I’m writing from the Rathskeller Coffee and Pub in Franklin, NC. 110 miles in. Yesterday I hiked 7 miles to get to a road and catch a ride into town. I stayed at the Gooder Grove hostel. It’s a really eclectic place filled with eastern art, Taoist literature, and two old dogs. The owner of the hostel, Zen, is a …
Day 7 – Fried Chicken Mountain
“Fried chicken, fried chicken, fried chicken.” That was my mantra as I climbed another of the endless thousand foot asscents on Saturday. The Appalachian Trail in Georgia is an endless succession of mountain climbs followed by sharp descents. The trail blazers must have been masochists. I started last Sunday at Amicalola Falls state park and hiked 8.8 miles to reach …
D-Day -1 Pizza, Climbing, and Psychedelic Gnomes
The last time I was at a Mellow Mushrooms was almost eight years ago. I was on a 48 hour pass after having just completed basic training at Fort Benning. I remember sitting around a large wooden table with members from my platoon while we discussed how we were going to spend our pass. The conversation revolved around how we …
Essential(and non) Equipment List For My Appalachian Trail Hike
My backpack weighs in at 24lbs 11 ounces without food or water. Fully loaded it will weigh between 40 and 45lbs. That is on the heavy end of packs for the Appalachian Trail. Some ultra-light hikers are able to bring their packs down below 10lbs. I chose convenience and comfort over weight. We’ll see whether that decision changes on the …
Hiking to Support the Boys and Girls Clubs of Columbia
I am hiking to support the Boys and Girls Club of Columbia. I’ll use contributions raised to help them set up an after-school gaming program. The program will use competitive gaming(Super Smash Bros melee) to teach life skills that are traditionally learned from team sports. Skills like discipline, work-ethic, and perseverance. Link to my GoFundMe campaign. Thanks for your support! …
7 Physical Training Tips to Prepare for the Appalachian Trail
You might also be interested in this post I wrote, it’s a detailed 3 month training plan to get prepared for the AT. 1. Walk barefoot on asphalt I learned this tip from a Special Forces sergeant I met at Air Assault school. He said every-time he needed to prepare for a deployment he would spend two weeks walking on asphalt …
Three Month(12 week) Physical Training Plan for Thru Hiking the Appalachian Trail
I only have about 45 days between when I decided to hike the trail and when I step off from Springer Mountain. Luckily my strength training for the last decade has prepared me well for a long thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. If I had three months to prepare this is how I would do it. Three Month AT Hike Training The …
Following my heart on the Appalachian Trail.
It’s 2am. This is the third night in a row that I’ve been unable to sleep. Conversations from the day’s meetings run through my head on an endless loop. Am I making the right decision? We’re so close – our investors are ready to write a check. Why am I not excited? Why does my gut tell me that this is …