Date: 2005-01-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Training is starting to be fun, I've got a pretty good regiment:Monday: Treadmill at the gym for an hour with full packTuesday: Day off, chill out, plan pretty hardWednesday: Treadmill at the gym for an hour with full packThursday: Winter League ultimateFriday: Treadmill for two hours OR Training Hike on Mason-Dixon trail with full packSaturday: Training Hike on Mason-Dixon or AT section training hikeSunday: Day offWhen I'm on the treadmill, I'm usually going uphill, it's one of those nice treadmills that has elevation changes and programs and stuff.I'd like to dedicate the second part of this prep journal to the wonderful questions and reactions I get when I tell people about the AT. Almost every reaction has been either confusion or elation, amazingly sometimes the questions overlap. I'll try and list questions and answers, and the frequency at which I have to provide answers, I'm hoping this might prepare a future thru-hiker.How far is that? (often) Close to 2200 miles, from Springer Mountain, GA to Mount Katahdin, ME.Are you going to carry a gun? (REAL often) No, it would add extra weight, it's illegal on some parts of the trail, and by the time I dug it out of my pack, anything I wanted to use it on will have either killed me or run away.How are you going to get food? (common) I will either buy it when I get to town or have it mail dropped to meIsn't going into town cheating? (uncommon) No, the trail isn't about not seeing civilization for months on end, if I wanted to do that I could become a hermitWhat about bears/mountain lion/bigfoot/the big bad wolf? (common) Well, I'll do my best to hang my food and stay away from bears, the odds are high in my favor that I'll have no worries about any of those creatures, and if a bear attacks me, I'll probbaly die, so be it. I'm more worried about the folks from town, who statistically are far more of a danger, although still a very small one.So you're going to be picking up lots of chicks and having crazy trail sex, right? (uncommon) Oh yes, absolutely, considering I'm such a ladies man in town when I can shower every day and the ratio of women to men is pretty much 1:1, I'm sure on the trail when I haven't showered in days and where the ration of women to men is pretty much 1:5 that I'll be giving Wilt Chamberlain a run for his money. (that was sarcasm) Sex will probably be the last thing on my mind. How long will it take you? (often) I don't know exactly, my best guess is somewhere between 4.5 and 6 months.Are you going to train for this? (rare) Yes, see aboveIs anyone sponsoring you, financially? Why don't you get a corporate sponsor? (uncommon) Well firstly, good luck getting a corporation to sponsor you when part of your goal is to avoid a major portion of their audience. Secondly, getting a corporation to sponsor a thru-hike kinda goes against what thru-hiking is about (for me), and probably would require me to do something extraordinary during my hike, which again is pretty much the opposite of what my hike is aboutAlso a list of items that people think I should carry that I won't be carryingA gunA large knife/swordAn axe or saw (you know, to chop firewood)Military surplus everything (from food to packs to boots)A candle lanternA GPSA coolerA mini-tvA cotAn iron skilletA bibleA beer bong (I'M NOT KIDDING)Deodorant/cologne/body sprayCondomsA boombox (not a walkman or an ipod) - the explanation was, so when you get to camp you and your buddies can jam out to some tunesA guitar (I don't know how to play)A laptop (although I had toyed with the idea of bringing an uber-small (2lb) mode)A snowsuit (I leave in march)My climbing shoes/harnessSome sales guy's business cards (and I'm supposed to hand them out)Signal FlaresGasoline/kerosene (to start the campfire)I'm sure there are some more, I just forget what they are at the moment