OrionFyre
12-05-2009, 17:50
<- goateed, bald-headed, portly, barefooting buddhist with an insatiable desire to go hiking and disappear for a while. :sun I've spent the last four or five days assimilating quite a bit of information.
About four years ago an acquaitence of mine asked if I'd like to do a hike on the AT with him. Of course the thought of hiking the whole distance was mind boggling at the time. He had just retired from the military at the ripe age of 35 no worse for wear and 3 pounds of an assortment of metal, screws, pins and plates. He never shared any information with our small group of friends other than he was a sniper and he would disappear sometimes for months on end without a single word as to his well being. He was deffinitely what you would call "hard" especially when compared to my cuddly (alright, jiggly) frame.
At the time I had asked him if he had a plan laid out and his response was "oh yeah. I'm going to get on orbitz and buy a plane ticket to georgia..." I waited "and?" "start hiking...." His explanation was that if his handlers couldn't develope a strike plan that went off without a hitch when lives were on the line... why try to plan something as harmless as a walk in the park?" I didn't do a lot of thinking about it and decided I better not go. Which I regret now. I ended up quitting that job a year later anyways and wasn't at all happy there. And I could have had a great time.
We got three letters from him. One from a lady who was dropping off her son and his friends in GA who wrote us saying he offered here a ten spot to take his picture and send it to us. second was from a small town en-route, sent by a day-hiker. Both of these only contained pictures. And our group of friends was surprised we got anything because it wasn't his 'style'. The third was from Maine, same m.o. Someone picking up their hiker that he asked to take a picture. It had a letter from him describing how much fun he had and how at peace he was. And that was the last we've ever heard from him. I would assume he went by his call name "Nested Viper" or just Viper, and whenever anyone he didn't know asked where he was from his answer was "neverland"
What turned me away from going with him was the lack of planning and just plain being afraid. But now I have got this itch to do it. I like to camp. I love the outdoors. And camping is fun. I've got a bunch of camping gear I throw on the bicycle trailer and toodle around the area. Though non of it is really suited for the Hiking.
Of course not having done hiking, as suggested in everything i've read I'm thinking of doing some smaller hikes first. I have a unique work schedule now. I work the overnights at a pharmacy so I work 7 ten hours days in a row and then I get seven days off. I go "in" at 10pm on Sunday and "leave" next sunday at 8am. So in essence I get every other week off after only working and sleeping. LOL (26 weeks of vacation a year much?)
This is also great because I get two actual weeks of vacation. So I can use a week of vaca and have an off-vaca-off combo. I've just gone on the overnights and was sitting recently thinking how best to utilize my new freedom. I wanted to go to Ireland, Scottland, Europe. Oh hell the list goes on and on. I started running numbers and the cost/bennefit just didn't weight out right. Long camping trips came up next. Very little cost LOTS of bennefit. Hiking was the next logical evolution. And that brought me full circle to remembering being asked to go hiking.
So after the essay here it is laid out. I've got a three week window from a sunday 8am to a sunday 21 days later at 10pm to run off, tromp through the woods for the first time, and get back home. I'm also one of those people that thinks vacations should last until the very last minute until you absolutely must go back to work. My last vacation the plane landed at midnight, and I went to work that morning at 9am. :o
So obviously this has got to be a small section hike relatively easy for a n00b to get his head in the right place. From what I've read I was starting to get the feeling that I could start somewhere near the middle and head north around late April. I would Love to start in GA and work north, but the terrain i feel as described might be a tad bit out of my fitness capabilities.
I currently weigh 245lbs, but since converting to barefoot/minimalist running I can readily run 6 miles on the mountain bike course near my house. And it isn't unusual for me to walk upwards of 35-40 miles on the weekends around town. I'm just not sure about the climbing which is what this initial outing is all about right? I was thinking something maybe in Virginia? and heading north.
