One week later

Being back has been an adjustment. Not an easy one either. I've been gimping around, trying to stay off the foot as much as possible, but I'm also antsy all the time. I have this feeling that I can't sit around, that I've got things to do. I don't really know what they are yet- but I'm working on figuring it out. 

It's been great to see my friends and family again. I was able to celebrate my birthday with them, which was really good. I have to answer the same questions a lot- are you going back? How does the foot feel? How was it? 

I can't go back, at least not any time soon, I just don't have the money for it. Between the medical cost getting the foot checked, the trip home and having to fix my car when I got back (needed a new battery and belt), my resources are pretty tapped. 

I also don't know if I want to go back. I don't know if I have it in me. The experience was amazing-but it was also incredibly hard. It was 90% terrible and 10% awe-inspiring. I've never been more tired and hurting than I was doing that day after day. It was for the best cause and I don't regret doing it. I learned a lot about myself that I didn't know. I experienced one of my dreams- I tried. I take satisfaction from that. I did something few could or would. 

The foot is getting better slowly. It still hurts to put weight on, but it's better than it was. I'm looking for a job, boo. I've got a number of irons in the fire for Extra Life as usual. 

Thank you to all those that were following along and cheering for me. Your kind words meant the world to me. I'm not done with the adventures yet- I hope that you'll stay with me. 

Remember- it's about the journey. 

Jamison

XL

Day 32- the end?

Today was what could be the end of my adventure. I woke up early and tested my foot, which immediately erupted in pain no better than yesterday. I cursed to myself and laid there thinking. Around 7:30 Coin woke up and I told him I needed to go to Urgent Care to get it checked out. He agreed. I managed to catch a ride with Matt, the owner of the hotel we're staying at (he has been nothing but helpful and I am eternally grateful). 

I got dropped off at a local clinic and about 4 hours later, after examination and x-rays, I had my diagnosis. I had a stress fracture in my left foot. No more walking for me, especially not every day all day. I need to be off my feet for 2-4 weeks. I was crushed. 

I put up a post on Facebook and was astounded by the positivity of the responses that I received. I was disappointed, disheartened and devastated at the wall I had run into. The nature of the responses I got and the private messages I was sent made me realize that although this adventure may be over, that I have dared to do something that most wouldn't. Dreams change, they evolve-they often don't end the way you expect them to. I will carry on with my efforts for Extra Life. I will get healthy again. Coin is going to continue on the trail, so maybe I'll get to see join him again further down the line. I'm glad that he's going on without me. I'll be rooting for him. I'll be home tomorrow night, and that will be strange. 

Thank you to Stephanie, Kaitlyn, Lacey, Chuck and everyone else that shared their wisdom and positivity when I needed it most. 

On to other things now- 

-XL

Day 31- Homesick

Today is a zero day, and we're at a place called Anton's by the Lake in Greenwood, NY. I've spent most of the day thinking about home and my friends. How much I'd like to just be there, drinking a beer with Rob or hanging around the game store. It's been over a month since I was home. I've walked almost 250 miles, nearly a quarter of the way home. I have trouble sleeping at night, my brain won't turn off some times no matter how tired I am. 

It's natural for these feelings to pop up and I'll get through them. My fear isn't that I'll want to give up but rather that I'll have to. I've had a pain in my left foot for the past 3 days and it's still hanging around. We walked less than a half mile into town for food and the pain was pretty bad, but it may have been just the normal morning get warmed up pains.  We'll see how the next few days go and if it's not any better it may mean a trip to a doctor. My inner pessimist is going strong as usual. 

I don't have a lot else to say today. Just that my thoughts are with my family and friends. 

-XL

Day 30- the outside world

Before I get to my update, I want to express the outrage and heartbreak brought about by the terror attack on the nightclub in Orlando. My heart goes out to those victims, their families and the LGBT community. Our world is a darker place today. I will say it simply- IT IS NOT OKAY TO HATE SOMEONE BECAUSE THEY ARE DIFFERENT. 

Coming off the trail today, that was what greeted me. I welcome the disconnection I have most of the time out here. I still have internet a good portion of the time but I try to limit how often I'm on. When I open Facebook and I have to see friends are reporting that they are safe in Orlando, it really shows how screwed up our country is. 

Back to today - we did about 6.5 miles today, ending up at a place called Heaven Hills Farm, where we had lunch and a bunch of fresh fruit, which was a treat. A shuttle from our hotel picked us up and we're clean, freshly laundered and relaxing now. 

Hockey game tonight, day off tomorrow. We'll walk into town, grab some supplies.  I have a pain in the top of my left foot that I'm hoping is just a little tendinitis, so a day off will be good. 

The trek today across more swamp!

-XL

Day 29- Nothing new

Another day. Not a magical day like yesterday. We got up early, and did a little over 12 miles, finishing with a monster hill before we got to the shelter. My legs were shaking when we got to the top, and I took a siesta in my tent before making dinner. Today's hike was mostly through very boggy areas. 

There's a turtle there somewhere. 

We're flirting with the border of NY right now, but we've got a few more days of NJ before we're done. Tomorrow we're heading to a motel for a few reasons. We're disgusting sweaty monaters, our clothes are disgusting and sweaty and the NHL finals are on tomorrow night. Priorities right? The Penguins could win the Stanley Cup and that's fairly important to Coinflip. 

-XL

Day 28- Hooray for NJ

Today was a great day. We did short miles, only a little over 8. The weather was perfect again so it was pleasant hiking, not sweat dripping in my eyes or rain fogging my glasses. We saw some amazing vistas like this one-

The best part of the day was when we approached the High Point State Park HQ, we saw a sign attached to the AT sign saying "Hiker Pancake Breakfast". It seemed to good to be true, but sure enough as we walked over to the picnic table next to the building a couple asked us if we were hungry. 

Never one to look a gift meal in the face, we sat down and they proceeded to stuff us with banana pancakes, fresh made coffee and orange juice, as much as we could eat. The couple was a thru-hiker named Blue Bandana that had taken a few days off from the trail and his girlfriend. He wanted to do some trail magic before he hit the trail again. We spent about an hour with them and then he told us if we went in to the HQ and signed the guest book, they'd give us a free Pepsi! Double score. 

Notice there's no pancakes here. We ate them all. 

Being stuffed it was tough to hit the trail again, but we managed. We were only a few miles from the shelter, so we decided to make a side trip (in hiker lingo it's called "blue blazing") to the obelisk at the highest point in New Jersey. 

From afar

From close

We finished our hike around 4, set up camp and had some time to play some games. Now I'm waiting to eat my dinner (Spanish rice with a cheese stick melted in it) and then I'm going to crawl into my tent and read for a few hours. Damn good day. 

