The Sleeping Bag Purchase

Two days ago, we took a big step. We purchased gear. Ultralight gear. So it was expensive. At any point before that moment I clicked the 'Submit Payment' button we could have abandoned this idea of a thru-hike with no losses. Now we cannot do that. There is some kind of finality to spending money. This is why something as seemingly arbitrary as expensive rings and an expensive ceremony that lasts a few short hours are actually quite important. Those things are unnecessary for a marriage, but since society places such great value on money, spending a significant amount on it makes it more important to us. It fortifies the commitment.

So now there is no turning back from the Trail. Following, I will share the relevant information that led to the difficult decision of choosing the sleeping bags we thought was best suited for this particular journey and this particular blogger and his wife. If you have no interest whatsoever in learning about the differences between down and synthetic sleeping bags or what companies make the lightest and most cost effective bags then I will forgive you for jumping ship on this blog post immediately. If you, however, are looking to take the difficult plunge of deciding which bag to purchase for yourself or just want to learn something new about camping equipment and some of the best-rated sleeping bags in existence today, by all means, read on.

Down vs. Synthetic
These are the two major kinds of sleeping bags you can buy. Down sleeping bags are made from the fluffy undercoating of ducks and geese. These sleeping bags are both warmer and more lightweight than synthetic sleeping bags. Synthetic sleeping bags are made from polyester fabrics stitched together in ways to mimic down. Down bags are more breathable, allowing moisture to escape, but if it gets wet it takes a very long time to dry. Synthetic bags dry out much faster. However, the biggest reason why someone wold purchase a synthetic sleeping bag is because they are a ton cheaper.

We decided to make the splurge and go with down, especially since we are bringing a tent with us. Some thru-hikers opt out of carrying a tent because there are shelters all along the Trail and some sleeping bags come with a hood and a water-resistent bivy sack. While in the Marine Corps, we often used this set up and remained mostly dry through rainy nights. When I hiked the Appalachian Trail with a friend for a week and a half in 2008 we didn't bring a tent and did just fine. However, since we are hiking the Trail as a couple, we need the tent for privacy. It would be stupid to hike the Trail with down sleeping bags and no tent, but since we have a tent, we can keep the down sleeping bags from getting wet. Since my wife gets cold easily and the first few weeks on the Trail will be in winter conditions, down was the way to go.

Also, since we are trying to go as lightweight as possible, down was a good choice. So the search began at the place all searches begin. Google. Typing in 'lightweight sleeping bags' yielded results that were quite light, but not as ultralight as I would like. So I typed in 'ultralight' and found a website for a company that makes custom down sleeping bags far lighter than the sleeping bags I came across from REI, Moosejaw, L. L. Bean etc. The sleeping bag that was rated at 20 degrees F cost $469 at 21 oz. Several days went by before I was going to actually make the purchase. I decided to search for reviews of the sleeping bag which led me to an awesome website called outdoorgearlab.com. I highly recommend this website for anyone who is looking to find the best of any kind of outdoor adventuring gear. The reviews are extremely helpful and they actually test each piece of equipment in different conditions. They rate each piece of gear in an easy-to-understand way, share pros and cons of the equipment, and provide comparisons of comparable gear.

It is here that I found that there were many more options for ultralight down sleeping bags and I quickly realized that the lightest and best-rated were made by small manufacturers and unavailable from retailers. It became apparent that the best options for ultralight down sleeping bags was the Katabatic Gear Palisade which was the editor's pick, the Enlightened Equipment Revelation which won the best buy award, and the Zpacks 20 Degree which one the top pick award.

What bag to choose? The Enlightened bag was the cheapest, the Zpacks bag was the warmest and lightest, and the Katabatic bag was the most expensive, but seemed to be the best on average, taking in all considerations. This would be a difficult choice! I looked at all of their websites and was very interested when I saw that Zpacks offered a twin size sleeping bag. That is, a single sleeping bag built for two people to share which cuts down on the weight dramatically (instead of two individual sleeping bags) and allows for more warmth by sharing body heat. It is also relatively cheaper since we now only have to purchase one sleeping bag instead of two.