Gear? no problem that I can figure out on my own (those hammock setups look mighty comfy!) and I just absolutely love my alcohol stove I made. I use it more than my nice fuel stove I bought!
*stops rambling*
About four years ago an acquaitence of mine asked if I'd like to do a hike on the AT with him. Of course the thought of hiking the whole distance was mind boggling at the time. He had just retired from the military at the ripe age of 35 no worse for wear and 3 pounds of an assortment of metal, screws, pins and plates. He never shared any information with our small group of friends other than he was a sniper and he would disappear sometimes for months on end without a single word as to his well being. He was deffinitely what you would call "hard" especially when compared to my cuddly (alright, jiggly) frame.
At the time I had asked him if he had a plan laid out and his response was "oh yeah. I'm going to get on orbitz and buy a plane ticket to georgia..." I waited "and?" "start hiking...." His explanation was that if his handlers couldn't develope a strike plan that went off without a hitch when lives were on the line... why try to plan something as harmless as a walk in the park?" I didn't do a lot of thinking about it and decided I better not go. Which I regret now. I ended up quitting that job a year later anyways and wasn't at all happy there. And I could have had a great time.
We got three letters from him. One from a lady who was dropping off her son and his friends in GA who wrote us saying he offered here a ten spot to take his picture and send it to us. second was from a small town en-route, sent by a day-hiker. Both of these only contained pictures. And our group of friends was surprised we got anything because it wasn't his 'style'. The third was from Maine, same m.o. Someone picking up their hiker that he asked to take a picture. It had a letter from him describing how much fun he had and how at peace he was. And that was the last we've ever heard from him. I would assume he went by his call name "Nested Viper" or just Viper, and whenever anyone he didn't know asked where he was from his answer was "neverland"
What turned me away from going with him was the lack of planning and just plain being afraid. But now I have got this itch to do it. I like to camp. I love the outdoors. And camping is fun. I've got a bunch of camping gear I throw on the bicycle trailer and toodle around the area. Though non of it is really suited for the Hiking.
Of course not having done hiking, as suggested in everything i've read I'm thinking of doing some smaller hikes first. I have a unique work schedule now. I work the overnights at a pharmacy so I work 7 ten hours days in a row and then I get seven days off. I go "in" at 10pm on Sunday and "leave" next sunday at 8am. So in essence I get every other week off after only working and sleeping. LOL (26 weeks of vacation a year much?)
This is also great because I get two actual weeks of vacation. So I can use a week of vaca and have an off-vaca-off combo. I've just gone on the overnights and was sitting recently thinking how best to utilize my new freedom. I wanted to go to Ireland, Scottland, Europe. Oh hell the list goes on and on. I started running numbers and the cost/bennefit just didn't weight out right. Long camping trips came up next. Very little cost LOTS of bennefit. Hiking was the next logical evolution. And that brought me full circle to remembering being asked to go hiking.
So after the essay here it is laid out. I've got a three week window from a sunday 8am to a sunday 21 days later at 10pm to run off, tromp through the woods for the first time, and get back home. I'm also one of those people that thinks vacations should last until the very last minute until you absolutely must go back to work. My last vacation the plane landed at midnight, and I went to work that morning at 9am. :o
So obviously this has got to be a small section hike relatively easy for a n00b to get his head in the right place. From what I've read I was starting to get the feeling that I could start somewhere near the middle and head north around late April. I would Love to start in GA and work north, but the terrain i feel as described might be a tad bit out of my fitness capabilities.
I currently weigh 245lbs, but since converting to barefoot/minimalist running I can readily run 6 miles on the mountain bike course near my house. And it isn't unusual for me to walk upwards of 35-40 miles on the weekends around town. I'm just not sure about the climbing which is what this initial outing is all about right? I was thinking something maybe in Virginia? and heading north.
Gear? no problem that I can figure out on my own (those hammock setups look mighty comfy!) and I just absolutely love my alcohol stove I made. I use it more than my nice fuel stove I bought!
*stops rambling*