-XL

Day 27- NJ slightly redeems itself

It's hard to stay mad at NJ when there are days like today. We got dropped off from our hotel at a local grocery store and resupplied the best we could. It was a small store so we had to make do a bit. Food is tough on the trail, I'm sick of sweet stuff and junk food, but having limited room and resources ties your hands a lot. I eat a ton of tuna fish packets, it's like all I want to eat (probably my body craving protein) so most meals include that. Tuna and ramen, tuna and instant rice, tuna on a tortilla. Pretty exciting huh?

But I digress- resupplied. Check. Hike 2.5 miles from grocery store to trail head. Check. Stop on the way at local farm stand and eat fresh strawberries. Check. 

We finally started back on the trail around 10 am and hiked about 3 miles to the next shelter for lunch break. I'm getting my conditioning in, we did a 1300' ascent with no breaks. A few weeks ago I would have stopped probably a half dozen times. I'm feeling pretty good today. The weather was just about perfect, cool and windy, just the way I like it. 

After lunch, we did another 6 to end at our campsite. Along the way were some amazing views and I had to give Jersey some credit back. Yesterday was hard. Today was hard but so rewarding. I've had moments I've regretted attempting this journey. Today was not one of them. 

-XL

Day 26- Betrayal in NJ

The day started out so well-it was a little chilly this morning, about 50 degrees but I didn't mind. I like the lower temps, it's easier to hike in my opinion. We set off around 8 and made great time over some really nice trails. We made about 5 miles in about 2.5 hours, a good pace for us. 

Then it happened. New Jersey betrayed us. Rocks, big rocks like New Jersey was trying to show off to Pennsylvania. We basically had to scale a cliff face, which is problematic when you have a giant pack strapped to your back. But that wasn't the worst of it. 

About a half hour past the cliff face, the skies opened up and it started pouring. It was still only about 60 out so the rain was cold. Rocks, and rain slowed us down quite a bit. Our plan was to get to the next shelter and stop for lunch. It took us what seemed like forever, up and down over big piles of slippery wet rocks. Sweat seems to find its way directly into my eyeballs making what little sight I have useless. 

Eventually we made it to the shelter, but I'm not going to lie, I had serious doubts as to whether it even existed. We were greeted by one of the NOBOs we'd seen in MD, Slug. It was good to see him and he was really happy to see us. That lightened my spirits a bit and so did the chance to get out of some of my wet clothes to warm up. 

We spent about an hour there waiting for the rain to pass. Once it did, we headed out again to finish the 3.5 miles into Culver's Gap to resupply. We made it a few hours later. I had a chill I couldn't shake, despite the delicious hamburger and multiple Yuengling's I washed it down with.  We grabbed a room for the night and a long hot shower finally helped get rid of the chill. Tomorrow we resupply and head back to the trail. I'm glad to be inside tonight, as it's supposed to be down in the 40's tonight. 

-XL

Day 25- NJ continues to impress

Coin set out a little ahead of me this morning, so I had some time to myself on the trail. It's a different experience hiking solo. I popped my headphones in and got through some of the back catalog I have of podcasts I follow. I took my time and enjoyed the morning. NJ has had some great views so far. The trail's a bit rocky still but nothing like PA rocks which tended to be incredibly jagged. 

I did the 6ish miles to where we met back up, an AMC maintained lodge called the Mohican Center. We had some good food and recounted our mornings. During my morning hike I had run into Mambo whom we'd last seen a few weeks ago. It was good to catch up with her for a few. 

After lunch another 6 miles brought us to our campsite. We set up and are just relaxing, resting our feet after a long day. Tomorrow we've got another 12 to get into town to resupply, as I'm scraping the bottom of my food bag. 

Here are some of the views I saw today-

Day 24- Bye bye Rocksylvania

Coin and I had been wrestling with skipping the rest of Pennsylvania, mainly due to how terribly the rocks were already and how much worse they were going to get. My ankle was suffering pretty badly on them, and both our feet were torn up. After hearing horror stories from people that had been going since Georgia and how their feet faired, we decided to pull the trigger today. So we grabbed a shuttle and skipped about 90 miles of the rockiest terrain on the AT. 

I have about a hundred "bonus miles" that I hadnt really accounted for in my fundraising. I limited the number of miles on hikefor.com to 1100 and the trail from Harpers Ferry to Katahdin is about 1194, so that made the decision a bit easier. 

We got into Delaware Water Gap around 1pm from the shuttle, ate some lunch and an ice cream then back to the trail for a jaunty 1400' ascent to our current campsite. I wasn't sure what to expect in New Jersey (no offense NJers, I just don't immediately associate it with the outdoors) but the trail for the five miles we've been on it has been absolutely gorgeous. And our campsite is beautiful.

(Well beautiful except for all the hiker trash laying around).

The weather was nice for a change, low 80s with a great breeze. More of that tomorrow, which has done a lot to lift my spirits. I look forward to finishing out NJ and moving into New York. It's a few steps closer to home, which I miss. 

Thank you all for following along on this adventure. It hasn't been easy and I suspect that's not going to change any, but it keeps me going knowing that people are following along. Special thanks to those that are supporting me on Hikefor.com. Extra Life is a huge part of who I am now and I love you for helping me help the kids. #forthekids

-XL 

PS- my Mom asked for a picture update so she could see the hair situation. Here it is. 

Damn, that dude is hairy!

Day 23- Thunderstorms

As I posted yesterday, the rain was back and steady over night. I stayed in the shelter we were at while Coin pitched his tent. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of staying in the shelters but I'm less of a fan of dealing with a wet tent. 

I have trouble sleeping in the shelter surrounded by other people. I have to make sure I grab a spot near the wall and I pretty much listen to music all night long. I can't seem to relax and get any good sleep. It's a little better when the shelters have bunks like the one we're at today. Then I'm not paranoid about rolling into someone. 

Today was a short day as the weather is terrible. We came to what's called the 501 shelter in PA. It's a big bunkhouse that sleeps 12. There are bad thunderstorms over us right now. A bunch of thru hikers just came into the bunkhouse ahead of the worst of the storm. They're an interesting group -mostly young. You never know what they're going to be like. Some of them are super excited and excitable which is a little too much to take some times. This group seems so okay so far. We'll see how the rest of the night goes. 

Day 22- Welcome back rain

We got back on the trail this morning around 8:45 after doing a number on the hotel breakfast. It was another muggy day and I spent most of it with fogged glasses. Makes it tough to see the rocks but I'm developing some sort of trail sense so I've managed to avoid disaster. Most of today was good trails. But there was also this -

We did about 8 miles to the next shelter in line and got in around 3pm. Met an older section hiker named Butterscotch, who gave us some butterscotch candy (I know right?) andet back up with a couple flip-flioppers we had met a few days ago. We shared some stories of blisters and vitriol towards the rocks. 

