Date: 2016-02-07
To: And now a few words from our sponsor....
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Last night the Houston Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) held its annual fundraising dinner here in Houston. The event was a success and early indicators suggest that the generous hunters/conservationists in attendance stepped up and contributed to a successful dinner. During the course of the evening I received several pledges for my AT walk, bringing the total pledged dollars to about $10,000!As indicated in my previous message, all pledged dollars raised will be donated by the NWTF to Texas Parks and Wildlife (TP&W). These dollars will be matched by TP&W on a $4 to $1 basis! The funds will go to restocking Eastern Wild Turkeys in East Texas with a goal to reestablish sustainable populations of the birds. The Eastern Wild Turkey is native to East Texas, but their populations were decimated in the late 1800s and early 1900s due to habit loss and over harvesting. A visitor to my blog recently questioned my intentions. While I do not intend to address everyone who posts negative comments, I will use this opportunity to clarify some points regarding my blog as well as my fundraiser.I have two goals attached to the fundraiser: 1) to create awareness for the conservation efforts laid forth by the volunteers of the NWTF in ALL states. The NWTF has been instrumental in reestablishing populations of wild turkeys throughout the United States since the groups inception in 1973. 2) raise dollars to support restocking efforts here in East Texas where historical attempts to reestablish Eastern Wild Turkeys have been met with mixed results. The AT travels through 14 states, all of which have reestablished populations of Eastern Turkeys. These states would give the nod to the NWTF in taking part in their own restablishments. Hopefully my hike will call awareness to the NWTF's efforts and victories. As an example of success, If you thru-hiked the AT in 1973 (the year the NWTF was founded) there was a good chance that you would not have spotted many wild turkeys. At that time the total number of wild turkeys in all of North America was only 1.5 million. Today populations are estimated at 7.0 million. Regarding my blog, I am taking my journey to thru-hike the AT very serious. I am ready for this challenge. However, I have not and will not lose the desire or ability to have fun along the way. My posts are at times light hearted (my attempt at wit). I am confident that some may not get it others may be aggravated. Let's not take any of this too serious folks and if you feel slighted in any way, my upfront apologies. I am a life long outdoorsman, hunter, fisher, trapper, land steward and conservationist. I won't apologize for being any of these things. If you have stumbled upon my blog and you are unsure about hunting, that's totally cool. Stick around and follow my hike regardless. At the end of the day we all desire sustained habitats, well balanced populations of wildlife and beautiful wild places to enjoy in whatever legal manner you prefer to enjoy them. Now back to planning.....I spent some time yesterday planning the few mail drops that I will do along the AT as well as some re-weighing of gear. I am keeping track of the gear I am starting with on a spreadsheet that I designed. Not including food or water I am at 21.5 lbs. I am scratching my head as to how to ditch a pound or so as I really would like to start with a base weight of 20.0 lbs and no more than 30.0 lbs with food and water. I could get my pack to 30.0 lbs by going real light with food at the start, but that would be no fun.That's about all for now... I need to do a quick walk before watching the Panthers spank the Broncos later today.