Why I Will Thru Hike The AT

[JohnsonDigital]

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Wasn't really sure to post this, but this seemed the best fit. Maybe some of you agree, maybe some of you don't. Frankly I don't care.



I'm 21 years old, I've got an OK job with a possible career path, good friends and good family. Yet for some reason I'm willing to leave this all behind to pursue a dream. Make that a "Calling", as that's about the only way I can describe it. A few days ago I came to the realization that I need to change. I need to change what I'm doing and possibly who I am. Something doesn't feel right inside, something's missing, something is wrong, and I've known it for a long time. Anywhere I've been I've never felt like that's where I "belonged", like I was supposed to be there, like that was home. Maybe I'm insane, or suffer from any number of other mental illnesses, but maybe...just maybe I'm right. Maybe, I'm going to do exactly what I need to. On April 2nd, 2010 I will start my trek across the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. A journey of 2,178 miles, across 14 states, and through 3 seasons. To do this I'll be leaving everything I know, almost everything I own, and everything I once was. Some of you are reading this right now and asking why. Some of you are reading this and saying go for it! Frankly, I'm not doing this for any of you and I don't give a damn what you think. If you want to support me in my journey of self discovery then thank you. If you want to criticize me and talk me out of it, then please be on your merry way and go talk to someone else as you're not going to sway my decision. I could very well make plans to go next year and save up enough money to start over when I get done with the trail, but what many of you reading this fail to understand is that I don't want to be doing exactly what I'm doing when I get done with my journey. I'm searching for something, what I don't know, but I expect to find it on the Trail. It might not be what I'm looking for, it might not be what I want, but it will be what I need to learn. I promise you I will not come off the Trail unless it's at Mount Katahdin, Maine or in a body bag.

Some of you may understand where I'm coming from. Some of you may have felt what I'm feeling right now. It's almost as if my very sanity is hanging in there by a hair and the only way to maintain it is to depart upon my journey. The Trail calls to me, I don't understand why, I just know in my heart that I must do this. I must. There is no option for failure. As I said before It's Mount Katahdin one way or the other. Running, hiking, or even crawling. All I know is that the life I'm meant to live is not the one I'm living at this point in time. I will be giving up my job, most of my material possessions, and setting foot on a journey that I can barely begin to prepare for. This is my decision, this is what I must do. This is goodbye, to everything I have ever known in hope of finding where I'm truly meant to be. Be it God, be it insanity, be it adventure. I will go.

[Hosaphone]

Some of you are reading this right now and asking why.

No, I don't think any of us are

I promise you I will not come off the Trail unless it's at Mount Katahdin, Maine or in a body bag.

It's very easy to break an ankle. The trail will probably still be there next year if you do.

Good attitude, but you should be realistic as well. If your body is telling you to stop and see a doctor, do it. You won't be able to crawl 2000 miles. At least, not before Katahdin closes in October

[Lilred]

Wow dude, that's pretty melodramatic. You do know that you're preaching to the choir.

Talk you out of it??? Ummmm I don't think so, not from this group.


Buddy, we don't "fail to understand" anything. Why do you think most people go out there??? Certainly not because we like doing the same old same old.

Are you going to keep an online journal??? Sure would like to keep track of this hike.

Good luck and have fun!!

[climber2377]

did you write this to show your friends and family who wont or dont support you? i think this is the wrong venue for your note, but wish you the best on your hike. peace be the journey

[Skidsteer]

All right then. I don't reckon we can talk you out of it.

[Blissful]

I guess that's that.... (so there, folks!)

Anyway, sure hope you find what you're looking for. I could give you a slight hint, but figure you can find it on your own, if you're willing and your heart is open.

Peace

[jnanagardener]

Nice to see you are ready for some "next steps". Best of luck to you...

[JohnsonDigital]

Sorry, yes this was written not for this audience, but for people that don't understand. I do apologize, but I thought I'd post it here also to show how I feel about going.

[JJJ]

I've known the feeling.
But you really can't use the AT to slack pack around your problems.
You can leave your life behind, you can leave your possessions behind, but you can't really leave yourself behind.
That's a bigger challenge than anything you'll likely encounter on the AT.
I don't care if you walk 20 miles or 2000 miles, I hope you find what you need.
If you make it to Damascus, give me a yell, I'll buy your lunch.
jjj

[JohnsonDigital]

Is that a buffet lunch? :-D

[JJJ]

No buffet in DAM.
Just pizza, hamburger, BBQ
things like that.

[JohnsonDigital]

I'll take all 3 when I get there

[prain4u]

Wow! That was a pretty intense posting! I don't know whether to applaud your enthusiasm or to be worried that your intense enthusiasm and determination might (at some point) potentially override any safety considerations. (Not that it is my place or my job to either applaud you or to question you!)

I notice that you joined WhiteBlaze yesterday. You are from Florida and are age 21. I am wondering if you might be willing to humor me (us?) by providing some more information regarding yourself and your hike?

How much hiking experience do you have? Do you have any camping or other outdoor experience? How well are you currently set for equipment? How much planning have you done for this trip? What is your current level of physical conditioning? What is the square root of 2,178? etc.

If you only recently came up with this goal of hiking the AT and if you are starting out from "square one" with the planning and with obtaining your equipment--you sure have a lot of work (and purchasing) to do in the next 10 weeks!

Good luck!