About halfway through everyone cooking dinner, the skies opened up and it has been pouring for the last 20 minutes. I'm glad I was already done and I can sit back and soak in the misery from my compatriots. I'm a terrible person. 

Day 21- Escape from the rain

We woke up to rain and nearly 100% humidity. We packed up as quickly as we could, wet tents and all. My glasses fogged up immediately and we set out walking. Not being able to see very clearly made it slow going. We did a little over 4 miles and then grabbed a shuttle into Pine Grove, our resupply spot. Two of our fellow hikers, Bond and Snowball met up with us and split the shuttle with us. Bond is a fellow LASHer (long-ass section hiker) and Snowball is doing a 3 week section hike. Her travel visa (she's German) is up at the end of next week. 

We got dropped off at the Comfort Inn, a really nice hotel with an awesome hiker rate. A hot shower, a chance to do laundry, dry some stuff out, and being out of the rain was a good thing. We took a walk up to The Diner, had some good food and the hit the Dollar General to resupply. Now we're ready to hit the trail again in the morning (after we take advantage of the all you can eat breakfast). 

This is how hikers dry their tents. 

Ouch. 

Day 20- The eighteen

It's a little after 8pm and I'm laying in my tent-completely exhausted. I just ate some cold couscous mixed with tuna fish. It's all I could muster after getting to camp and setting up the tent and all that. 

Today was the hardest day yet, my feet are screaming at me and the rest of me is about the same state. But we did 18 miles today. 18. Fricking. Miles. Through rocky Pennsylvania which beats the hell out of your feet. Mine did great. Boots are broken in finally and no new blisters today. 

18 miles was the distance between the previous shelter and where we're at now. The next one in line is a little over 13, so tomorrow may be more of the same. It feels good to actually making some good mileage. I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight. 

    This is where we ate lunch and dipped    

     our feet. 

-XL

Day 19- Snake Handler

We did another 7 or so miles today- hitting the last shelter in line before an 18 mile gap. So tomorrow will be a long day. We're going to push as far as we can and see how we do. My feet felt pretty good today, no new blisters to report. 

It was a nice hike, we had some great views like these-

It didn't get too crazy with the rocks. I did find one of the best rocks ever for lunch. It was nice and flat and it was shady so it was cool which felt nice given the temperature. 

Here's the rock (and me enjoying it)

We also passed a section hiker we had lunch with yesterday. He went by the name of Deep Woods and he was a super nice guy. Yesterday he gave us an apple and an ear of corn that he'd grilled and brought along. Today when we saw him we talked to him for a while and he told us about a few encounters he's had in the area with rattlesnakes. He also apparently carries a "snake bag" and captures these snakes and brings them home to show his family. I spent the rest of the day with my eyes peeled for snakes. Nothing yet. Coin is disappointed. 

-XL

Day 18. The shelter with the inchworms

Back to the trail, took an easy day, did a little over 5 miles today. My feet were a little painful, but no new blisters, and the ones I had weren't too painful. 

The trail for the first few miles was all road through Duncannon, which was a bit different than we've experienced. Then we hit the woods and a steep ascent. Rocksylvania is living up to its name and we haven't even hit the worst of it yet. We're holding our pace slow and steady. 

We were off trail by about 1:30 and spent the afternoon relaxing. Did some "trail laundry" by filling one of my dry bags from the spring and adding some Dr Bronners and our sweaty clothes. Then I mashed them around and we hung them from a clothesline.

 A little afternoon siesta, then we played games at the picnic table in front of the shelter. Said picnic table was constantly being bombarded by inchworms dropping from the tree above and crawling on us. Mildly irritating but what can you do? The bugs haven't been bad so far, with the exception of horseflies buzzing around my head, which drives me a little bonkers. I'll get used to it or I'll go crazy. 

-XL

Day 17- The Doyle

When I woke up this morning, I could barely move my feet. Even the tiniest movement was painful. My forty year old body is taking its sweet time to adjust to what I'm doing. It feels like my blisters have blisters. 

Coin and I tend to talk more to the older hikers when we're around them. We are definitely in the minority in our age. Most hikers are either in the 18-25 or the 60+ category. As middle-aged men, we have more in common with the older ones. One of them that we met imparted this wisdom on us- "Take lots of zeros while you're getting going. Your body will adapt to the trail, but if you push too hard too fast, you'll end up washing out with an injury." Seems to be true so far, I can feel myself getting stronger and I've definitely lost more than a few pounds already. 

So in light of me being barely able to walk and us needing to resupply, we elected to spend another night at the Doyle. The Doyle has been a hiker haven for years and years and been around for over a century. The AT goes right past its front door in Duncannon. It offers a cheap room, and a shower to many a weary hiker. It's old and very shabby but the food at the bar is good, and the people that run it do so with love. Not the Taj Mahal by any stretch but hey- I didn't decide to walk 1160 miles for comfort. 

We hit the grocery store, restocked our food supply and sat on the balcony and played some "Lost Cities" a card game Coin introduced me to which is quite good. Tomorrow morning, we'll head back to the trail, weighed down with too much food and hopefully my feet will cooperate. 

-XL

Day 16. Wow. Just wow.

I know what you're saying. You did 14 miles yesterday in the heat, with new shoes and a whole passel of blisters. XL take it easy today. I heard you in the back of my mind all day. But alas, it was not to be, despite my intentions. 

Had a good night's sleep, not getting eaten by a bear, and we broke camp fairly early. We were on the trail by 8am, and our plan was to hit the next shelter in line, which was about 8 miles away. About half the distance we did yesterday. My legs were still cooked and the trail was fairly rocky (PA is known for that) but we still made good time. 

We ran into this guy on the way-

And some of the trail was like this-

We arrived at the shelter just after 1pm. We ate and I camped out on one of the bunks (yes, some of them have bunks!) and promptly fell asleep for a few hours. 

During my nap, a woman arrived at the shelter and started talking to Coin. She was obviously mentally ill, and kind of babbling about people chasing her all over the trail. She showed him a fairly large buck knife and said she would protect herself from anyone trying to get her. She wandered off a short while later and we figured we were safe. 

A few hours later, she showed up again and let us know she was staying at the shelter tonight. We quickly decided we'd do another 4 miles into Duncannon rather than putting ourselves in any kind of situation. 

We strapped our stuff on and went on to town, which was a hellish experience. We had to descend about 1200 feet of steep rock steps, which is exhausting. But we made it to the famous (or infamous) Doyle Hotel. I'll tell you more about the Doyle tomorrow.  Suffice to say, we're relieved to be someplace safe for the night. 

