Hi im Joe and im 35 and live in Richmond,Va. I have a wife 2 kids a dog and a house payment. So right now thru hiking is pretty off the table but i have been doing sections for the past two seasons. This was my first real exposure to hiking and i am just now at a point where im really happy with all of my set up. I have done all of SNP except the last 15-20 to Front Royal. The last few seasons I have been hiking with 1-3 other people. Dont get me wrong they are great people and decent friends but i cant stand to hike with them. Honestly this was my dream and I shared the idea with one of the guys in hopes to get someone to go out with me for my first exposure. Since then he has tried to take the lead and kind of boss me around and i dont play that crap. Not that i cant take direction but there is no compromise i mean its all his idea or nothing at all needless to say we bump heads .The issue is that our goals and expectations are different and thats where we butt heads. Also this guy has the same amount of exp as me but he knows every dang thing. Any way enough crap talking. So whats unorthadox about me. I dont fit your average hiker mold. I am husky I wear a 38 pant and a xl-2xl shirt. I am not meant to be a small person my genes just are not going to allow it. That being said i am a brick s hi t house and i have alot of heart and in the pocket i can and will do the dang thing. in a world of ultra light and everyone wearing size med clothes seemingly in this activity i stand out a bit. I also am working on quiting smoking cigs. Tough to break . So anyway im comfortable in my own skin. My expectations of hiking and finding a partner are. Someone that is not so worried about miles at this point some one that wants to stop smell the roses a bit see the sights. Someone that is going to be just happy to be out there and not complaining . Someone thats going to make smart moves and not let their pride get in the way of their brain telling them your being stupid. Someone that wants to drink a couple beers on trail if the situation allows for it. Im basically looking to chill be social and see some awesome sights and yeah sometimes it feels good or is needed to bang out some miles but to be honest I work doing HVAC and these are typically 3-4 day weeekend trips im not trying to go physically kill my self all weekend to then shuffle back to richmond and hate myself and body all day monday at work because im exhausted and about killed myself looking to start in late march-april and like to go atleast once a month thru to july skip august back out in sept and october early season depending on weather. If you are local to my area maybe meet up get a beer talk some stuff out see if we mesh or if our goals are similar. thanks Joe