[Johnny Appleseed]

Why am I reminded of Mr. Wonka on charley and the chocolate factory when he is trying to weed out the little heathens from possible inheritance. What does he say to those who will not listen and keep doing what they want to do? "No, stop, don't" in the weakest voice you ever heard.

That is me saying, "no you lunatic don't do the best thing I ever did in my life, stop having as much fun as the people I hiked with, don't hike you homeless hiker trash" in the weakest voice since Mr. Wonka.

I am also insane. Best we don't hike together

[stranger]

Don't be so rigid and emotive, neither will get you praise here...and I can't help but be reminded of "Into the Wild" when I read this...

Is someone taking crazy pills?

[JohnsonDigital]

Just for your amusement I will entertain you with my experience. I by no means claim to be an expert in any area, my experience is somewhat limited, but when it comes to long distance trekking, it's one thing I've always been good at. I spent 2 years in the Army and I know very well what it means to hike 50 miles in 3 days wearing boots, with an external frame ruck sack weighing 60 - 80lbs. Mind you this was a year ago, and since I've gotten out I haven't done any backpacking, but I do walk on a regular basis and go tromping through the woods around my area hunting small game. As far as camping experience goes, I've been camping since before I can remember with a tent and without a tent. I've made my own shelters out of tarps in many different forms, and understand the need for different types of shelters in different types of areas and different climates.

As far as gear goes, I have nothing, but when it comes to acquiring and making things I'm pretty talented, and I know enough to listen to others, and try stuff out first. I plan to do quite a number of practice hikes around here before I set out to test out my gear and see where my possible problem areas are. I don't plan to bring my laptop, cell phone (I don't own one in fact, I got rather tired of dealing with cell phone companies), books, tv, microwave. I plan to bring what I need, and I've been spending hours and hours going over these "gear lists" and deciding what I will really need. My biggest concern is not of my gear, there's a way to get by without certain things, but of food. I'm looking at doing a few mail drops along the way, along with a few trips into town to resupply. I'm still exploring options, but I don't plan to be a purist or any of these other labels applied to thru hikers. I'm doing this for my own self discovery and I'll learn what I don't know along the way. I'm sure I'll be shedding some of the gear I bring even after doing some shakedowns, but I'm accounting for this in my budget. The biggest things I'm going to be testing out are my shoes and my pack. Those two items can cause the most discomfort from my experience if not properly fitted. Will I spend 150 bucks on a pack? Probably not, I'm still debating on designing my own with stuff from around the house here. As far as sleeping arrangements go, if any of you have ever been in the military or been in an Army surplus store you should know what a Whoobi is, or a poncho liner. They make amazing blankets and are extremely lightweight, I'm still doing research on what exactly I feel I want to bring, but I'm aware that I very well might be changing gear for warmer stuff when I get farther north anyways. Anyways, I'm still doing my research every day and working on my planning, but I am very open to suggestions. Please let's not get into a debate over which pack is best as it's a matter of personal fit and preference and hiking style. But if you have some tips and tricks I'm all ears.

[prain4u]

Glad to hear that you have carried a heavy pack in the Army and spent some time camping and using various tarps. Those experiences should serve you well.

As far as sleeping arrangements go, if any of you have ever been in the military or been in an Army surplus store you should know what a Whoobi is, or a poncho liner. They make amazing blankets and are extremely lightweight.

I have done quite a bit of camping and hiking since 1970. I am also in the Army National Guard. When my military unit is in the field, I am known to do the whole "macho guy" thing and throw my poncho on the ground and sleep on it with only the poncho liner as a blanket. Based upon my experiences, I would STRONGLY encourage you to rethink the poncho liner as your sleep system (except in guaranteed warm weather). You are really pushing the safe limits of a poncho liner outdoors at about 45-50 degrees (even if you use a sleeping pad with a good R-value). Parts of the AT will get far colder than 50 degrees.

Good luck on your planning and preparations.

[Lone Wolf]

No buffet in DAM.
Just pizza, hamburger, BBQ
things like that.

Pizza Plus is a buffet

[Toolshed]

Johnson,
This is not meant to be critical, but trying to be empathic. It sounds as though you were vacillating between self-pity, depression and anger as you wrote this.

You state you are 21, with 2 years in the military, have you recently separated? Vets go through a lot of depression and internal turmoil once they leave the excitement of the armed forces and come back home to end up with the same people and the same environment in a job that seems to go nowhere. Many of the friends and acquaintances at home simply don't understand.

I remember after a few years in Germany and UK, I finally got stateside and home. The first night I hit and old local bar and sure enough one of the regular drinkers made the comment - "Hey Man where you been the last couple of weeks - Ain't seen ya around?" that's when I realized I couldn't go back home and needed to go somewhere with much more excitement and adventure. Somewhere new.

I think the trail makes a great getaway if you have the mental fortitude to keep at it. Quite a few don't, but that's not a bad thing, I think many hit the trail looking to escape their 100 problems per day, but end up finding 100 new & different problems per day.

If this is hitting home, Reach out to your local VA and speak with them. I believe they provide counselors to assist you with transitions like this, provide advice and make recommendations.

If you make it to the trail - good. If you make it all the way - great. If you decide to get off and move on with your life - No worries either - you went through the experience,.
As LW always says. "It's only walking" (I'd like to add "and stinking pretty bad").
Cheers!!!

[Newb]

Don't do it. You'll never make it. It's dangerous out there. The bears will get you. You have to be crazy.