We purchased the 20 degree F sleeping bag at 26.5 oz total which is a mere 13.25 oz. per person, significantly lighter than two individual sleeping bags from any company. It is filled with premium goose down (the lightest of down) and has 900 fill power, which means that one ounce of down fills 900 cubic inches of volume for the bag. The more fill power the more warmth because there is more down in each cubic inch. The bag also comes with a free lightweight waterproof compression sack and we took advantage of a new option to make the down more water-resistent. This adds up to two ounces, but I think will be nice in case the bag does get a little damp somehow. Of course, it is still nowhere near as waterproof as synthetic bags. It only cost $560 which is a lot less than what I was expecting to pay for two individual sleeping bags, and comes with a one year warranty. The only thing that could be worrisome about the bag is that it it has a fixed, slim girth and baffle height which means if it gets very cold it will be difficult to fit inside with many warming layers. However, since we are both small, I don't think this will be much of a problem. I am very excited about testing it out, but since the company is small and each bag is custom made, it will take five to six weeks before it gets shipped out (shipping and handling was free as well!). I will write a review once we test it out ourselves.

The company was started by a young man, after he completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2004. His base weight (base weight excludes food, water, and clothing worn) for his pack was 8 lb. and contained almost entirely homemade gear. The average thru-hiker on the Appalachian Trail carries a base weight of 40 lb. I don't think we will be able to go quite as low as 8 lb., but anything significantly lower than 40 lb. will make us very happy as we walk the Trail. The Zpacks Twin 20 Degree Sleeping bag is just the first step in reducing every ounce possible for our light and happy thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail!      

          

Shed the Hare, Become a Tortoise

All the book-writers and bloggers I have read who have written extensively about the Appalachian Trail have described similar stories of meeting people while hiking who were more strong and more fit than they. These hikers seemed unstoppable as they blazed on ahead faster than the others. They, however, ended up leaving early because they wore themselves out and/or were in too much pain from hiking too much too fast. Given my previous record of adventuring, I will have to be careful not to fall into this trap and begin hiking at no more than an eight-to-ten miles-per-day pace for the first couple of weeks at least. Successfully hiking the entire Appalachian Trail in six months means hiking an average of twelves miles a day. However, there are several sections where one can easily hike twice as much in one day and other sections where five miles will wear you out. We plan to leave early enough to have over a month of extra time in case we don't finish in the average six months. I don't care about how fast we finish.

The finish line of the AT is at Mount Katahdin in Baxter Park in Maine. It is the highest mountain in Maine at 5,268 feet and was named Katahdin by the Penobscot Indians. Katahdin means "The Greatest Mountain" and is a fitting place to end a long hike in the woods. Many claim it is the most difficult climb of the entire hike. However, Baxter Park is closed to camping on October 15th each year. It is still possible to hike up the mountain after that date, but one would have to find a place to stay outside of Baxter Park and hike the end of the Trail in one day. Additionally, weather conditions often force the rangers to close the park to hikers. The park closes officially the last day of October. Many times, thru-hikers have hiked all the way up to Baxter Park, but are too late to finish the Trail on Mount Katahdin. So, as important as it is to not set a time limit for oneself to properly enjoy the hike, it is best to reach the end before October 15th.

In order to give ourselves plenty of time to reach the end, we will be departing in March. This means we will be hiking and camping in cold weather and snow for at least the first few weeks of the hike. We experienced this weather firsthand when we camped on top of the beginning point of the AT this year on a road trip down to Florida for a family vacation. We were not prepared for the cold weather then, but next year we will be. Now we know that just because it is blazing hot in some places in Georgia, up in the mountains it will be very cold.  

