PDA

View Full Version : It's always something!



Speakeasy TN
01-01-2011, 19:44
So in my excitement to get the extended family involved in my countdown my niece says " How are you going to get back for my wedding?" :eek:

First of June should be a good time for a break (starting 20 March) but I'll have to get home a couple of days early to get some pants that will fit my "trail body". And I guess I'll head back to the Trail the same afternoon so I don't give in to the temptation to drop off. Just one more hazard to beat.

topshelf
01-01-2011, 19:47
When you go back after you'll be mentally tougher for it. You can beat those temptations of modern society. You can enjoy that AYCE wedding buffet too.

jerseydave
01-01-2011, 20:08
If you give them a nice food dehydrator as a wedding gift you can try it out for them by drying up some of the buffet goodies to enjoy for the next few days back on the trail.

Rocket Jones
01-01-2011, 20:10
Mini-magnums of Champagne! ;)

10-K
01-01-2011, 20:45
Start March 1st and hike 18.25 miles a day with no zeros and you'll be done by June 1st!

mweinstone
01-01-2011, 22:50
10k may be a government plant attempting to relplace jester. anyone else see that? if true,...that would mean they have plans for the real jester. im guessing they wanna brainwash him and use the dirty wash water to raise an army of jesters. hmmm,....jester washed clean of his jestings........dont know what he'll be good for then. actually, a washed out jester could be refitted as a matthewski. witch would be very usefull. hmmmm,...an army of matthewskis,.........interesting.

4eyedbuzzard
01-01-2011, 23:00
Start March 1st and hike 18.25 miles a day with no zeros and you'll be done by June 1st!
Are you sure your name shouldn't be 7.7 K? ;)
I get 2175 miles / 92 days = 23.65 mpd

[No wonder he wins so many races] :D

10-K
01-01-2011, 23:18
Are you sure your name shouldn't be 7.7 K? ;)
I get 2175 miles / 92 days = 23.65 mpd

[No wonder he wins so many races] :D

I was thinking 120 days, not 92. Oh well, even a broke clock is right twice a day... :)

10 "broke clock" - k

4eyedbuzzard
01-01-2011, 23:21
I used the new mileage of 2181, backed his starting date up to March 1st and gave him 120 hiking days (to finish by June 1) which came to 18.175 miles per day. The 18.25 I allowed includes a generous .075 mpd buffer in case he needs to take a break. :)
Yeah, it's those 120 days between March 1 and June 1 I was having problems comprehending. ;)

Bearpaw
01-01-2011, 23:22
I got off for a friend's June wedding. In order to save money on the air fare, I came in the weekend prior and left out the weekend after. So I was off for 2 weeks.

It was easy to come back. I had gotten ahead of a lot of friends, so it was nice to catch up to them again over the next couple of months. That two weeks helped me enjoy my hike all the more when I came back.

4eyedbuzzard
01-01-2011, 23:22
Doesn't matter, you're a government plant anyway.

10-K
01-01-2011, 23:30
Yeah, it's those 120 days between March 1 and June 1 I was having problems comprehending. ;)

Math isn't my strong suit. :)

Torch09
01-02-2011, 00:48
I'm in the same boat... my sister is getting married, also in June. Personally, I couldn't care less, but for the sake of family drama, or the lack there of, I should probably make it a priority.
Just gotta convince someone else to foot the bill for the bus ticket. I don't expect to have any problem not wanting to return to the trail.

Sarcasm the elf
01-02-2011, 01:38
10k may be a government plant attempting to relplace jester. anyone else see that? if true,...that would mean they have plans for the real jester. im guessing they wanna brainwash him and use the dirty wash water to raise an army of jesters. hmmm,....jester washed clean of his jestings........dont know what he'll be good for then. actually, a washed out jester could be refitted as a matthewski. witch would be very usefull. hmmmm,...an army of matthewskis,.........interesting.

I hear that if we buy enough copies of Wizards of the PCT, then Jester will reappear...

Speakeasy TN
01-02-2011, 05:43
Why didn't I think of finishing before the first? At my pace that would be about 18 hrs a day....hmmmmm

Bearpaw You may have to run me out of town if I get comfy! I'm over in Red Bank.

Sly
01-02-2011, 06:28
Are you sure your name shouldn't be 7.7 K? ;)
I get 2175 miles / 92 days = 23.65 mpd

[No wonder he wins so many races] :D

Yeah well you're not very good either. He's starting March 20, which leaves 72 days x 30.27 miles a day = 2180* miles!

