Recently I retooled my blog to reflect my current life situation, i.e. unemployment. That's what I'm writing about now. The F.A.Q. below is a reflection of this blog's original purpose, which was to chronicle my adventures along the Appalachian Trail. If you are interested in hearing that story, read the FAQ and then go all the way back to the first post on this blog.
THE ANSWERS TO SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where am I?
Congrats! You've made it to the Appalachian Trail journal of Andrew Marshall.
The Appalachian Trail? What the heck is that?
The A.T. is a footpath that runs along the ridges, mountains, and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains. The Northern Terminus is Mount Katahdin in central Maine, while the Southern Terminus is Springer Mountain in north Georgia.
Maine to Georgia? Holy weeping blister, Batman, how many miles is that?
Distances vary from year to year due to trail re-routes, but the average is 2,200; or around five million steps, if you are into measuring distances in the most obsessive compulsive way possible.
Okay, so...that will take a long time, right?
Well it all depends on how fast I walk. Ten miles a day will take me about six months. Twenty miles a day is around three. Most people take about five to six months, I'm aiming for four.
So you will carry six months of food in your backpack? Won't that be heavy? Will you hunt or fish along the way?
Six months of food would be extremely heavy, but luckily the Appalachian Trail was intentionally placed near towns for that very reason. The trail has been in place for about eighty years, and towns in proximity to it do a brisk business selling food, gear, showers, laundry, and lodging to long distance hikers. The average distance between towns is four to six days.
As for catching my own food...no. There just isn't any need to. Not to mention the fact that I am incapable of doing so. Also, catching your own wild game or gathering nuts and berries is time consuming, impossible if you don't have years of training, and an excellent way to get totally lost and/or poisoned.
Speaking of getting lost, how do you know where you are? Will you cary maps? A GPS device?
No need. The A.T. is one of the most heavily traveled footpaths in the country, it's basically a highway full of through hikers, section hikers, flip floppers, weekenders, and boy scout troops. The trail is blazed with white splotches of paint every hundred yards or so. I'll be carrying The A.T. Guide by David "Awol" Miller, a data book that gives milage between shelters, elevation profiles for every twenty miles of the trail, info on water sources, trail towns, and just about everything else I will need. Basically the only way to get lost on the A.T. is to accidentally head in the wrong direction after breaking camp or stopping to rest. This tendency is easily remedied by leaving yourself a marker before stopping.
Okay, fair enough. But what about protection from bears, moose, serial killers, and Killer Shrews? Will you carry a gun?
No, I will no be carrying a firearm of any sort. There are many reasons for this.
1) If MacGyver doesn't need one, neither do I. And he worked for the Phoenix Foundation, which is a lot more deadly than hiking the A.T. I also don't have a clue how to load, fire, or maintain a gun. Hauling something on your back that you don't know how to use is a waste of precious hiking calories.
2) Any gun small enough to actually carry with me is only going to piss off a black bear, and a moose might actually not even notice being hit with a small caliber weapon. I'd have more luck throwing rocks.
3) Any gun big enough to actually do damage to anything is going to be way too heavy to walk with.
4) I'm in the woods to enjoy nature, not to take pot shots at it. While I respect the rights of hunters and understand that hunting is simply another way of enjoying nature AND a natural part of the way the world works, I personally do not enjoy killing or violence of any kind.
5) My political beliefs extend to rifles and shotguns but not necessarily to handguns.
6) Basically the only way to get yourself attacked by a wild animal on the east coast is to behave like a complete idiot. Behaving like a complete idiot can include: Chasing animals, surprising animals, eating inside your sleeping bag/tent, feeding animals, intentionally antagonizing animals. I won't do any of these things, and I have no doubt I will be perfectly fine. I'm hoping to see bears (which I've never seen in the wild) and moose.
7) As far as safety from people go, while hiking the trail I will statistically be safer from violence than you will be in your own home. Think about it, won't you?
How will you maintain contact with the outside world? Carrier pigeon? Carrier hawk? Carrier moose?
Again, this is where trail towns come into play. I will periodically have the chance to charge my cell phone, check in with Base Camp Marshall/Shaw, and update my blog from town libraries. Also keep in mind, the Appalachian Mountains are basically a thin strip of nature winding through some of the most densely populated areas in the country. It ain't the yukon, folks.
How often will you be updating this blog?
As often as possible, probably at least once every ten days or so. Some posts will be long and detailed (when I have access to a computer) and some may just be short updates about my location and activities (when I have cell service for my smartphone) The best way to follow along is to subscribe by email so you get an update as soon as I upload one, rather than having to check back periodically. Don't be upset if you address a question to me and it goes unanswered for a long while.
Won't you be lonely or bored?
Bored? Probably at times. Mostly I will be too tired to be bored. During the day I will walk. After stopping for the day I will eat and then sleep. I will wake with the sun and start walking again. I'm actually looking forward to that routine, as the incredible sensory overload that is our modern western world actually gives me anxiety attacks.
Of course I will miss my family, friends, and fiance. But there is nothing wrong with periods of separation from these people. I'm certainly not the first to posit that we as a culture are far too connected with each other at the moment. Maybe I will change my tune after spending some time away...who knows?
How have you prepared for the trail? Did you buy a thighmaster, shakeweight, or P90X?
The woods have been a part of my life since...well...forever. I've been hiking, camping, backpacking, kayaking, canoeing, bouldering, rappelling, geocashing, photosafari-ing (sp?), mountain biking and road cycling for basically my whole life. I lead a pretty active lifestyle, but like most Americans I have a few extra pounds on me. Not to worry, the average person loses twenty to forty pounds by the end of the hike, and the trail itself is an excellent way to get in shape for the trail. (start slow, gradually build up speed and miles.)
That being said, I firmly believe that MENTAL preparation is the most important part of hiking the trail. There is a certain psychology to long distance hiking, a particular type of mental gymnastics that must be performed to keep yourself going over mountain after mountain. Hopefully I have a good grip on this, but there is really no way to tell until I get out there.
I also read many, many books on the subject, probably at least twenty over the course of my life. Most were not very good. A few were mediocre. Some managed to be both entertaining and informative, and these are the ones I would recommend.
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Southbound on the Appalachian Trail by Ken Sarzynski
Awol on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller
The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide by David Skurka
Why do you want to do this? This...doesn't even sound fun.
There are many reasons. I will address this question in my first blog post, but the short answer and cliche answer is "because it's there."
You are signing your posts as "Pawn" rather than Andrew. What's with that?
Taking a "trail name" is a long standing tradition on the A.T. No one is quite sure when it started or why, but most folks enjoy the sense of becoming that is associated with a new handle. The old pudgy desk jocky named Douglas is left behind, the gaunt hiking warrior who stands before you is named Red Beard and can hike over mountains in minutes and poops in the woods for fun. Some people choose their own name, and some wait for one to be assigned to them. I chose the trail name "Pawn" because I like chess, I plan on traveling with a small chess set to play with my fellow hikers, and most importantly...pawns can only move forward or diagonally. They never go backwards. Never.
Got any more questions? Leave one in the comment section and I will do my best to answer it.
No comments:
Post a Comment