During my spring break from community college in 2008, I decided to embark on my first long hike. At this point, not owning a bike, a car, or a driver's license, my primary means of long distance travel was hitchhiking. However, too many run-ins with the police from trying to hitchhike on highways had dampened my spirits and trying to hitchhike on other roads was just too unbearably slow. Since I had several days, I figured I would walk from Grand Rapids, MI to Upland, IN to visit a friend at Taylor University. The distance was somewhere between 180 to 190 miles. The first day I woke up early and took the earliest city bus to the southern edge of town and began to walk. And walk. And walk. I decided to be really strict with myself and so I walked twelve miles without stopping. And when I did stop, I allowed myself only five minutes for each break no matter how tired I felt. So at the four-minute mark I would begin to strap on my backpack to ensure I was actually stepping again within the five minutes. I walked on and on, nibbling on cheese and cereal during the breaks along the way. By early evening I was tired, and began to eye my surroundings in search of an out-of-the-way spot to sleep for the night. Before I could find a suitable place, houses started to dot the road around me. Then more began to spring up. Then a school. I was now in a fully developed residential neighborhood with no hidden places to stretch out a sleeping bag. So I walked on and before I knew it, I was in the center of a sizable city, Kalamazoo, 45 miles south of Grand Rapids. I never thought I'd reach this city in one day, but here I was! I could walk 45 miles easily in one day! I'd get to Upland in no time! At this point I was desperate to get off my legs and found a Taco Bell so I cold sit down, eat, and figure out what to do next. I knew there was no way I could walk the several miles it would take to walk any more south to more rural places where I could find a hidden place, and there was no way I was going to retrace my steps up north. So I called a friend and told him to look up nearby cheap motels online. At that point I cared more about nearness than inexpensiveness so he directed me to the nearest motel and I fell asleep instantly after paying who knows how much money. The next day, of course, I had to walk some more. However, my legs felt so stiff and every step inflicted so much pain that in an hour I hadn't even walked two miles. So much for being able to walk 45 miles in a day. At this rate I'd be lucky to walk ten miles. Fortunately, several drivers saw me walking and despite having no thumb lifted in the air, they stopped and kindly offered me rides. One man was driving way south and drove me most of the way. I probably walked less than ten miles more after that first day to arrive on the steps of Taylor University! There isn't a chance I could have walked a mile more.  

In the summer of 2010 I excitedly purchased my first road bike. Within days of owning it, I planned a 100-mile trip down to Spring Arbor, MI. Two biking pals decided to ride out to meet me halfway and ride the rest with me. Again, I left early in the morning and pedaled and pedaled, without breaking often. By the time my friends called to determine when they should leave I was already halfway done. This was great! I could ride 100 miles in a day no problem! I pedaled more furiously and by the time my friends met up with me, I was only ten miles away from our destination. By the time we reached my friend's home, I had ridden 100 miles in a neat 10 hours. I felt like Lance Armstrong! The next day my friend and I rode sixty miles to another friend's house so we could all go to a concert together the following day. That ride was much slower and we took many breaks, but it still felt good. On the last day the three of us would bike a measly eight miles to the concert which I was sure would be simple! It was not. It was laughable, how slow I was, and every second hurt immensely. My friends surely thought I was the worst biker ever as I barely made it through those eight miles in what must be a record for the slowest eight mile bike ride ever!                        

Will the third time be the charm for learning from my mistakes?

Saving Money from the Evil Clutches of a Consumer Created Society

Hiking the Appalachian Trail can cost a lot of money. Imagine you have been hiking for six days straight. You've slept on the hard ground every night, you've sweated profusely in one set of clothes all six days, and you've eaten nothing but ramen, trail mix, and granola bars for every single meal. You are now walking into a small town for resupply. As you walk to the grocery store you pass by a restaurant serving pizza, another serving burgers, and a hostel where you can spend the night in an actual bed, do laundry, and take a shower. How could you refuse?

I just read a blog from someone who failed to hike the Appalachian Trail. She walked from Georgia to Virginia in forty-some days, but decided to end her journey there. She listed several reasons why she believed she failed. First, she realized she did not have enough money saved up. She thought she would  be able to resist spending much money in towns before she left, but after several days of living in the wilderness she was quite willing and happy to spend quite a lot of money on town comforts. In fact, she thinks people can spend no less than $100 when they go into a town. Most people resupply in towns every 4-7 days and over six months of hiking spending $100 in town would amount to a whole ton of money.

Another reason she failed was because her pack was too heavy. She had too much excess gear and didn't purchase lightweight gear which is more expensive. In Appalachian Trials, Zach Davis says the best way to successfully thru-hike the AT is to hike your own hike, that is, to enjoy it. Some people can successfully thru-hike the AT by gritting their teeth and using their determination to keep walking through the misery. Davis, however, decided to hike in such a way that he would actually enjoy it and he never seriously considered quitting.

