Hello!

[mookiebones]

Hi, my name is Adrienne. I am seriously thinking (not yet planning...that is a ways off...) of doing a thru-hike starting in '08 or '09.

I currently run a boarding kennel in NJ, and my husband works at an health insurance company. We have a 6 year old son.

I know that I will probably be told not to, but I want to hike with my child and one dog. We will be hiking to the extent that my son can hike. I realize that it will take 2 summers to finish, as I want to take my time and enjoy things, plus I would be home schooling (or is it trail schooling..?) my son, Killian.

I understand the nutritional requirements for dogs on the trail, and the intensity of what I potentially want to do, please no flaming. I own a boarding kennel, so I know where he will go if there is an issue. I also am an obedience instructor/animal behavior therapist, and all my dogs know where they belong in the pack (at the very end.).

I am interested in hammock hiking, still in the research phase. I know that since I will potentially be bringing a dog, that shelters may not be an option. I want to be as respectful as possible.

Anyhoo, I thought I would do a quick introduction...have a good one!

-Adrienne

[Big Dawg]

to WhiteBlaze!!!

[hopefulhiker]

Welcome. That is a pretty ambitious plan..One little snag is they don't allow dogs in the Great Smokey National Park.

[mookiebones]

Welcome. That is a pretty ambitious plan..One little snag is they don't allow dogs in the Great Smokey National Park.

I know, there is a boarding kennel that I would kennel my dog at (Nantan Lupan, a catahoula). They don't let dog's in Baxter either. Not a big deal... I understand that owning a dog is a privledge, not a right. I also know that boarding a dog is really not a big deal.

-Adrienne

[Midway Sam]

I would seriously reconsider home schooling on the trail. I'm not questioning home schooling, far from it. I'm just questioning how successful it would be. You and the kid are going to be tired and not really "focused" on the schooling.

Instead, work real hard at getting their school year completed prior to the hike and then just enjoy the "natural learning experience" without the pressure of organized home schooling.

Take my opinion for what it's worth...

[eventidecu]

Don't worry about "no dogs" in the park. It's only a week and we have kennels down here too. If you own a kennel I'm sure you could yogi some kind of deal with a local kennel around Gatlinburg to watch "Fido" for a week.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THE SMOKEY'S!!!

[mookiebones]

Hell, I don't mind paying for kenneling service. It is how I make my money, and understand how slow it is in March/parts of April.

A little more about me:
I want to eventaully live in Peru for a few years. We just got back from Peru about 6 weeks ago, loved it. I also want to go to Tibet and/or Nepal as well. I am nearly 29 years old, and have a lot of goals in life, that are currently posted on the side of the fridge. One of them is to do the AT. Another is to "retire" before the age of 35. I beleive that I can accomplish this with the kennels (which is an entirely different story.) I have itchy feet all the time, 2-3 years and I want out of the local that I am living at. I have lived in: Ca, CO, NE, TX, MA, CT, and NJ. I have itchy feet right now, but own a business that is just really starting out, so I will have to wait....damn it...

I understand about the homeschooling thing, Midway, I also know that we are probably going to do this over a two year period, not all in one shot, which I am fine about.

Anyhoo...
-Adrienne

[Marta]

It's a cool dream, very difficult to pull off. Unlike some of the other folks, I think the homeschooling part is the least difficult to deal with. I say this as someone who homeschooled three kids who are now adults, gainfully employed or in college or (gulp) graduate school. A child the age of yours hardly needs any formal instruction. A little reading every day, and writing letters home to Dad and Grandma and Grandpa, measuring things for cooking, figuring mileages...that should be enough.

My main suggestion is to do a lot of shorter prep hikes and see how it goes. And not to be too attached to a schedule, or to finishing the whole Trail, come hell or high water. It could be an amazingly good time.

Good luck!

Marta/Five-Leaf

[buckowens]

Welcome Mookiebones!

I got tired just reading your post You would be hard to keep up with! Your husband must be pretty energetic as well!

We just had part of our Medevac unit return from a 3 month mission to Peru, and aside from hitting a wire with a Blackhawk, they had a great experience. There was little damage and a lot of drinking while considering the potential consequences... They raved about the country and it's people.

My son is also 6 and would be ready for some longer hikes with little or no weight right now. He has done some 5-6 milers with no complaints. My daughter (9) and I are leaving in June for a two week section beginning in Georgia, and she carries 25 pounds or less. She is tough!

I agree with most that the trail and the experience will be school enough. A bit of reading and writing will round out any formal requirements. You will have much time to talk!

Enjoy and welcome again to our site (I both love and hate this damn bannana...)

[mookiebones]

We are both pretty active. My husband has also started dj'ing (vinyls). He spins on a daily basis(music, not that crazy exercise class!).

I think my main goals is to EVENTUALLY finish, if it takes a couple years, then so be it! I am not too worried about the schooling part, as both my husband and I are pretty intelligent (or at least we think we are....which actually might be bad... ). My son is a gentle spirit who loves exploring.

I love Peru, I wish I was back there right now. I loved the city of Abancay. It is a small residential town with about 60K people in it. No tourist. Cusco was okay, but TONS of huge ass tour groups, annoying to say the least. My husband loved Machu Piccu, but I liked the ruins at ollantaytambo better.

Here are some pictures of the trip (and other random ones too): http://www.flickr.com/photos/98135836@N00/


-Adrienne

[rhjanes]

read this trailjournal. well written, funny. family doing a thru and doing some home schooling on the trail. Might give you some ideas and thoughts.

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?ID=88651

[SouthMark]

About 25 years ago Backpacker Magazine had a feature on a husband and wife that thru-hked the trail with their 6 year old son and their dog. You might be able to get a back issue.