*AT mileage for 2011

Bearpaw
01-02-2011, 12:29
Why didn't I think of finishing before the first? At my pace that would be about 18 hrs a day....hmmmmm

Bearpaw You may have to run me out of town if I get comfy! I'm over in Red Bank.

Thay may be hard to do. I'll probably be in Kentucky attempting to thru-hike the Sheltowee Trace then. But I'll keep you in mind.

sly dog
01-02-2011, 12:36
When my brother did his thru, I had to find him in NH and drive him to NYC for our cousins wedding we were both in. Had ta see it, the wedding pic with him in his full blown beard, what a sight!

CrumbSnatcher
01-02-2011, 12:38
I'm in the same boat... my sister is getting married, also in June. Personally, I couldn't care less, but for the sake of family drama, or the lack there of, I should probably make it a priority.
Just gotta convince someone else to foot the bill for the bus ticket. I don't expect to have any problem not wanting to return to the trail.weddings suck i hate going to weddings! i would hate to leave my hike for a wedding:(
a sister maybe? a niece hell no!!!

wvgrinder
01-02-2011, 12:56
Just tell your niece that you caught her fianc'e with two asian hookers this weekend. Maybe she'll call the wedding off-and you're off the hook. :D

max patch
01-02-2011, 13:42
weddings suck i hate going to weddings! i would hate to leave my hike for a wedding:(
a sister maybe? a niece hell no!!!

I agree totally.

If you want to be there - than be there.

If you don't want to be there - but just feel an "obligation" - then don't go.

johnnybgood
01-02-2011, 19:59
I say go only if your presence really means that much for your niece.
Enjoy the break you likely will need from the trail , but don't get out of the hiking groove for long .

A wedding is still better to attend than a funeral if you ask most people.;)

Speakeasy TN
01-03-2011, 16:52
I say go only if your presence really means that much for your niece.
Enjoy the break you likely will need from the trail , but don't get out of the hiking groove for long .

A wedding is still better to attend than a funeral if you ask most people.;)

I'd like to think that she'll appreciate the extra effort that much more. I'm as close to her as my own daughter and would rearrange anything to be there for her. Way more important than a walk in the woods. Don't make a hike more than it is.

catingeorgia
01-17-2011, 17:56
im in the same boat speakeasy. my cousin wants me back for his wedding to sit in as a groomsman. i figure i can just have clothes mailed to the area when it comes up. i should be having the virginia blues when the time comes because of the date anyways so i figure just hop a bus that way. couple of days off and a fresh rinse wash repeat.
good luck

C Seeker
01-17-2011, 18:10
My sister did the samething to me, here wedding date will leave me less than 200 miles away from the finsh line on my Thru hike. Which is really bad as I can't afford to fly up to it and back down to finsh then back up. It also doesn't seem practical. I also can not miss the wedding as I am the maid of honor. So I am hoping I hike faster than I have planned and don't have major injuries to hold me back.

Glad to see I am sharing the same boat as others, is this a common thing families htrow on us?

busch
01-18-2011, 18:33
You think 1 wedding is annoying? Try two, spaced evenly apart during the Summer.

I'm leaving between March 1st and March 15th and I have two weddings this summer. The first is June 11th and the next is July 9th. I'm a Groomsman in both. I even have a 3rd wedding that I'm also a Groomsman in on Oct 1st. I should easily be done by Oct 1st, but with so much time off for the other weddings, who knows. It'll be a pain to get off the trail for that amount of time, but it'll be worth it to have a massive beard in the wedding photos.

4shot
01-18-2011, 18:51
i figure i can just have clothes mailed to the area when it comes up. i should be having the virginia blues when the time comes because of the date anyways so i figure just hop a bus that way. couple of days off and a fresh rinse wash repeat.
good luck

You may want to budget some time for shopping and skip the mail drop of clothes....most hikers will have shed some pounds by the time they are in Va. Of course there were exceptions to this.

Pommes
01-21-2011, 00:13
There is no way in the world i would come off the trail for anything less then a sibling. I'm not entirely sure i would for that. It would depend on who made the plans first. If they knew i was gonna be on the trail and planned there wedding in the middle of it, then they would be getting married without me. Besides with the divorce rates in this country i'll be available for the next one.

Speakeasy TN
01-21-2011, 07:19
There is no way in the world i would come off the trail for anything less then a sibling. I'm not entirely sure i would for that. It would depend on who made the plans first. If they knew i was gonna be on the trail and planned there wedding in the middle of it, then they would be getting married without me. Besides with the divorce rates in this country i'll be available for the next one.

With that attitude you won't be missed.