When it has been raining non-stop for five days straight and you and all your gear is sopping wet, you will want to quit. If every step along the way is also torture, experiencing the inevitable horrible weather is enough to break someone. Needless to say, my wife and I have decided that it is important for us to purchase expensive lightweight gear so we can enjoy the hike a lot more.

So how can a young couple with low-paying, part-time jobs and student loans afford such an endeavor? Here are some tips to help anyone save some extra cash.

1) Make a budget.

This is quite simple, but once you decide how much bills cost each month, and how much you can save, this will help force you not to spend the money you are now officially putting aside each month. When we first started to do this in January, we decided to save a modest $400 each month, but utilizing the other methods of saving below have allowed us to save plenty more.

2) Think before you purchase anything.

Is this something you really need or just want? I'm not saying to refuse purchasing anything absolutely unnecessary, but if you think about how many times you've spent money on something unnecessary it can help you refrain. If you bought a coffee from a coffee shop yesterday, refrain from going to your favorite cafe for a few days. Spend money at a restaurant less frequently and remember to bring food from home when you're going to be away from home for awhile. I firmly believe that a lot of people burn through most of their money from a coffee here, an ice cream there, and that new shirt you just couldn't refuse when you were walking by because it just looked so great! And it was on sale!

3) Don't drive so much.

Do they have public transportation where you live? Do you have a bicycle? I don't have to tell you that gas is really, really expensive. And believe me, I know how inconvenient it is to spend more time that you don't have, more energy than you can muster, and actually plan a way to get to work or the grocery store or a friend's place without your car. Sometimes it means bringing an extra set of clothes with you or riding in a crowded bus with loud people. But every time you do, you will save money. So do it as often as you can and if you spend the time to schedule it into your routine, it will become normal and easier and in no time you'll wonder why you ever drove to work in the first place. I still have a hard time following this advice because biking to work means riding almost seven miles one-way earlier in the morning than I care to get up. However, it also provides exercise which is not only good for the Appalachian Trail, but for a healthy life in general.

4) Find a cheap place to live.

I know this might be hard for some people, but if you find a place to live for just $100 less a month, you'll be able to save $1200 a year. Simple math! If you aren't terribly opposed to the idea, talk about living with a relative if they are close by. We save a lot of money by living with my sister in her basement. A lot of people have more rooms than necessary and if you don't mind sharing a kitchen and a bathroom, they can also earn a little extra money from giving up a room or two they barely used anyway. Everyone wins! Try getting it out of your head that it is a grown-up thing to have your own place. If you live on your own I am quite confident that you can find a room to rent for really cheap. Forget about decor and roominess and you can really save. I once lived in a room I found on Craigslist for $190 a month and it was two miles away from downtown on a bus line. Sure it always smelled like smoke or marijuana and sure I just stacked my clothes on the ground against the wall, but who cares? It wasn't the best of neighborhoods, but if you don't have anything worth stealing, it doesn't matter! Also, the world is not as dangerous as the media leads us to believe. That being said, bad things do happen, but I don't think living in a poorer community dramatically increases the chances unless you also decide to join a gang or run drugs.

5) Ditch the smartphone.

Seriously. You probably don't need it. You don't need to be online as much as you are. Use your computer. Wifi is everywhere. A contract phone costs too much money. It might seem like a fair price, but it adds ups every month. I use a pay-as-you-go phone and pay about $10 a month for the same amount of talk-time and texts as a $30 a month contract phone.

6) Dumpster dive.

I know you might think this sounds odd, but try it. Once you do, you'll see that it isn't really crazy. Since I work at Target I know how ridiculous the selling of food is. I recently worked a shift where I was in charge of the grocery section and was forced to throw away a ton of good food. A minimal amount could be donated, but the majority had to be thrown out. Fruits and vegetable on the very minimal edge of going bad, cans with dents, a loaf of bread with the end smashed, a can of peanuts with a slit in the cap from a box cutter (not the seal, just the cap), a bag of grapes where only three of the grapes were bad, fruits and vegetables that just didn't ascetically look pleasing are just a few examples of the incredible amount of food that gets thrown away each day. Also, we have to throw away all food a day before the dates printed on them and those dates are calculated for many, many days before the food will actually go bad so the stores can ensure no lawsuits. My wife and I only dumpster dive about once a week and only at one store, Aldi. Forget about dumpster diving at large grocery stores or places like Walmart or Target. They all have compacters that are impossible to get to. Small grocery stores like Aldi do not have compacters, but still throw out a considerable amount of food. This is food that is still great to eat, that is free, and that would be wasted otherwise. In my opinion, it is crazy not to take advantage of this. Try it. Go to Aldi. If you live near a Trader Joe's, we hear that's a good place to go too. We go at any time in the middle of the day. It is not illegal and we even once met a gentleman who was dumpster diving who drove his car right down their loading/receiving ramp and parked it right next to the dumpster.

