Date: 2010-09-04
From: stealth campsite past Carter Notch

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: fog

Today, September 4th, 2010, one day before my 30th birthday, I am taking a zero for a few reasons. First, I just got through the White Mountains and they were tough but gorgeous. I want to rest. Second, ITS THE START OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL BABY!!!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOO. Thirdly, it was supposed to rain as we get the remnants of Hurricane (Tropical Storm) Earl. However, it has just sprinkled off and on so far. So I thought I would combine yesterday and today in one journal. Hence, that is why you see that I've got some miles calculated for today.First, lets talk about yesterday, September 3rd. Nothing of awesome importance happened. I woke up in the woods somewhere and made it to Gorham, NH. I went to the post office first and got my boxes and then I strolled to the laundry where I met up with Doc and did some laundering of clothes. After that, I went to a little motel and checked in. The rest of the day was pretty boring as I updated everything on my computer and talked to a few folks. At night, Alkaline, Doc, and I went to an Italian restaurant for dinner as an early birthday gift from Doc. Doc is always doing nice things for me even when I insist that he shouldn't. He's a really nice guy. Afterwards, I went over to his hotel where I met up with Little Foot, Big Foot (Little Foot's dad who is out for the week), Buttercup, Red Oak, Scat Tracker, and Unicroc. Good to see those guys. That was about it for yesterday. See, I told you it was nothing of awesome importance.Ok, so lately I've been slowly introducing my idea of 48 states in 30 days. You see, when you hike all day every day you tend to do a lot of thinking. You spend a lot of time thinking of what you're going to do after the trail. I have put a lot of thought into this. Basically, how can I continue to help the students of CCA in a unique way. Showing them America is a cool way I think. Lets face it, most of us are more interested in watching fun videos than reading out of a text book all of the time. I just want to drive around the US and expose these kids to other parts of the country. I want to show them places like Yellowstone, Washington, DC, Montana, the rain of Seattle, the Grand Canyon and so on and so on. Do you get my drift? I mean, sure, they could read about these places in a book but wouldn't it be more interesting to watch a video from someone they knew and to talk to me live via Skype from Yosemite National Park? I'm not sure this is making sense to the people I talk to. Plus, I need to raise like $700-1,000 which is no small amount. I have put it on my website so that people can donate but I want people to understand that I only need this money for gas and food. I'm not trying to make money from this....I just want to expose the students of CCA and whoever else watches these videos to more than their everyday life. Thats it! I promise, when I'm done with this trip I will get a real job and stop with this nomadic lifestyle. It's starting to cramp my style anyways as people take one look at me and automatically assume I'm homeless courtesy of my wild and wooley beard. So that's what I've been thinking about while I've been hiking. The White Mountains were not only beautiful but they also cleared a lot of questions I had about what I'm going to do after the trail. You always hear the cliche that people hike the AT to "figure themselves out." I've got to admit, I was one of those people. All of the way until the Whites I had more questions than answers with my life. I guess I was more confused than when I first started in April. Why? Simple, you spend hours and hours each day going over all of the possibilities of life and then hours and hours on the possibilities of the possibilities and so on and so on. By the time I got to the Whites of NH I was just one confused cat. But something about the Whites made it more clear for me. Maybe because NH is my home state or just that I know this trip is coming to an end but I have made some decisions. So thats how I came to the conclusion that I can continue to help CCA when I'm done besides just going into their school and being a mentor. I want to show them America and its beauty. When I get back from that trip I will get a job but I also want to start a sports program at CCA. Its true...the more activities you expose these kids to the more successful they become and the less likely they are to get in trouble. Sports is an awesome way to get them to become a success both on the field/court and off. I hope this makes more sense. Again, I've put days and days of thought into this trip across America and what it could do for the students. As I get closer and closer to Katahdin, I get more and more excited about life after the trail. There is so much to look forward to. I write this blog simply so others can experience both the trail and what's going through my head while I'm on the trail. I would love to hear from you whether you think this trip across America is a good idea or not. Please feel free to comment. I go to the Lord with everything I do.