-XL

Day 15- So flippin hot

Today was definitely the hardest day yet due to a number of factors. Factor one- it was hot as blazes out. Like 90 degrees all day, and humid. Factor two- we did our longest miles. A little bit over 14. Most of it was flat, but we ended with a 1200 ft ascent to the shelter. Factor three- brand new shoes. I have some blisters. Large, painful ones. 

So yeah it was a rough one but we made it. I'm getting ready to climb into my tent cause I'm exhausted and sweaty. I managed to spill tuna juice on my pants and hands, so I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be eaten by a bear tonight. I'm too tired to care. 

-XL

One of the views on our ascent. 

Ran across two of these guys today. 

Day 14 - Zero part deux

Second day of our "get Coin back on his feet" project. He's still coughing like crazy but claims he feels better. I hope so because we have a 14 mile hike to the closest shelter from where we're at currently. We go through a town about 8 miles in, so we can ripcord if we need to. 

We caught a ride back to the trail (well a place close to the trail) today with another friend of Coin's. We're staying at a place called the Allenberry Resort, which is actually a fairly swanky place (like rooms are upwards of $150 a night) but they have a "Hiker rate" which is only $40 for a double room! Pretty awesome, right? So we'll be here for one more night of rest and then back into the heat tomorrow. I'm kind of looking forward to getting back on the trail. It's less comfortable obviously but I want to rack up more miles. More miles mean more money for Extra Life! Great motivator!

-XL

Day 13- Zero

Today was a true zero day. For those of you who don't know the lingo, a zero is a day off trail, usually to rest or resupply. We got to Jeff's friend's place last night around 10pm, a late night for us hikers. We're used to being bed at around 8pm. We each grabbed a hot shower and then crashed. 

We slept in and pretty much laid around most of the day. We did take a few mile walk down to the Happy Valley Brewing Company. Drank some amazing beer, ate some pulled pork nachos and freshly pickled veggies. 

Not much else on the agenda for today. We may take a ride to Appalachian Outdoors in a bit. Jeff needs a few things and I need to look at some replacement shoes. My shoes are comfy as heck, but they have absolutely no tread on them, which is wreaking havoc in the mud. It's basically like having a set of skiis strapped to my feet. Rather than risk another injury, I think I'm going to swap out the shoes while I have a chance. 

We'll get to watch the Penguins in game 7 of the playoffs tonight, so that's a plus!

-XL

Day 12. On again. And off again.

Spent the night at the Pine Grove Furnace campground and we were a bit lazy this morning- I actually slept in til about 7:30am. It was finally a good night of sleep, which has been rare thus far. 

But all was not well with Team Coin Flip-XL. Coin woke with a mega sore throat and was pretty miserable. We decided to try for the next shelter, about 7.5 miles further down the trail. Today was hot, it was already over 80 (that's only going to get worse) but it wasn't too bad in the shade. 

It was a rough one on Coin. He was basically a walking zombie, but we made it here. Coin needs some time off trail to recover, so he decided to call in a tactical extraction from some friends in State College, PA. They'll be here to pick us up at around 8pm tonight. 

This will also give our muscles a little time to recover. The first few weeks are the hardest on your body, and believe me I can attest to that. I hurt in places I didn't even know I had. So on to another zero!

Saw this guy on our way through Pine Grove Furnace Park. No rattlesnakes yet. 

Day 10-11 C-c-combo!

I didn't have service last night so I couldn't get a post up. I still don't have service currently, but I'm writing it while everything is fresh in my head. 

Yesterday was a great day, another 10 miler that put us at a shelter with built-in bunks! No more rolling into someone in the middle of the night. I tell you, sleeping in shelters is kind of a crazy experience. There is usually a cacophony of different snores from all directions. Our last trip to town we invested in ear plugs. Well worth it. 

We got to the shelter early afternoon, the next one in line was another 6 miles and we didn't want to press it. We claimed our bunks and relaxed as more hikers arrived. There was a thunderstorm looming so a lot of them were torn whether to continue or just take a short day. The thunderstorm hit hard and it poured. I was glad to be nice and dry for a change. 

We ended up with nearly a full house, but three of the thru hikers really stood out to Coin and I. Topknot, Woods and Mambo were really great people to hang out with. I taught them a few games and we played until dark. They all seemed really to enjoy them. It was nice to share a little of my passion with different people. 

We got up with the sun this morning- around 5:30 and were on the trail by 6:45. Another fast 10 miles and we hit our destination of Pine Grove Furnace State Park. It's kind of the unofficial halfway point for thru-hikers. There's an AT museum here, which we got to check out. It's also home to the infamous "Half-Gallon Challenge". Hikers are challenged to eat a half gallon of ice cream from the general store. We met up with Topknot, Woods and Mambo and the five of us took the challenge. 

Left to right- Coin Flip, Topknot, Mambo & Woods. 

After a great degree of effort, and a lot of discomfort afterwards, all but Mambo finished the challenge. I'm still suffering the after effects. But hey I got this sweet prize-

The others all pressed on further down the trail. Coin and I set up camp here for the night, right next to an actual working bathroom WITH showers. I know you're totally jealous. We're going to do our laundry hiker trash style (in a utility sink) and head back to the general store for some actual food. 

Hiking ten miles a day does a lot for the waist line. I've already lost at least 2 inches off my waist. That will only increase as we go farther on a daily basis. 

-XL

Day 9 or the other day it rained all day.

Another day of rain. It looks like it will clear off possibly tomorrow and the rest of the week looks to be good, but hot. That will be something to start getting used to. I'm already sweating and stinky pretty much all the time, add a little heat to the mix- well, let's just say I wouldn't want to stand in my vicinity. 

Coin and I pulled a little over 10 miles today, and we made good time doing it. I definitely feel myself getting stronger. The first hour or so of the morning is tough, usually. The muscles all ache and are tired, but eventually I get into a rhythm and can just plod along at a pretty good clip. 

We finished our day at a hostel in Fayetteville, called the Trail of Hope, which is run by a local church. The people here are all really nice, and it's a great deal. Bunks, hot showers, dinner and breakfast, all for $22. Getting a hot shower and out of my wet clothes was worth it right there. It's a struggle to not fall asleep immediately!

I hope you are all enjoying following me on this adventure. And a huge thank you to all the people that have pledged to my Hikefor page. Currently I'm making $1.85 per mile for Extra Life! Maybe someone can get me to $2.00 a mile?

-XL

Hiker trash beard is coming in well. 

Day 8. Or the day it rained all day.