8) Buy clothes at Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

I know most of the clothes there would look silly to wear nowadays, but I think it is even more silly that fashions change so rapidly, forcing you to purchase new and expensive clothes so frequently to fit in with everyone else. Don't trick yourself into thinking you can feel good about buying a new outfit because clothing is also a utility. You probably have many more clothes and many more shoes than necessary. I realize for some people, buying clothes can be really helpful to boost your self esteem, or to make you feel good when you are down etc. but I think there are many other cost-effective options to relieve stress etc. that also work much better. If you can't give up shopping for clothes at retail stores altogether, try easing into it. Refrain from purchasing a new item once or month or make a rule that if you buy something, you have to give something away. I.e. If you buy a new pair of shoes, you have to get rid of an old pair.    

7) Give away some of your money.

You heard me right! Give it right away. Give monthly to your church or to one of the thousands of non-profit/charity organizations that are doing good. Sponsor a child or two through Compassion or World Vision. How could this possibly help save money? I firmly believe the reason why people have a difficult time saving money is because the culture of today tells us to buy a lot more than we need. Our standard of living is ridiculously high and even those who think they live a modest life spend a ton of money. One of the ways to combat this way or thinking that has forced itself into our minds is to give it away so you simply don't have as much money to spend on stuff. It is amazing how much you can realize you don't need to buy as you possess less and less money. Maybe instead of buying meat for dinner, you'll buy rice and beans. Maybe you'll buy some hair clippers and have a friend cut your hair instead of paying a barber to cut it every couple of months. Maybe you won't shower every single day so save on soap and shampoo costs and maybe you'll wear your clothes a few more days before laundering them (rotate the outfits and people will never notice). If you're a woman, maybe you'll start wearing a diva cup instead of spending money monthly on tampons and pads. There are so many alternative ways to make life work that are cheaper and only require a little less convenience or require the giving up of a little bit of satisfied desire. And don't think you are too poor to give money away or that you will start doing so once you've paid off your student loans! That's what I thought most of my life, but my wife has really pushed giving money away every month. It is really great to be able to support friends and causes we believe in and you can too, no matter what your station in life is. There is a reason there is a story in the Bible of a poor woman giving all her money away. You are never too poor to give away money!    

If you have any other tips on how to save money, please comment below! We want to save as much money as possible for the Appalachian Trail. Every time we don't eat at a restaurant now, we will be able to purchase a meal in a town after several days in the wilderness, which will taste so much better than now! Going without always allows one to properly enjoy those gifts in life we are lucky to have!
 

      

The Transcendence of the Trail: Escaping the Intolerable Dreariness of Everyday Life

First of all, as a side note, everyone who hikes the Appalachian Trail (AT) has or obtains sometime along the way a trail name. Sometimes it is self-given, sometimes it is bestowed by other travelers along the way, and sometimes the trail makes it clear what one's trail name should be. For instance, I have given myself the trail name Earthman because both "earth" and "man" are definitions of my name, Adam, and that seems like an appropriate name for spending half a year in the wilderness, right? Well, while actually hiking the AT some other name might press itself upon me and I will change it, but until then I will be Earthman.

While I was reading a book called Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy I did not expect to come across anything about the AT since it is a deeply complicated and philosophical work written in an unusual way that I will have to read more than once to even attempt to begin to understand. However, Percy uses the AT as an example of a way humans attempt to use travel as a way of achieving some kind of bridge between the transcendence us humans seem to experience from time to time and what Einstein called "the intolerable dreariness of everyday life."

