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View Full Version : Atlanta Thru-Hike Clinic - November 8 at REI



MOWGLI
10-24-2003, 15:56
On Saturday November 8, Youngblood and I will be giving a thru-hiking clinic at REI Atlanta from 10 AM - 4 PM. We have a great agenda put together, and it should be a lot of fun. It'll be a great supplement to what Whiteblaze offers. We'll be pointing the participants this way if they aren't already on board.

We will be following up with a hike around Blood Mountain in North Georgia on November 23. Registration is necessary.
Join thru-hikers Jeffrey Hunter and David Womble as they take you step by step in preparing to thru-hike the AT.
They will cover fitness and health, thru-hiking gear, food and food drops and shelters and towns. Each participate will receive a Workbook for Planning Thru-hikes. We will follow the workshop up with a 5 mile hike at Blood Mountain on November 23rd so you can use what you have learned on the trail Cost of the Workshop is $80.00 for REI members and $100.00 for non-members. Space is limited to the first 25 people, please register by calling the Atlanta store at 404-633-6508.


Little Bear
GA-ME 2000

smokymtnsteve
10-24-2003, 17:09
$100 dollars...wow...

MOWGLI
10-24-2003, 21:04
Steve, that was my reaction too - initially. For the record, I didn't set the price, nor am I or Youngblood getting a dime of the money. For me, it's about an opportunity to help some potential thru-hikers, as well as get some visability for a program that I'm the Director of - the Southern Appalachians Initiative (SAI). SAI seeks to build a 5,000 interconnected network of hiking trails in the SE by working with 20+ trail clubs to build out their systems. It's real exciting (if I do say so myself).

I think folks can really benefit from this workshop for a couple of reasons;

They will hear & see a variety of approaches to a thru-hike, both lightweight & traditional. They will get to try on some gear with experts on-hand (REI Staff), and see several approaches to building a gear list. They will be sitting in a workshop with someone (me) who has done lots of training - not just a hiker who is eager to share info. The info will be supplemented with some awesome slides at different points. Youngblood is an Engineer, and I have yet to meet anyone who looks at gear like him. He has great ideas, and will be demonstrating how to make a great cheap stove (not a soda can). They get to hike the trail as a follow-up. We'll probably be visiting (2) shelters, as well as hang a bear bag, and talk about Leave-No-Trace.

This clearly isn't for everyone, but for someone who is real visual, or needs more than a discussion board offers, and is not on a shoestring, this is a good opportunity. I plan on offering my advice beyond the workshop, as needed.

Just a bit of context. I'm investing 2 full days in this (plus prep - 4 hours already), as is Youngblood. It would be nice to have at least 10 folks attend. Hence, the posting here at Whiteblaze.

smokymtnsteve
10-24-2003, 23:14
well I live around that corner from that REI...but I don't have a hundred bucks I want to spend on a clinic.....course I can see where if someone has no idea maybe it could save them from making a $100 worth of mistakes....:D

attroll
10-24-2003, 23:51
Hey maybe you can put a plug in for WhiteBlaze at the clinic.

MOWGLI
10-25-2003, 07:41
Originally posted by attroll
Hey maybe you can put a plug in for WhiteBlaze at the clinic.

Absolutely! Plan on it!