We left the comfort of the Days Inn in Waynesboro at around 9am and we're back on the trail by 9:30am. We quickly crossed the Mason-Dixon Line and we're officially back in the North! It has been a rainy Saturday and the forecast promises more of the same tomorrow. But we made excellent time today, doing almost 9 miles before we stopped at the Tumbling Run shelter. Both shelters were pretty much full so we set up the tents underneath a pavilion so we wouldn't have to deal with wet tents in the morning. 

Taking the zero day yesterday made a huge difference on the ankle, it felt worlds better today. I was able to set a pretty good pace. Coin Flip is convinced that he's not going to be able to keep up with me soon, but I have my doubts. 

Tomorrow we have our sights set on Fayetteville, PA and a hostel there. It will be our first hostel stay. It's about 10 miles further along the trail so we'll see how the day goes. 

-XL

Long miles

Day 6 on the trail and we had a long day- we did our longest hike yet, clocking in at over 10 miles. My ankle is still a little sore and a lot of the terrain is incredibly rocky, so it was a tough one. But we made it. The reward at the end of the day was a night off trail at hotel in Wayneboro, PA. That's right, we finished with Maryland and have entered Pennsylvania!

So I'm laying on a nice comfy bed, freshly showered (possibly one of the best I've ever had). Jeff went next door to do a load of laundry and I'm here resting my ankle. 

Tomorrow morning we'll gorge ourselves on complimentary breakfast, hit up Walmart to resupply and the tackle 5 miles to the next shelter. It'll be nice to sleep in a comfy bed tonight. I've got to write a post for Appalachian Trials that will review the last 6 days and also reveal my trail name! See now you have to read it (after I put it up, there will be a link on my FB page). 

On the fifth day

Day 5, 33 miles in. Another kind of rainy day. Did a really rough section of trail with a ton of rocks, thank goodness for hiking poles. It was tough on my ankle, but we made it through. Had a really steep descent after which also caused some aches and pains. 

We made the Ensign Conwall shelter and one of the other Thru's was ordering pizza to be delivered to where the trail crossed the road, we jumped in on that! After eating basically tuna fish, tortillas and instant rice sides for the last 5 days it was a welcome treat. After we finished, another thru showed up from a town trip with cupcakes which he shared out. The sense of community between long distance hikers is amazing strong. Everyone shares food and whatever kind of help they can without hesitation. 

Tomorrow we cross into PA, and have a room waiting for us in Waynesboro. It'll be nice to have a hot shower, a chance to do some laundry and a comfy bed to sleep in. I've already lost an inch off my waist size. 

Also the new pack is amazing. No shoulder pain at all today, thanks again to my Aunt Sandi! 

And please don't forget part of why I'm doing this- the kids at The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. If you like following along, and you can afford to donate a few cents a mile it adds up. There's a link to support me on hikefor.com at the top of the page. 

Curse the pack

KoIt was about day 2 when I realized my pack straps were really causing me some issues. I have huge knots in both shoulders, where the straps rode. By today the pain was unbearable. Luckily I have family nearby that was willing to grab me a new pack from REI and drop it off to me. Thanks Aunt Sandi! You're a lifesaver!

Ankle is doing well, still a bit of soreness but manageable. We've done almost 6 miles today and we may try to get a few more done after the pack changeout. 

One of the cool things we saw today was the Washington Monument (not that one, the other one). It was a dicey set of steep stone steps to get to the top but well worth it for the view!

Air mattresses and ankles.

Day 2 started out pretty well. Felt good despite a mostly sleepless night in the shelter. We ate some breakfast, and got on the trail around 9. We had a short day to our next stop, still trying to get our (well, mostly my) legs used to it. We crossed through a park dedicated to civil war correspondents and eventually came to the side trail leading to the shelter. It wasn't all that well marked and we kind of wandered off trail a bit. I stepped on a rock underneath a pile of leaves and twisted my ankle pretty bad. 

Luckily we were only a short ways from the shelter. I was able to get it propped up and wrapped. It's pretty sore so we'll see how it goes today. 

I set up my air mattress and sleeping bag in the shelter and took an hour nap or so. When I woke my mattress was flat. Great. Jeff gave me a hand and using science (we poured water on it to find the hissing), we found the hole and I was able to patch it. 

We had a dinner around 6 and retired to our tents (the shelter was overcrowded, so we both opted to tent). It was a really cold night, in the 30s. I got a better nights sleep. Hoping the ankle will hold up once we start moving. 

First day.

The first day was hard- harder than I expected. The initial hike through Harper's Ferry was gorgeous. The town has a ton of history and the AT runs right through the middle of it. Then it was a few miles of nice flat trail next to the Potomac. Jeff and his ride met me at the end of the easy part and we hiked in to the Ed Garvey shelter, about 4 miles. About 20 minutes in to that seftion, it started to rain. Pretty hard. The rest of the hike was slow and muddy. Eventually we got to the shelter and settled in for the evening. There were a ton of people coming in, but Jeff and I managed to get there early enough to grab 2 spots. 

We had the fun experience trying to hang our bear bags. Seems simple enough right? Throw a rock with a rope and then haul it up and tie it off. Nope. It's a pain in the ass. We'll get better at it. 

Then last night was largely sleepless. As exhausted as I was it was nearly impossible to sleep. Lots of tossing and turning. Today we're going to keep it short as we break ourselves in. I'm sore as hell but it feels good. 

Last days

It's finally here. The day of reckoning. My feet hit the trail in less than 24 hours. The gear is packed. The food is stowed. I've spent my last night in my own bed (well on my couch). No more binge-watching TV. No more running to the fridge for a snack. No more PS4. No more comic books, no more cruising in the warm weather, windows down. It all changes.

I'm on my way to Harper's Ferry, where my journey begins. I'm meeting Jeff there, and we set out north. I'm excited to start my journey, and surprised that it's already here. I think that I'm going to point my life in a new direction with this experience. I'm so happy that I'm using it to not only find myself but to raise money for Extra Life. Extra Life has been such a rewarding experience for me, letting me give something back. I feel like it has filled a void in my life that was bigger than I ever realized.

When I set out, true to my geek nature, I'll be carrying a replica of the One Ring from Lord of the Rings. Frodo's journey to Mt. Doom carrying the ring has always been one of my favorite stories, and I can't imagine a better way to honor the feelings that I got from the series, than to recreate it (well, without all the Ring Wraiths and orcs and such). So I'm attaching the Ring to my backpack. Maybe I'll stash it at the end, and hope some other hiker finds it and takes it on another epic journey.

My next post will be from the trail -

Remember, it's about the journey.

Mail drops

Here I am, four days away from the start of my journey. It's been a crazy year of ups and downs and it's finally almost here. I had a nice surprise yesterday, a kind of impromptu surprise going away party from a whole bunch of my friends. It was a lot of fun but also made me a little sad. There's a lot of people that I'm going to miss over the next three or four months.

