Stepping Out of the Woodline

[joncarter]

Hey all,

I've been lurking around for quite a while, but I think it's time to step out of the woodline and introduce myself. I'm Jon, and I'm prepping for a 2016 Northbound Thru-Hike. It's always been my dream to hike the AT. The longest trek I have completed to date is 134 miles in 10 days in New Mexico. I was going to thru-hike in 2010 when I got out of the Army, but family obligations took priority. Now I'm unemployed and the AT is calling back to me. I've got most all my gear already, but I'm looking to upgrade and lighten my pack.

I'm writing a blog on the whole endeavor, as I want to be able to look back on this adventure with a sense of pride in myself for completing such a task. I think it will be harder to keep the blog up to date than it will be for me to hike from Georgia to Maine... lol.

I look forward to making new friends, and maybe even seeing some of you out on the trail next year.

Drive on!

[Uncle Joe]

Welcome! Maybe I'll keep an eye out for your start if you want some company in the GA section. I live in N. Ga.

[lemon b]

Thank you for your service Jon. Have fun. Wouldn't worry about the blog. Keep the memories in your head.

[joncarter]

Thank you for the warm welcomes.

Lemon, The blog is a tool I plan to use to keep me motivated to more I eat, sleep, and breathe the AT, the more motivated I will be to see it through to the end.

JPolk, that would be great. I will keep everyone informed of my initial itinerary.

Now on to ask some questions in the appropriate threads to prepare for the trek. Haha.

[volleypc]

I wouldn't give up on the idea of a blog. You can setup a blogger account where everything is automated. You post a pic on twitter and it post on your blog or vice versa. Then when I got into town I would go back and add some text and then after the trip I continued to go back and clean things up a bit. I still use the blog from time to time today. The only thing I wouldn't do is have the name of the blog specific to your through hike. After you hike the A.T. you might want to do other adventures or simply blog about work, family life, etc that might not really fit the title of a blog named after a thru hike. Good luck with your venture.

[Another Kevin]

:welcometo WhiteBlaze! (And thank you for your service!)

If you have a 135-mile hike under your belt, you're practically guaranteed to make it farther than half the people who start at Springer - because you know what long-distance hiking is, and aren't starting with romantic expectations of what it isn't.

Even as a clueless weekender, I find that I have to handle journalling my adventures by making notes in a little notebook while on the trail and writing when I get the time. But everyone here knows that I'm way too long-winded, and I try to write about other things than just my experience on the trail, in hopes of keeping it interesting. Nothing wrong with using a blog for it - I use http://dftscript.blogspot.com/ for a lot of short trips - but you get better visibility sometimes with a trailjournal (and I've used http://trailjournals.com/AnotherKevin/ for the one big hike I've tried). Or there's even a journal function (which I haven't tried) on this site.

I'll watch for you next year!

[joncarter]

If anyone is interested, I'll share the link. Didn't want to blast it out there first thing and have it look like I'm trying to get everyone's attention. I'll likely do reviews on some of my gear (with new vs old comparisons, etc.) and what I'm doing in the meantime to prepare for the trip. Gotta keep it interesting or even I won't won't to associate myself with it. Haha.