A Wannabe Thru-Hiker

[Silverstone]

Hello everyone--

I just joined WB this morning after lurking for several days/weeks now. I have recently rediscovered hiking after almost 20 years behind a desk and eight days in the ICU with a near-fatal pulmonary embolism.

The Doc said to start walking.

I've been doing lots of day hikes for the past few months, and now I've got the bug--and I seem to have it pretty bad. A family member turned me on to the idea of backpacking, and the concept of somebody like me doing a thru-hike is so unlikely that I feel like I *must* do it. After spending over a week on my back, cut open like a fish and hooked up to machines to keep me alive, my entire perspective has changed.

Once I got out of there on the right side of the grass, I realized that I can do whatever the hell I want.

Career? Who cares. Jobs come and go--I'll always be able to find something to do. After recovering for several months, I find myself back in a cube farm chained to a desk again, and I've realized that I hate it and it's bad for my health anyways.

So I'm gonna pull the ripcord. Probably sooner rather than later.

Right now, I'm about the second most out-of-shape hiker in the world (I'm sure there is somebody out there worse off than me, but I haven't passed him on the trail just yet), but I'm getting stronger almost every day--still have several el-beeze to lose, but I figure that what I don't get rid of over the next few months, I'll leave on the trail from Springer to Damascus.

Anyhow--I'm so new at this that I don't know *anything* about doing a thru-hike. Probably better, because everyone that knows me would tell me that I can't do it.

So I'm gonna rely on you folks for knowledge and encouragement. I know I've got a long way to go, but now that I've got the bug, I'm ready to act on it. I've immersed myself in AT books, websites, blogs, and pictures, and it seems to me that all I need to do is save $$$ like a miser over the next few months, and lug a 30 lb. pack around with me every chance I get.

Anyhow, I'm off to browse for a bit, then maybe this afternoon I'll spend some quality time sweating my ample behind off in the woods for a few hours.

Thanks in advance for answering the hundreds of questions I'm about to ask...

Silverstone

[Rain Man]

Thanks in advance for answering the hundreds of questions I'm about to ask...

Just so you know, and can plan accordingly, the questions never seem to stop. I'm still asking them eight years after my first hike on the AT. But take that as a good thing! I'd hate to "know it all" and lose enthusiasm, curiosity, and enjoyment of learning.

As the saying goes, it's not the destination, it's the journey. :sun

Welcome aboard and ... enjoy!

Rain:sunMan

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[spanky4x4]

meet the number 1 outa shape hiker. I started at amacalola last march and never made it to springer. This year I am starting at harpers ferry an heading south. This sun. I am overweight, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetic, and nuts. Dont want to end up on a table split like a fish. I am tired of living my life like this and have decided to take it back. good luck to ya!

[Jim Adams]

just go and have fun....prep work is good but just go and have fun.
alot who quit do so because they are too worried about the trip or about keeping a schedule that they either lose interest due to the strain on the brain or they injure themselves.
just have fun and it will remain a vacation instead of a trudge.

geek

[About_Time]

I got the hiking bug late last year after not hiking for over 30 years. I read multiple books and lots of threads on this site. I finally got to the point where I'd figured out what I thought would work best for me so I created a spreadsheet of equipment I'd need. I loosely planned on a 2012 thru, but in April I was playing with a potential fiip-flop schedule for this year working around a graduation, wedding and planned family vacation and figured out a way to make it work this year instead, so off I went!!!

I've changed a few things in the first two weeks, but I suspect that even with years of planning that might have occured. This is a great site to research and to ask questions. You'll get some strong opinions (tent vs hammock), (hang food versus sleep with it), etc.. Just remember that you need to be comfortable that a choice works for you.

Good luck with your rehab and your hiking.....

[LoneRidgeRunner]

Don't think of it as a long trip, instead think of it as a bunch of short trips...

[bigcranky]

Welcome to the hiking community. Hiking can be addictive, but mostly in a good way.

