Date: 2012-03-19
To: Intelligencer News Paper Article
Miles today: 0.0

Well it is official! I submitted my intent to resign with my employer. I will be working for only the next two weeks. Come April, I will have one week in between working and hiking to make sure everything is in place. After that, not only will I be unemployed, but I will be practically homeless as well! Careful what you wish for! The local newspaper ran an article on me. It is in today's Intelligencer (out of Doylestown, Pa). There were a few of the details such as total pack weight and miles per day (did not mention planned zeros) could be more accurate, but it is what it is. Good quotes from 'Big Rig', my friend in TX. Below is a copied/pasted version from the online posting at PhillyBurbs.com...*******Posted: Monday, March 19, 2012 5:00 am | Updated: 6:50 am, Mon Mar 19, 2012.A journey of self discovery By Hilary Bentman Staff writer Calkins Media, Inc. It started as a whim ¢ take five months off from the pressures of everyday life to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.¢I toyed with the idea,¢ said Al Karp. ¢What if ... someday...¢Then, two years ago, the Perkasie man decided to turn what most dismissed as a pipe dream into reality. He began preparing for the journey, taking week-long jaunts to get ready.¢You have things you want to do,¢ he said. ¢People listen but they don¢t expect you to act on it.¢But on April 12, the self-described recovering couch potato will act on it.He will bid goodbye to his 14-year-old daughter, quit his job and abandon the creature comforts of the modern world for an arduous 2,184-mile hike through 14 states along the Appalachian Trail, one of the longest continuously marked footpaths in the world.If Karp, an eight-year hiking veteran, walks 18 miles a day, it should take him about five months to travel from Georgia to Maine.¢I want to get out there and enjoy it. It¢s good to plan for the future but you can¢t be afraid of anything,¢ said Karp, who adopted the trail name of ¢One.¢Each year, millions of people visit parts of the Appalachian Trail and hike sections of it. About 2,000 people attempt a through-hike annually. Everyone has their reasons, said Karp. They may be driven by spirituality, a mid-life crisis, or something to do after graduation or retirement.For Karp, 39, who got divorced a couple of years ago, the trail is his chance to regroup and re-evaluate his life.¢I feel I need a change in my life,¢ said Karp.But the cost of this journey of self-discovery is significant. Not only will Karp miss his family, particularly his daughter, but the bakery technician will leave his job. His employer declined to give him a leave of absence.The decision threw some people for a loop. His mother¢s initial reaction: ¢Jobs are hard to come by today,¢ said Kathleen Karp. She eventually came around.¢I can¢t see the future. It may work out very well,¢ said Kathleen. ¢It could be a lot wackier. It could be worse.¢Hiking the Appalachian Trail is not for the faint of heart. There are rocky paths and steep hills, bears, snakes, and other wildlife, and a range of climates to contend with.¢I am worried about him. I¢m worried about the bears,¢ said Kathleen. ¢I¢ll be praying for him every day.¢Only one in four people complete the through-hike. Karp is sure he¢ll make it.¢I don¢t want to be a statistic,¢ he said.His provisions include one backpack weighing about 18 pounds to carry his tent, sleeping bag, water purification systems, first-aid kit, rain gear, a few articles of clothing, and some food, including peanut butter, cereal and Snickers.There are several mail drops on the trail to get resupplies and he will hit a new town every three to five days. He¢s budgeted $200 per week for food and hostels when he reaches civilization.¢Men tend to wither away on the trail. I expect to be 40 pounds lighter by the time I hit Pennsylvania,¢ said Karp, who weighs 260 pounds.Karp will also carry a small camera, a prepaid cell phone, a couple of guidebooks, a journal and pepper spray.To date, his longest hiking trips have lasted a week. Besides the physical aspects of this trek, he will have to contend with the mental ones as well.Karp blames his friend John-Mark Peale for ¢putting the bug in me.¢ The two hiked part of the Appalachian Trail in the Shenandoah region of Virginia several years ago.Originally from Perkasie, Peale, who now lives in Texas, will join Karp in Georgia for the first leg of the journey. Peale had hoped to through-hike with Karp, but he has a young child and work commitments and can only join him for a week.When asked if he thinks Karp will find what he¢s looking for on the Trail, Peale said: ¢It¢s hard to say. Sometimes you find what you¢re not looking for.¢Of the allure of the trail, Peale said, ¢It¢s hard to describe until you get out there. You¢re not living by your watch. You hike, eat and sleep. It¢s your own pace. It puts things into perspective.¢After the hike, Karp plans to return to Perkasie. He¢s hoping his company will hire him back.*******