Speakeasy TN
01-21-2011, 07:22
You may want to budget some time for shopping and skip the mail drop of clothes....most hikers will have shed some pounds by the time they are in Va. Of course there were exceptions to this.

Great minds think alike huh? I'll be in a day early to go shopping.
Cat I'll make you a deal, I won't let you cave to the desire to drop out if you pull me back in even if I'm kicking and screaming!

Pommes
01-21-2011, 14:59
With that attitude you won't be missed.


It's true i wont be missed. It's just i wont allow anything to interfere with my thru hike. Thats just the attitude that i need to be mentally prepared. Leaving the trail and then coming back is a hard thing for alot of people. I'm just not willing to take that chance. I've saved for 18 months and have to quit a job to make this attempt. Some people are in a position to just wing it and if they make it they do, if they dont they'll try again. If i dont do it this year i'll have to wait 10 years to try again.

Blissful
01-21-2011, 15:57
It's true i wont be missed. It's just i wont allow anything to interfere with my thru hike. Thats just the attitude that i need to be mentally prepared. Leaving the trail and then coming back is a hard thing for alot of people. I'm just not willing to take that chance. I've saved for 18 months and have to quit a job to make this attempt. Some people are in a position to just wing it and if they make it they do, if they dont they'll try again. If i dont do it this year i'll have to wait 10 years to try again.


Your mental attitude is misplaced. Sorry to say but plenty of circumstances force people off the trail or "interfere" with a hike. I got injured several times and had to leave and come back. Someone in the family could die or get hurt. Happened to me too. My mom broke her hip. I had to get off and help, plus I got a freak hip injury too while helping her, so I was off a week. And because of it all, I couldn't finish my SOBO in 2010. Am I upset about it? No. I'd be more upset if I was selfish and did my own thing without regard for others and their needs. You cannot determine what will happen on the trail. So if you go with the mindset that what comes comes, and take it one step at a time, one day at a time. But with the attitude you harbor, if you don't complete it (and 85% don't) you will be so upset over it that you might not recover well. And no thru hike is worth such mental and emotional anguish.
One can always section hike and have just a glorious time, and in the end, who really cares anyway? Its the journey and what it means to you, not the destination.

Pommes
01-21-2011, 16:45
Your mental attitude is misplaced. Sorry to say but plenty of circumstances force people off the trail or "interfere" with a hike. I got injured several times and had to leave and come back. Someone in the family could die or get hurt. Happened to me too. My mom broke her hip. I had to get off and help, plus I got a freak hip injury too while helping her, so I was off a week. And because of it all, I couldn't finish my SOBO in 2010. Am I upset about it? No. I'd be more upset if I was selfish and did my own thing without regard for others and their needs. You cannot determine what will happen on the trail. So if you go with the mindset that what comes comes, and take it one step at a time, one day at a time. But with the attitude you harbor, if you don't complete it (and 85% don't) you will be so upset over it that you might not recover well. And no thru hike is worth such mental and emotional anguish.
One can always section hike and have just a glorious time, and in the end, who really cares anyway? Its the journey and what it means to you, not the destination.

I understand what your saying. However, your in a completely different stage of your life then i am. I may be mistaken but it seems that you dont have a spouse and children relying on your 9-5 income. It seems you can come and go from the trail with alot of freedom. Not everyone can do that. Some of us have saved for years to make one attempt and if we dont make it it will be many years before another can be made. Thats where i am right now. If i dont make it my next attempt will be when im your age. My family is aware how much this means to me. Hell, if i was retired i wouldnt even care. I'm not that lucky, yet.

Blissful
01-21-2011, 18:23
I understand what your saying. However, your in a completely different stage of your life then i am. I may be mistaken but it seems that you dont have a spouse and children relying on your 9-5 income. It seems you can come and go from the trail with alot of freedom. Not everyone can do that. Some of us have saved for years to make one attempt and if we dont make it it will be many years before another can be made. Thats where i am right now. If i dont make it my next attempt will be when im your age. My family is aware how much this means to me. Hell, if i was retired i wouldnt even care. I'm not that lucky, yet.


No You don't know me. I waited 30 years to hike the trail. Raised my son. And worked providing for many of my family's needs (thanks) with my editors working around my schedule. Took my teen son on the hike with me in '07 and we did it together. Had time between books this past summer to go again.
There's no shame in waiting until its time to go. Saying its now or I gotta wait 10 years, well welcome to the club of family comes first.... like it should.
For me it comes first and still does or I could never put one foot on the trail.

All I can say is, you put all your eggs in one basket, you may be in for a shocker if it doesn't work out according to your perfect plan.

