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Jordan's Dad

Testing, is this thing on?

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And so, it begins.

Last Monday, I informed the staff where I work that I would be retiring in December, and that I was planning to hike the Appalachian Trail next year. Their reaction was a little unsatisfying; I had hoped for wailing and gnashing of teeth, but all I got was a couple of subdued, “congratulations.” At any rate, as they say (and you know how THEY are) the die is cast. Too many people know about my plans, too many people want photos, for me to back out now short of major illness or injury. So it looks like I’m really going to do this thing.

I’ve hiked a little of the AT before, part of the section between Hot Springs, NC and Erwin, TN in spring of 2007. Three days, 27 miles, and some of the hardest hiking I’ve ever done. To be fair, I was 18 months out of double-bypass surgery, newly diagnosed type II diabetic, and not in good hiking shape. I remember thinking of the trail as an 18 inch wide strip of Hell on Earth. My feet were a problem, keeping my energy and blood sugar up were a problem, drinking enough water was a problem, and one of my three companions was an insufferable biatch. It was difficult making the decision to bail, but I was too exhausted to even bother looking at the scenery. Lack of calories --> low blood sugar --> dehydration --> trail misery. I can look back now, as I work on next year’s meal plan and see just where my “diet” was lacking.

So here I am, planning my AT thru-hike, and failure is not an option. I am determined to do it up right. Meal planning, conditioning, gear testing, weight loss, and just plain putting the necessary miles on my feet with a pack on my back. My backpacking style has been evolving in the years that I’ve been doing this sort of stuff, from my old external-frame Kelty days, to my first internal frame pack (also a Kelty, and massively overloaded with too much stuff) to my current Dana Mazama; from my old Marmot synthetic fill bag to Western Mountaineering down bag, from MSR Whisperlite stove and stainless-steel cookset to Pocket Rocket and titanium pot and spoon and freezer-bag cooking. I’ve done the research, weighed everything and made spreadsheets, and spent a whole crapton of money getting my base weight down into the 15 lb. range. If I feel ambitious one of these days I’ll put up a full gear list for you all to ridicule. I’m not looking for critique, I know what works for me and the way I need/want to operate.

I’m “retiring” from my current position as an IT professional at a major Midwestern University, selling off a bunch of my possessions (anybody looking for guitars, amps, or a PA system should PM me), cashing out my retirement fund to pay off all my bills and finance the hike. If everything goes well, I should have a good enough chunk of change left to start over pretty much anywhere I want. Part of my reason for doing this whole thing is to spend some time in my own head to determine just what I want to do with the rest of my life. No wife, no kids (well, other than my two informally adopted daughters), no pressing matters to come back to. No alcohol or drug problems, no personal issues being run away from other than bailing on a dissatisfying dead-end job. It is simply time. I’ve been wanting to do something of this nature since I was in the Navy back in the 1980’s, though at that time I hadn’t heard of the Appalachian Trail. It was my intention to simply load up a pack and walk home to Missouri from wherever I happened to get out. Lack of funds, college start date, and girlfriend all conspired against me; and such things have continued to conspire for all the intervening years.

Many people have twin brothers and sisters. My adopted daughter Jordan has a twin brother two years younger than her; I have an identical uncle. There is a strong physical resemblance, we have remarkably similar senses of humor, and similar health issues—his are just 12 years more advanced than mine. Last year my uncle was in the hospital for a routine catheterization, and had a serious stroke on the table. He can get around (kind of), he can speak (sort of), but without my aunt to take care of him… I look at him and see what’s waiting for me a decade down the road. I don’t have a devoted wife to parcel out my meds and help me get dressed and shower and feed myself. If I try to wait until traditional “retirement age” to do my hike, I’ll more likely be sitting in some VA assisted living facility than hiking the AT. I want to go out with my boots on, dammit, not eating baby food and relying on my daughter to wipe my ass. I just want to make the most of whatever I have left, to live my life NOW instead of waiting to live it in a future with no guarantees.

Comments

  1. Lexp's Avatar
    Hey it works and I am now registered. Thanks for the link. Lex
  2. Lexp's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Lexp
    Hey it works and I am now registered. Thanks for the link. Lex
    Just trying all of this out.
    Seeing I you get any of this.
  3. Jordan's Dad's Avatar
    Not just me, but the whole world, Mr. Luthor.
  4. dbright's Avatar
    I too am retiring at the end of this year and will be doing a thru hike next year. I just came back from 5 days on the AT near Damascus. See you on the trail