Hey, You Should Read This.

I have always loved the outdoors but for the last several years, I have been enthralled with the idea of completing a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. For those of you that don’t know, the Appalachian Trail or AT is a 2189 mile hiking trail that runs from Georgia to Maine. Well, I am finally doing it. This coming March 29^th, I will be leaving for Georgia to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, 5 months that begin as a simple walk in the woods. From there it will grow. It will grow into a life-changing journey that will challenge every fiber of my mental, physical, and emotional strength. It will show me just what I am capable of if I truly set my mind to it. I will broaden my experiences and knowledge by hiking and living with and ever-changing group of people as diverse as the mega pack of Crayons we all wanted in kindergarten. These people will become some of my best friends, some like family even. It is the biggest, most terrifying thing I have ever set out to do, and I absolutely cannot wait.

A lot of you have already asked questions about this trip and I am going to answer a few of the most frequent ones. So here we go! No, I am not carrying a gun, I will have a knife, and it is all I will need. Apart from varying carry laws between the states, it is just too much weight to haul up and down a mountain all day. I am not worried about bears because the east coast only has black bears, which are timid and will often run at the sight of people as long as they aren’t being cornered or threatened. For food I will be resupplying at grocery stores every 4-6 days when I pass through or hitch-hike to towns. My pack weight will range from about 20-30 pounds depending on how much food and water I have. I will have access to internet through my phone although spotty. I will be posting to this blog as often as I can and would love if you all would follow my journey! Let’s see, what else…Oh! Right. No, I will not be shaving or cutting my hair. Yes I will look like a mountain man. And finally…yes, I am going alone. Well, sort of. I will often be hiking with people and meeting people but as of right now, I don’t know those people. Plus, this way I get to enjoy one of the best parts of this journey to the fullest; the freedom.

Well that about wraps up my first post, at this point I am about 16 days from setting foot on Springer Mountain in Georgia. I will hopefully post again before then, maybe something about the gear I am taking or what I’ve done to prepare for this trip. Feel free to message me any more questions or share this blog, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks!

Oh, and one last thing, here is the link to a GoFundMe page I made a while ago. I have been working 3 jobs and over 70 hours a week to pay for this trip but I am still coming up just a little short of my target budget. I am not asking for money, but if you want to, know that it would be appreciated!

http://www.gofundme.com/lnjoeg

And one last thing, if you would like to read up on this trip, check out the website: http://appalachiantrials.com/

It has a wealth of information and has been a huge help to me in planning in preparing.

Well I think that finally is it!

So uh, go back to Facebook or something.

Deuces, like the mooses.