s Vermont section and our most fun adventure, reminds me again how very much I’m going to miss this warm-hearted, silly, wonderful friend. His gift to the AT community was to invite all into his adventures, and what adventures they were!

      Attachment 46720

      Every greeting a joy,
      Every journey an adventure,
      Every gathering a celebration.
      It has all been "magical".
    1. Tennessee Viking's Avatar
      Tennessee Viking -
      Great and funny guy. I have chatted with him since 2007. Met him at the US 421 crossing in 2008 on his July 4 section hike into Damascus. He will be missed.
    1. SurferNerd's Avatar
      SurferNerd -
      Such a sad loss. I've got great photos of him from our camping trips. He will be missed.
    1. TOW's Avatar
      TOW -
      Quote Originally Posted by Teacher & Snacktime View Post
      The above picture, from Rain Man’s Vermont section and our most fun adventure, reminds me again how very much I’m going to miss this warm-hearted, silly, wonderful friend. His gift to the AT community was to invite all into his adventures, and what adventures they were!

      Attachment 46720

      Every greeting a joy,
      Every journey an adventure,
      Every gathering a celebration.
      It has all been "magical".
      I loved Rain Man, we were friends
    1. Cookerhiker's Avatar
      Cookerhiker -
      Rain Man's family has arranged for a memorial service via Zoom this coming Saturday, December 6. Here's the Facebook post.

      Dear Friends of Raymond,

      You are warmly invited to a virtual celebration of the life of Raymond Myers
      to be held on Zoom on Sunday, Dec 6th at 3:00 pm Central Time (U.S.). The link is below.


      We will begin the celebration with a recording of the family-only memorial service held in September. There will also be time for sharing your memories and comments about Raymond/Rainman. (Please keep comments and stories to under 2 minutes.) If you prefer to share your comments directly with our family or to have someone else read them during the service, please send them to Raymond's FB account via messenger or to [email protected].

      We look forward to seeing you and hearing your remarks.

      With love,
      Jenny Myers, Amy Myers, Sarah Sampas, and Patricia Myers

      Time: Dec 6, 2020 03:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

      Join Zoom Meeting
      https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85864604995...

      Meeting ID: 858 6460 4995
      Passcode: 980191

      or

      Dial by your location
      +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
      +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C)
      +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
      +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
      +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
      +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

      Meeting ID: 858 6460 4995
      Passcode: 980191
    1. Uncle Wayne's Avatar
      Uncle Wayne -
      Quote Originally Posted by Crazy Larry #1 View Post
      I loved Rain Man, we were friends
      I'm sorry to hear about Rain Man, we were friends as well. When I was active on Whiteblaze years ago, he and I exchanged Christmas cards each year.
    1. ezdoesit's Avatar
      ezdoesit -
      Wow, I am in shock!!!!
      Haven't been on here in quite some time and just read this. I would occasionally call Rainman and we would talk A.T. I slack-packed him thru New Jersey and he will be missed.
      Rest in peace.
      EZ-does-it
    1. Nightwalker's Avatar
      Nightwalker -
      I didn't know this had happened. It hits pretty hard. Rain Man and I have been friends since 2003.