I head out this Friday, driving down to Harper's Ferry. Spending the night there, to hit the trail on Saturday morning. We'll probably start out slow, get our feel for things. It's about 6-7 miles to the first shelter, the Ed Garvey Shelter. Also starting on that day, you'll be able to follow along with where I'm at. My GPS unit will update my location every few hours. There will be a link posted on my Facebook page and also here. You can send me messages, and I'll do my best to reply in a timely manner.

One of the most common question/requests I've gotten is how people can send me stuff, and what kind of stuff should they send? As for what to send- it's tough to know right now, but here's what most likely will be on the list-

baked goodies like cookies, brownies, etc.
candy (snickers, peanut M&M's, Almond Joys are all good)
freeze-dried meals
beef jerky, dried fruit, dehydrated veggies
personal letters or notes (give me a little taste of what's going on at home)

I'll be posting a week or so ahead of time where to send things to based on where I think I'll be. When you do send something here's the way to do it -

If it's a Post Office-
Send via Priority Mail (they will forward for free if I happen to miss the package) to the following-

Jamison McLean
C/O General Delivery
Trail Town, VA 12345
Please hold for AT hiker
ETA May 16, 2015

If it's to a Hostel -
Priority Mail still

Jamison McLean
C/O Hiker Hostel
1234 Appalachian Way
Trail Town, VA 12345
Please hold for AT hiker
ETA May 16, 2015

I'll be spending the last few days here getting stuff ready to go. Cutting off my hair, and shaving the beard. The plan is to take a selfie every day and then do a time lapse when I get back. I'll definitely put up a final before I go post, most likely on Thursday or Friday. 

Remember- It's about the journey.

Tick Tock

Down to ten days now. The gear in 99%, and my life is mostly situated. I've gotten over most of the hurdles. Now it's just a waiting game. And as Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part.

Let me talk a little bit about the last few weeks, more specifically the Chits & Bits Game Marathon, which was last weekend. It was a long weekend but I'm mostly recovered. The event was amazing- we had more than 150 people in and out during the day and upwards of 25 (I think closer to 30) that spent the whole 24 hours with us playing games. We gave away over a hundred raffle prizes and while we're still waiting for the final dollar total, we know it was over $20,000. Twenty. Thousand. Dollars. I still can't wrap my head around it. Last year we raised just over $6,100 for the entire year. That means this year we more than tripled our total. All of which goes to help the sick children that need the services of The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital.

It's humbling to be part of something that has grown from an idea that I had into something so big. A big part of my motivation to hike is to share how important Extra Life has become to my life. I can't imagine a better cause to ally myself with. The love that I have for my fellow Extra Lifers, the bond that we share due to common cause is strong- stronger than any I have ever experienced. I was asked to share what makes me successful as a fundraiser for Extra Life by my hospital reps. The reason is because of the team that I work with. Every member of the team makes the whole team stronger. A worthy cause is bigger than one person. I can't imagine a better cause.

More before I leave, I promise.

Remember - it's about the journey.

Getting ready.

I've been hiking/walking nearly every day of the last week. It's felt really good to have that kind of time. Now that I'm not working, my stress level has dropped significantly. Not that it's completely gone, because I've got the Chits & Bits Game Marathon coming up a week from Saturday and there's lots of little things to get done. 

But strapping the pack on and walking for a few hours has done me a world of good. It's still a little strange that in about 3 weeks, that's all I'll be doing every day. Today I packed up everything, went to a friend's house that lives out in the woods and did a fairly short hike, with the full pack weight including food and water. 

      Not the most flattering pic but hey. 

After the hike, I set up camp, pitching the tent, inflating the mattress pad, throwing the sleeping bag in there. I fired up my Jetboil and had a mediocre freeze dried meal for dinner. I hope that I'll be eating something at least a little tastier on the trail, but I guess I'll find out. 

   Home- it's where my pack and tent is. 

I'll find out in the morning how it treats me. I imagine after 10-12 hours of hiking, I'll sleep wherever. I look forward to the trip. 

Remember-it's about the journey. 

Just an update

35 days until I'm hitting the trail. I've been on the go pretty much constantly-getting things ready, taking care of all the things I need to take care of. It's prime time for my Extra Life work, only 3 weeks until the big event. There have been a number of things happening in the mean time.

Last night, Rob and I had the pleasure of interviewing our hospital reps from The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital, on our Twitch stream. Meaghan and Kate talked about what Extra Life means to BBCH, and how it impacts local families. They are definitely two of the biggest proponents that we have and a big part of what drives us to do more. If you missed the live stream you can watch the replay here.

Today, Rob and I are on our way to Bangor Toy and Comic Convention, where we'll have an Extra Life table set up. We'll be talking about Extra Life, selling raffle tickets and giving game demos. Neither of us have been there before, it's a new convention, and a little outside our area, but we're looking forward to spreading the Extra Life gospel!

Thursday night from 5-8pm we're at Five Guys in South Portland once again selling raffle tickets and talking Extra Life. Five Guys is donating 10% of their sales while we're there to Extra Life- so come have a burger with us!

All right, on to the gear talk. I pretty much rounded out the last parts of my gear- at least preliminarily. Most thru-hikers do what are called shakedown hikes before they head out. A shakedown means you pretty much strap all your gear on and go for a hike. It lets you gets accustomed to your gear weight and how everything feels. I'll be doing that over the next month and will probably end up changing gear as necessary. I posted my gear list on Appalachian Trials here - http://appalachiantrials.com/gear-lists/jamison-mclean/

Please take a look and tell me what you think! More on my upcoming adventure soon I promise. I may have some really exciting news to share soon- but I don't want to jinx it. 

Remember-it's about the journey. 

Extra Life!

First of all, Happy Easter to you. Even if the holiday isn't religiously significant to you, I hope that it was at least an opportunity for you to get together with family or friends and enjoy a good meal. I had a good day - a great meal with some of my favorite people. Inevitably, when I am around people that I haven't seen in a while, the subject of my hike comes up.

When it does, I answer the questions dutifully, and I try to turn the subject to a major part of my journey, and that is to raise money for Extra Life. Extra Life is a major driving force in my life now. Helping my local Children's Miracle Network hospital, The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland is as rewarding an experience as I have ever known. Extra Life United did so much to inspire me that I already can't wait for the next one. I met a group of people that all shared the same passion that I do, and I'm proud to call them all my friends.