But for your family's sake and their sanity, I hope it does.

Pommes
01-21-2011, 18:41
No You don't know me. I waited 30 years to hike the trail. Raised my son. And worked providing for many of my family's needs (thanks) with my editors working around my schedule. Took my teen son on the hike with me in '07 and we did it together. Had time between books this past summer to go again.
There's no shame in waiting until its time to go. Saying its now or I gotta wait 10 years, well welcome to the club of family comes first.... like it should.
For me it comes first and still does or I could never put one foot on the trail.

All I can say is, you put all your eggs in one basket, you may be in for a shocker if it doesn't work out according to your perfect plan.

But for your family's sake and their sanity, I hope it does.

I dont mean to argue. I'm just saying we are in two different pints in our lives. I'm sure when you where 33 it would have been hard for you to do a thru hike. I'm just saying i wouldnt come off the trail for a wedding. Thats all. Cranky. I love your pics by the way.

Speakeasy TN
01-21-2011, 18:56
I dont mean to argue. I'm just saying we are in two different pints in our lives. I'm sure when you where 33 it would have been hard for you to do a thru hike. I'm just saying i wouldnt come off the trail for a wedding. Thats all. Cranky. I love your pics by the way.

Why would you assume, with nothing to go on, that our circumstances (any of us, me and Blissful specifically) are all that different? My obligations at 46 aren't dramatically different than they were at 33.
This will be the third set of maps I've bought in preparation for a thru. Sure it was disappointing to have to put the others off. It was NOT tragic. It wasn't worth putting family on the back burner. FWIW I think focus is great, but I know for a fact that the feeling that the family is here pulling for me will get me farther than sheer pigheadedness.
I hope you finish the hike, but more importantly I hope you have fun. When this is over, stories about how hard it was will get old way faster than stories about how much fun it was.
No offense meant or taken. Happy Trails!

Pommes
01-21-2011, 19:06
Why would you assume, with nothing to go on, that our circumstances (any of us, me and Blissful specifically) are all that different? My obligations at 46 aren't dramatically different than they were at 33.
This will be the third set of maps I've bought in preparation for a thru. Sure it was disappointing to have to put the others off. It was NOT tragic. It wasn't worth putting family on the back burner. FWIW I think focus is great, but I know for a fact that the feeling that the family is here pulling for me will get me farther than sheer pigheadedness.
I hope you finish the hike, but more importantly I hope you have fun. When this is over, stories about how hard it was will get old way faster than stories about how much fun it was.
No offense meant or taken. Happy Trails!

Once i'm out there i'm sure i'll have fun but leading up to it i have to rely on my pigheadedness. Also it may be the fact that i just got out of the Army. I'm used to being pigheaded. I'm working towards the "happy hippy" that i see alot on here but im not there yet. Give me time. Hopefully i dont get baited and end up banned before then. Its a character flaw. I'm easily baited.

rjjones
01-21-2011, 20:09
Pommes,if i could do a thru hike this year,or any year for that matter,my priority would be to stay on the trail if i could.If my brother said he was getting married in the middle of my trip,my response would be"take alot of pictures"{my brother would never ask me to leave the trail though}.There is nothing wrong with not wanting to stop hiking only to re-start.Whats everyone here say,hike your own hike.Bully Bob

Speakeasy TN
01-22-2011, 08:49
Once i'm out there i'm sure i'll have fun but leading up to it i have to rely on my pigheadedness. Also it may be the fact that i just got out of the Army. I'm used to being pigheaded. I'm working towards the "happy hippy" that i see alot on here but im not there yet. Give me time. Hopefully i dont get baited and end up banned before then. Its a character flaw. I'm easily baited.

I'll do a character reference if you need one! If the OP doesn't get his panties in a bunch then nobody else should be too worked up. Good Luck on siezing your inner hippie!

Cabin Fever
01-22-2011, 09:58
Why didn't I think of finishing before the first? At my pace that would be about 18 hrs a day....hmmmmm

Bearpaw You may have to run me out of town if I get comfy! I'm over in Red Bank.

I'll run you out of town!

Speakeasy TN
01-23-2011, 05:27
I'll run you out of town!

Oh the humanity! Pelted with oatmeal creme pies!:eek:

tirebiter
01-28-2011, 01:55
I have three weddings to make it to this summer... thankfully all in Virginia, but still a hassle.

Speakeasy TN
01-28-2011, 07:37
I have three weddings to make it to this summer... thankfully all in Virginia, but still a hassle.

Now I only feel 1/3 as put out! Thanks!