Jim Lobley

Jim Lobley

When I read the Bob Marley quote, “Some People Feel the Rain, Others Just Get Wet,” it hit home with me. What does it mean? I suspect different meanings for different people, but for me it was easy, don’t simply hike to get from point A to point B, hike with your eyes open, see what God has blessed you with on this great Earth. I’m now 77 and have hiked on every continent in the world, that is a true blessing. I have slept in the Serengeti, the Amazon Rain Forest, Base amp Everest, the Inca Trail and it goes on, I am truly a very fortunate man. I can honestly say I have Felt the Rain and I liked it! My second book, like the first, takes you on several of my journeys as I am hiking. Unlike “Loving Life, a Trekkers Journal”, each of these trips includes others and shows how much fun you can have if only you let yourself “Feel the Rain.” Like “Loving Life”, all proceeds from the sale of this book will go into my first wife’s foundation, The DeeDee Lobley Foundation*, offering scholarships for high school students. “Feel the Rain, Hiking into Retirement” didn’t come without trials. First, a reconstructed shoulder from a free fall on my seventieth birthday. Second, two years of Covid-19 and all the restrictions that came along with the pandemic and last, the worst, watching my second wife Pam suffer through cancer. Thank God, Pam is now cancer fee and hiking with me as often as possible. Age is truly just a number. You can be 60 and old or you can be 87 and a world’s pickleball champ like my friend Bill, it is simply up to you. At 77, I choose not to be old, just vintage. Put on a pair of boots and take a walk in the wood. Visit with the animals, listen to the sounds, and “Feel the Rain.”
God Bless and enjoy, Jim.

*Books purchased through the Washington County Arts Council: 100% of the sale of each “Loving Life, a Trekkers Journal” and 50% of each "Feel the Rain: Hiking into Retirement" goes to WCAC.
Thank you, Jim, for your generosity!