Here's how this relates to my hike - I need donations - I'm taking pledges for every mile I walk of the Appalachian Trail. I'm taking these through a website called HikeFor and the link to my site is here. All the money will be collected when I finish up, which should be some time in the fall. Extra Life is an amazing charity that does a lot for sick children and their families. I'll be carrying an Extra Life flag with me on the trail, and posting pics and videos of me holding it along the way. I want to share my experiences with everyone, so I hope you can follow me on my journey. Most of all, I hope you can spare a few dollars to make a difference in the life of a child and their family that is dealing with one of the worst times of their lives.

Remember - it's about the journey! And this journey is For The Kids!

Sleep? What?

I am now just over seven weeks until I hit the trail. Work has been overwhelming lately - it feels like everything is conspiring against me maintaining my sanity until I'm done. Yesterday I put in a 19 hour day door to door, and I'm exhausted and drained. But here I am. I keep telling myself that it's almost over but each day is a slog through until the time I lay down to sleep - which has been particularly elusive lately.

I feel like I'm on the cusp of the biggest change of my life so far and it haunts me. I'm anxious all the time - as much as people tell me "Relax, it will be here before you know it" -  it's not in my nature. I put forth the face of calmness, I do my best not to display anything but calm, but below the surface, I'm kind of a mess! I'm not a very positive person, my mind always turns to the worst possible outcome. I try to take positives from others but I don't seem to be able to alter my view of the world to go to them first.

I'm an emotional person- tempering my responses takes a lot of effort on my part, which I struggle to keep up with. Rationality is after the fact for me. I ride the emotions until they're done and then reflect afterwards.

This is an odd post, and for that I apologize. It's giving you a glimpse inside my head, which can be a scary thing! Blame it on lack of sleep.

Gear talk.

My last post was talking about all the things that I still needed to get taken care of before I leave. One of the most important, and believe me there are tons of posts, articles and videos on the subject - is my gear. This is stuff that I'll be carrying with me every day for 4-6 months. Shoddy gear, heavy gear - they can be the kiss of death to a long distance hiker. I've done a ton of research and bought the best that I can afford. There are still a few things that I need to get though.

Rain gear is a tricky question. There are many schools of thought. Rain jacket vs. poncho. Expensive vs. cheap. Pack cover vs. trash bag. The bottom line for me is that I'm going to get wet no matter what. My main concern will be protecting the things that I can't get wet and minimizing how miserable I will be. I'm leaning towards the poncho route, as it will double as a cover for my pack. I'll be lining my pack with a heavy duty plastic bag. The outside is going to get wet no matter what I do, so having the internals protected seems a lot easier.

Another piece to my gear puzzle is clothing. I've got a number of tops already, and should be set on that front. What I'm still debating is my leg wear. Ticks and Lyme disease are a major concern on the trail, so keeping your legs covered is definitely preferable. It's an added layer of protection- but there's a catch. I'm going to be hiking during the height of the summer, meaning hot days. Pants could be a killer, leading to overheating, chafing, etc. I still haven't decided on this one, but I'm leaning towards pants, maybe with zip off legs. Oh yeah, did I mention that I'll most likely be wearing them every single day? The more changes of clothes you have, the heavier your load. I'll have a pair of shorts to wear around camp, but that's about it.

Cold weather gear. Another quandary that I haven't figured out. I'm hiking during the warmest part of the year, but that doesn't alleviate the possibility of cold weather, especially in the mountains. The White Mountains in NH in particular are known for this. I have a sweatshirt, but I'll most likely need some sort of jacket and possibly long underwear. More weight and cost.

These are what I spend my time thinking about. Well, when I'm thinking straight of course.

Remember- It's about the journey!

10 days?!?

Wow. When I checked Facebook today, there was an accusing message telling me that I hadn't posted anything to my page in 10 days. I've had a ton going on that needed resolution, and just hadn't made the time to write anything. So here it is.

The clock is ticking and ticking and ticking. I can't believe that in 2 months, I'll be setting off on my journey. I've been so tied up in other things, that I have let my preparations kind of slide for while. I need to get back on the ball, otherwise I'm not going to be ready come May 13th when I'll be heading down to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, to meet Jeff and head north.

I've still got gear to buy, and plans to make. A number of people have asked me about mail drops, which I will need to coordinate. Other people are want to meet us on the trail, and I need to coordinate that as well. Prepping your life to walk away from it for 3-6 months is no easy task. I keep thinking of things that will need to be dealt with while I'm away. Lots of stress there!

But all the stress will be worth it. There will be no experience in my life so far that will match it, I'm sure. Stay tuned as things progress, I'll try to be more diligent about my posts.

Remember-it's about the journey.

What a whirlwind

Life has been a blur since my return from Extra Life United. I've already shared my experiences and how incredible it was. Since Rob and I have been back, there's been a ton going on for us. You should realize how big a part of my life is gaming. I listen to a lot of gaming podcasts, and I love to talk about gaming. Rob feels much the same as I do, and we've been kicking the idea around of starting our own podcast or streaming channel.

With the friends we made at ELU, especially the amazing Stephanie Straw, we have the chance to do that. We were on a Twitch show called Nerd Nighters last night, talking about Extra Life and gaming in general, and it was awesome. It made us both want more. Tonight, I've been invited on another podcast about role-playing games called NPC Cast. Tomorrow morning, we're recording interviews for two local radio stations here in Portland. The week has been a blur of opportunities that I can't even believe.

So we're going to take the ball and run with it. We're crafting a plan to start broadcasting soon. I'm not sure how this will impact my trip, but I feel like it's an opportunity that I can't pass up.

Our event is rapidly approaching, and that is going incredibly well. We have such a huge prize pool this year for the raffle and we're going to have some special guests this year.

There are other things going- things in my personal life that are changing, in a very positive way. But more on that some other day. Suffice to say, I'm happier than I have been in a long time.

Remember - It's about the journey.

ELU Wrap-up

Sitting here in the sun at Disney's Coronado Springs resort, I can't help but feeling a little sad. One of the other people I met here said it was like leaving summer camp. 

Extra Life United was amazing success. I ended up making the finals and ultimately winning the Settlers of Catan event. This also let me win the Tabletop track completely. My winnings were $4,375 before I went to the finals. 

The finals were tough, it was a surprise game- I faced a PC gamer in something called Duck Game. It was fun but not really in my wheelhouse. Ultimately I lost but even so I won another $1,000 for The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. 

Even more important to me was getting to meet with some truly amazing people. Jeromy "Doc" Adams, the founder of Extra Life and the Enmon's whose daughter inspired Extra Life to BE created. Sean and Trish Rooney, who lost their wonderful little boy Dominic just 6 months ago and were here leading the charge for Extra Life. Sean and Trish astounded me with the amount of love and warmth. The Tabletop group as whole were all wonderful people and I clicked with them immediately.  And most of all-the children-the Children's Miracle Network Champions. The reason behind it all, I spent much of my time here overwhelmed with the emotions and joy of seeing these amazing little people that have been through more pain and suffering that most of us will ever know. 