[long island bob]

Hey Silverstone,

I've done so much reading about the AT I cannot imagine ending the trip anywhere except Katahdin in the fall. I hear you can see it almost two weeks before you approach it's base and that the fall foliage in Maine is not to be missed.


So, umm, just curious, why end your trek in PA?

[Silverstone]

So, umm, just curious, why end your trek in PA?

Plan on going all the way to Katahdin and dancing nekkid at the summit. I just figure by the time I get to Damascus, I'd have lost most of the extra weight.

[long island bob]

Plan on going all the way to Katahdin and dancing nekkid at the summit. I just figure by the time I get to Damascus, I'd have lost most of the extra weight.
LOL
so true and yet so wrong.

Meh, if you start and finish at the Doyle Hotel (hostel), in duncannon PA, you can start and finish with a beer. (COOL!!!!)

I'm still in the dreaming faze so I don't know what I'm talking about, but I kinda want to finish with Katahdin in my sights for 2-3 weeks, lots of fall foliage is around, and in a state of mind where beer is the farthest thing from well anything.

Still dreaming. Sigh.

[Silverstone]

Thanks everyone, for the encouragement. I'm gonna need a lot more in the coming months.

I also realized this evening that I don't need to wait for good weather to take a hike--I haven't gone on one in three weeks because it's rained on all of my days off. I guess it's time to go out and just get wet.

Also--Spanky, good luck to you my brotha. I'll be pullin' for you and sending good thoughts your way. Keep us updated.

One step at a time!

Silverstone

[fiddlehead]

I wouldn't ask too many questions at first.
I'd go do a slow hike.
Not a long one.
And hopefully meet some people who are out there doing the same.
You'll figure things out for yourself for awhile.
Then, when it comes time to really dial it in, come here and ask the important things you hadn't found out yet.

Experience is the best teacher.
Keep it simple.
Hope you like to walk.
Good luck.

[Rain Man]

I also realized this evening that I don't need to wait for good weather to take a hike--I haven't gone on one in three weeks because it's rained on all of my days off. I guess it's time to go out and just get wet.

Thats for sure. People who have to have "nice" weather before venturing out into nature are not really hikers or backpackers in my book.

But then, I am the Rain Man! :D

Rain:sunMan

.

[Old Hiker]

Welcome to Whiteblaze and congratulations on your successful surgery! Keep your hospital receipts and be amazed in a few years when you compare your gear purchases to what was spent in the hospital!

I'm looking forward to the questions: I usually can find new info in any thread here. I don't usually answer questions, as there are MUCH more experienced hikers here.

I'll look for your trail journal in a few years (or sooner!)

[Silverstone]

Keep your hospital receipts and be amazed in a few years when you compare your gear purchases to what was spent in the hospital!



If I spend $78,000 on gear, y'all can make fun of me all you want... :eek:

[Lyle]

One thing all the varied opinions you will get here on WB should tell you:

There is no right or wrong way to hike. Just different solutions to the same problems.

If anything, that should allow you to relax. Beyond a few basics, very little of what you decide during planning will actually affect your hike. Those things that do, can easily be changed once you figure it out. What affects your hike is your attitude. That is the thing to pay attention to. Keep an open mind, stay flexible, and know that whatever choices you make gear-wise will work.

Good luck, and HAVE FUN!!!!

[Old Hiker]

If I spend $78,000 on gear, y'all can make fun of me all you want... :eek:

And that was just your co-pay!!


One thing all the varied opinions you will get here on WB should tell you:

There is no right or wrong way to hike. Just different solutions to the same problems.

If anything, that should allow you to relax. Beyond a few basics, very little of what you decide during planning will actually affect your hike. Those things that do, can easily be changed once you figure it out. What affects your hike is your attitude. That is the thing to pay attention to. Keep an open mind, stay flexible, and know that whatever choices you make gear-wise will work.

Good luck, and HAVE FUN!!!!

Sums it up pretty much!

[paistes5]

Brotha man, me and Steph will definitely do a section or two with you on your journey. I'm jealous as hell, and this was MY damn idea.