By the way - I love the slideshow feature over there on the right.
I just gave it the keywords "appalachian trail" and it searches through all the Picasa web albums to find anything tagged with the AT.
Of course, as of right now, none of the pictures belong to me. But it gives me a chance to see some of the things I'm in store for, and hopefully sometime in the future I can add some to the mix.
So if there is anyone who happens to blindly stumble onto this page and you don't care to read my pointless musings... I can't say I blame you.
But I hope you at least enjoy the pretty pictures.
January 28, 2008
January 13, 2008
I've got a fever...
So the title of this here blog is a Trail term (so I'm told) that refers to the intense urge thru-hikers get every Spring to finally get up, gear up, and set out on the trail, the southern terminus of which is Springer Mountain, Georgia.
And I've definitely caught it.
However, I've realized that at this point in my preparations, I'm really just jonesin' to get going so that I don't have to make any more preparations. I'm not exactly one for thorough planning. I'd rather just get a general idea and work it out as I go.
Unfortunately, when the general idea is to walk into the wilderness for days at a time, carrying all of your liveliness on your back, for over 2000 miles... it may be in one's best interest to set a slightly more solid framework. Not to mention take some extra precautions for all those "what if" scenarios. They say the more you plan ahead of time, the easier it will be later (whoever they are).
But I'm not sure I can be bothered with all of that. I'm kind of ready to just go and tackle all those what-ifs when I cross them. John Steinbeck said, "A journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it." And I like Steinbeck, so I'll take his word for it.
I know I'm not actually going to wander out there blind with a pocket knife and some Ramen. I'll always do the traditional last-minute scramble. I just wish I didn't have to keep waiting for the last minute to get here.
And I've definitely caught it.
However, I've realized that at this point in my preparations, I'm really just jonesin' to get going so that I don't have to make any more preparations. I'm not exactly one for thorough planning. I'd rather just get a general idea and work it out as I go.
Unfortunately, when the general idea is to walk into the wilderness for days at a time, carrying all of your liveliness on your back, for over 2000 miles... it may be in one's best interest to set a slightly more solid framework. Not to mention take some extra precautions for all those "what if" scenarios. They say the more you plan ahead of time, the easier it will be later (whoever they are).
But I'm not sure I can be bothered with all of that. I'm kind of ready to just go and tackle all those what-ifs when I cross them. John Steinbeck said, "A journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it." And I like Steinbeck, so I'll take his word for it.
I know I'm not actually going to wander out there blind with a pocket knife and some Ramen. I'll always do the traditional last-minute scramble. I just wish I didn't have to keep waiting for the last minute to get here.
January 6, 2008
Real Great
So it's finally 2008. I've got almost all my gear together. A mere two and a half months until I hit that old dusty trail, and the anticipation is building.
And then I see this:
Police believe missing hiker Meredith Emerson is dead...
Awesome. Great buzz-kill.
Plus she was hiking near Blood Mountain. That's almost as bad as Mt. Killington.
So, you know, if anyone out there has an extra handgun or Ka-Bar sitting around....
And then I see this:
Police believe missing hiker Meredith Emerson is dead...
Awesome. Great buzz-kill.
Plus she was hiking near Blood Mountain. That's almost as bad as Mt. Killington.
So, you know, if anyone out there has an extra handgun or Ka-Bar sitting around....
January 4, 2008
I'm ashamed of myself.
What have I sunk to now?
A blog.
Such a thing that I have heretofore relegated to the likes of angsty high school students/myspacers, sweaty internet nerds, or, occasionally, someone with something constructive or interesting to contribute (i.e. - they're being paid for it).
Yet here I sit, at the start of a new year, wondering just where my life took the wrong turn to lead me down this dark alleyway.
I think it was probably when I decided "College degrees be damned, I'm walking into the woods!" which consequently led to my current status of swiping meal plans by day and hanging out with my parents by night. So, despite my pretense of dignity, in reality, I'm exactly the kind of person that should have a blog.
My convoluted reasoning for this inauspicious detour into "teh interwebs" (as those rascally laughing cats would say) would be to chronicle in some way my wacky and wonderful journey on the Appalachian Trail.
Also, I was bored and needed to waste some time.
Theoretically, while I am on the trail, I will be able to post intermittently, whenever I happen to stumble into a town that has a public computer (which allegedly occurs more than you might expect) and this will be a supplement to whatever ranting and raving emails I eventually send out.
Also, since I won't begin the trail until late March, I will undoubtedly post whenever I am bored and need to waste some time. I will attempt to keep it somehow related to the trail, however tenuously.
And so, imaginary person who is reading this, (in keeping with my driving analogy) thus begins my shortcut through the cactus-patch that is blogdom. Any ridicule is welcome and very well-deserved.
A blog.
Such a thing that I have heretofore relegated to the likes of angsty high school students/myspacers, sweaty internet nerds, or, occasionally, someone with something constructive or interesting to contribute (i.e. - they're being paid for it).
Yet here I sit, at the start of a new year, wondering just where my life took the wrong turn to lead me down this dark alleyway.
I think it was probably when I decided "College degrees be damned, I'm walking into the woods!" which consequently led to my current status of swiping meal plans by day and hanging out with my parents by night. So, despite my pretense of dignity, in reality, I'm exactly the kind of person that should have a blog.
My convoluted reasoning for this inauspicious detour into "teh interwebs" (as those rascally laughing cats would say) would be to chronicle in some way my wacky and wonderful journey on the Appalachian Trail.
Also, I was bored and needed to waste some time.
Theoretically, while I am on the trail, I will be able to post intermittently, whenever I happen to stumble into a town that has a public computer (which allegedly occurs more than you might expect) and this will be a supplement to whatever ranting and raving emails I eventually send out.
Also, since I won't begin the trail until late March, I will undoubtedly post whenever I am bored and need to waste some time. I will attempt to keep it somehow related to the trail, however tenuously.
And so, imaginary person who is reading this, (in keeping with my driving analogy) thus begins my shortcut through the cactus-patch that is blogdom. Any ridicule is welcome and very well-deserved.
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