I return to Maine with my heart filled with warmth. I return with so many new friends. I return with ideas and opportunities and possibilities. Extra Life United was one of the best experiences of my entire life. I'll be back next year. 

#ExtraLifeUnited #DominicStrong #ExtraLife4Kids #CMN

Extra Life United

Just a quick post about my time here at Extra Life United...

I am blown away. I knew this event would be an incredible experience. Being around my fellow Extra Lifers is energizing and incredible but I can't begin to tell how much more powerful it has been than my already high expectations. I have met so many great people here- fellow gamers, CMN champions and their families and the staff that makes Extra Life possible. Every single person here has made Extra Life and the Children's Miracle Network a big part of their lives. Every moment I spend with them, makes all the hard work worth it. 

The tournament has been kind to me so far. I managed to make the finals in all three tournaments yesterday. I placed 4th in Blokus, 3rd in Love Letter and a 1st place win at Liar's Dice. That's over $2,500 of prize money for The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital and I'm pretty sure that I locked a place in the finals. 

Being up on the stage for all 3 finals was surreal. Twitch streamed the whole day, so if you go to twitch.tv/extralife4kids you can watch. I was literally shaking before each game, I was so nervous. That's a lot of pressure, I really wanted to win some money for BBCH. I can't imagine how I'll feel before the finals!

Off to prep for the day. Excited and terrified, but overwhelmingly happy. 

Remember...it's about the journey. 

Finally Friday

Friday. It has been a long short week (we had Monday off for President's Day. I know, weird, right?). I woke up yesterday, convinced that it was Friday. I spent the first half hour of my day thinking that. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Thursday. Shit. Don't you hate that?

Things have been good lately though - Ever day is a bit closer to my departure and that is exciting. Things are rolling along for the Chits and Bits Game Marathon at the end of April. If you're not familiar, that's the 24 hour board game marathon that I started 2 years ago. We get together on International Tabletop Day and play games for 24 hours. Participants raise money for The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital through Extra Life. There's a raffle and door prizes and tournaments and all kinds of good stuff! The raffle this year is going to be huge, so there's been a ton of work being done (mostly by fellow Bearded Boardsmen Rob, thanks buddy!) to gather donations, and we've had some huge successes. Check out the Marathon on Facebook if you want more info.

Rob and I fly down to Disney World on Tuesday to compete in the Extra Life United national event. Gamers from all over the country are going to be at Disney playing in a game tournament to win prize money for their local Children's Miracle Network Hospital. I couldn't more excited to go down there and meet some of the families that Extra Life helps. It's a huge honor for Rob and I to represent BBCH. Plus leaving dreary 35 degree weather for 4 days in sunny Florida is nothing to complain about. Getting involved with Extra Life and support BBCH is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. I can't wait to take my journey and spread the word for Extra Life.

Remember...it's about the journey!

Whoops

Whoops, it's been a while. I'm slacking off, but I have excuses. No good ones, just the same old recycled crap. I was sick on the couch since Friday, I came to work today despite STILL feeling crummy. I had to have blood drawn for a physical, and I had fasted for 12 hours, so I figured I might as well come in and be miserable afterwards.

Here's the latest- For all of you that voted for me for the Badger Sponsorship, thank you so very much. I didn't make top 7, but I still got a bunch of great stuff out of it. It ended up being about $300 worth of stuff, which is great, considering I hadn't even thought I'd make top 12. So thank you again for your support.

I got a bunch of stuff in the mail today, a couple of merino wool t-shirts (which I'll end up wearing nearly every day for 6 months), a merino sweatshirt (yes, Mom, I know-a SWEATSHIRT), 2 water bottles that roll up to take less room, and 3 rechargeable tiny flashlights. Massdrop is a wonderful site, if you've never used it. I saved about $100 on all that stuff.

Snowing like crazy here. I hope that all the hikers that are on the trail already are safe and warm. I can't imagine attempting a through-hike in weather like this, but they're out there already.

Remember- it's about the journey.

The Badger Sponsorship

In case any of you don't do the Facebook thing, I had some big news on Sunday. I was selected as one of the finalist for the Badger Sponsorship, which is a contest created by Zach Davis, the author of Appalachian Trials. The sponsorship has a ton of great prizes which would really help me succeed on my hike. There were 76 video entries, and my video was selected in the top 12 by a panel of experts. Pretty awesome, right?

So the next phase is the voting - And that's where I need your help. 50% of the final standings are dependent on the popular vote on Appalachian Trials, and the other half is voting by an expert panel. If you have the time, go to Appalachian Trials and watch my video. Then click on my name to vote for me, and make sure you confirm the email to make it count.

This is an excellent opportunity for me to get my name out there, and to promote Extra Life! Tell your friends and neighbors, I would certainly appreciate it.

Remember- it's about the journey.

How much I won't miss this.

I'm writing this sitting in the passenger seat of a rental car, returning home from a 3-day work trip. We're idle in traffic outside Boston trying to get home. Looking at the other occupants of the cars surrounding us, it makes me reflect on how different my life will soon be. 

Most of them are alone, sitting in their cars, talking on or playing with their phones. This is a daily occurrence for them, just part of their lives. 

I will wake nearly every morning in a new place. Packing up my meager possessions, I'll put them on my back and walk to the next stop of my journey. There will be no traffic jams, or car pool lanes, or drive-thrus. I'll see the world around me at the pace that I set. My experiences will be the views of the natural wonders that most of us never get a chance to take in. 

I look forward to it. 

It's about the journey. 

What to write?

I was told by a friend of mine that I need a catch phrase to end my posts. Something like "See you on the trail" or "Keep on gaming". I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with something that captures the essence of my blog. I'll see what I come up with at the end of this post. If you hate it, speak up. If you don't, speak up.

I spent Sunday working on the video entry for the Badger Sponsorship, that I talked about my last post. Josh has a rough cut already and he's doing some editing to polish it up some, but already I'm impressed. He really did a great job helping me get to the root of what should be in the video. I had so many scattered ideas, that it probably would have been a hot mess if it had been left up to me. I'm grateful that I have friends that can help me with things like this. I'll post the final project when it goes up.

Spending most of the day talking about my trip really re-invigorated me. I hadn't really talked about the specifics with anyone in a while, so it brought all those details back to the surface. I'm so excited to go, I really look forward to the adventure of it all. I know its not going to be as simple as going for a walk, but part of what excites me is the challenge of it. I can't even imagine the sense of accomplishment I will have upon finishing.

Remember- it's about the journey.

P.S. If you haven't listened to the Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast, drop what you're doing and do it now. It's brilliant.