Date: 2010-01-21
To: Ok, Ok, Alright Already!
Miles today: 0.0

Ok, so I've been a tad remiss about updating my journal. I'll provide a full explanation, and a ton of mamby pamby excuses in a future entry, but for now I need to get some people off my back. See, I THOUGHT I was writing this journal mostly for my own amusement, and primarily as a way of keeping myself occupied so that I wouldn't go absolutely crazy waiting until March 13 when I can leave for Springer Mountain to start my hike. It turns out that CERTAIN PEOPLE, who shall remain nameless (Len, Heartfire, and Second Stage, to name just three) seem to think that I should not only contribute to their daily ritual (get a cup of coffee, read the newspaper, turn on the computer and read Longhaul's journal...), but that I should provide my entries ON TIME each day, like the kid who delivers the morning paper! Oh the pressure of deadlines! When will it all end!!!!!Where was I? Oh, yeah, so I need an entry for today, and I don't have a lot of time to write one, so I'm going to share an email I sent out recently to a select group of my fellow Tenners. The reason for doing this is two-fold: first, I also don't have time to chase up other trail journal journalists who meet the criteria for joining our little club but have only put their journal up since I sent out this invitation in December, and thus this entry will have to do as their invitation; and second, I wanted to announce that a member of our current group of Tenners (Erin Fuller) has agreed to be the "master of the list" so to speak -- YEA, ERIN! The invitation is below. Oh, and actually, rather than an email list (which is the best I am able to come up with, technologically speaking), Erin is going to create a Yahoo Group page of some sort so that we don't have to send and receive a bunch of spam in order to stay in touch with our new "significant others". (Say, that sounds like a great title for a future entry...) Anyway, those of you who wish to join the Tenners should send an email to Erin at elfuller1@yahoo.com Here is the text of my invitation:QUOTE:Friends, Roamins, Hikers: Lend me your ears. Lord knows my poor wife is tired of listening to me, so now, it's up to YOU. If you have received this missive. your name will also appear on the attached list of hikers and other suspects who have publicly announced their intention to complete a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail in the year 2010. I have pulled this list together from trailjournals.com -- at least for those of us planning to leave sometime in the March 1- April 1 timeframe, who also list an email address. The purpose of this communication is actually four-fold:First, for those of us about to head into the woods together, I thought it might be a good idea to get to know each other a bit before we show up. If nothing else, it will confuse the heck out of all those other through-hikers who aren't part of our exclusive little group. (We should probably come up with some kind of secret sign or handshake or something...) Second, for those of you with questions or concerns, it can serve as a forum for the exchange of advice and experience. I know from your journals that several of you are actually pretty experienced woods-persons. I myself have personally flown over wooded areas, as well as mountains, several times. Third, you'll notice that I have organized the attached list by "start date". Some of you may want to touch base with those starting on the same day as you -- the seven starting on March 1, for example, or the four starting on the Ides of March, or the five April Fools. Fourth, and probably most important, this forum can provide a place for us to rant about the trail with people who are equally passionate about what we are all about to do -- thus sparing our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and casual strangers we meet at Starbucks from listening to our incessant drivel about the freeking Appalachian Trail!My first challenge, for those of you who care to participate, is to come up with a name for this exclusive little club of ours. Send in your proposals, within say a week from today, and then well have a vote of some kind to choose the winning entry. (Hanging chads will NOT COUNT.) Oh, and Happy New Year, one and all!Warm regards,Private 2nd Class Walter M. (for Mitty) LonghaulUNQUOTEP.S. We've had a contest to come up with a secret "sign" for the Tenners, and currently have about half a dozen pretty cool entries. I'll ask Erin to see if she can put these up on her Journal so you can see them. I suppose that won't make it a secret sign anymore, but the words is bound to get out eventually - once Second Stage starts using it in her register entries, just TEN DAYS from now, the first of the Tenners to hit the trail.