First of all, everyone seems to have these moments of transcendence, meaning they experience something beyond the physical or material level of the universe that is pretty mind-blowing. Often, it is something difficult to explain, except with inadequate language such as "discovering some kind of beauty, truth, love, understanding etc." Since I am a Christian, I may experience transcendence in prayer and solitude though if I was honest, I would admit that experiencing transcendence through these acts is rare. It simply takes much more effort to pray or be silent or be alone and listening and undistracted than I am willing to give. I think I achieve some kind of transcendence after reading a really good book or watching a really beautiful film and oftentimes I am excited if someone else also really enjoyed that book or film. However, if we begin to talk about it, we will divulge neat plot points or really great acting and not the actual stuff that caused the joy of transcendence. I think that is because it is really difficult to describe those bits, because they were transcendent-creating moments and quite inexplicable. I am left happy believing you shared those same kind of transcendent-type moments because our conversation about the book or film could never measure up to whatever it is that transported us up there to that level. Remember all those times you went to an awesome concert with friends who really enjoy that band too, but you never really talked about why you love them so much or how they made you feel? You let it go, or made some feeble small-talk about interesting trivia about the band instead. Of course, this makes sense because art entails a certain abstraction from its subject matter so how could one talk about it anyhow?

Percy writes, "But what is not generally recognized is that the successful launch of self into the orbit of transcendence is necessarily attended by problems of reentry. What goes up must come down. The best film of the year ends at nine o'clock. What to do at ten? What did Faulkner do after writing the last sentence of Light in August? Get drunk for a week. What did Dostoevsky do after finishing The Idiot? Spend three days and nights at the roulette table. What does the reader do after finishing either book? How long does his exaltation last?"

Sometimes it seems to last mere minutes. Remember the feeling you got from camp as a kid or that mission trip when you were a bit older? How long did that last? Do you remember feeling like you could change the world, that you were actually going to implement changes into your life, or at the very least that you simply felt very, very good? How long did any of those last?

How do we humans try to hang on to those experiences, those feelings, that level of living that seems to exist on a different plane, so far away from our normal day-to-day lives? Percy lists several ways we do and you'll have to pick up the book yourself (and I highly recommend you do) if you want to know what they all are, but one of them is travel. And an example of this travel that Percy provides is, you guessed it, hiking the Appalachian Trail.

So why is travel on the list? First of all, let me attempt to provide a brief explanation for why humans seem to make a big deal of transcendence, of experiencing such a high level of truth or beauty or understanding etc. We have a problem with our selves. We feel such levels of shame, guilt, poor self esteem, fear etc. that it simply drags through our entire consciousness and seems to taint our entire experience of life. When one is transcended, one does not feel any of those things. When we travel we get excited because we are going someplace completely new. The environment is new, the people are new, and we begin to see ourselves as new. We are excited by the possibility of becoming a new self, a better self, one without all the hangups in the old place. Anything can happen and we can recreate ourselves to be who we were not before because we don't have that history. After I walked the walls of my high school for three years I knew that during my senior year everyone would look at me the same way they always did. There was nothing I could do to change this. But my first day of college I could become anyone I wanted. Of course, it didn't take long for the excitement to wither when I realized I was becoming the same man I was before. Nothing much had changed.

So will anything change when I am hiking the Appalachian Trail? I will still be me. Some of my goals, the reasons why I am hiking the AT, rely on a dramatic change of myself. I will definitely physically change. But will I be more willing to sit in seclusion and listen to God? We will see. I am hopeful that since the environment will be dramatically different, I will have a greater shot at changing. I pray that my will to chase the transcendence of God will steadily increase and with it, the knowledge and grace of the God who can transform all things. Until then, oh my God, oh the intolerable dreariness of everyday life!

The Appalachian Trail Blog

We are hiking the entire Appalachian Trail in 2014. That is, my wife Christine, and I. We are not trying to hike the trail. We are not attempting to hike the trail. We won't stop when we get tired of it. We won't stop if we begin to feel we are not getting anything from it anymore. We are going to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail from the beginning of Springer Mountain in Georgia to the end of Mount Katahdin in Maine, and all 2,100+ miles in between.   

Easier said (or written) than done. Six months walking through the wilderness is not easy, especially for the sedentary generation of web-surfers and TV-watchers of which we are part. However, the physical challenge is only part of it all. I believe the most difficult part of any challenge is the mental and emotional part. That is, with the right mindset, one can accomplish anything even without prowess in other areas. This is something I have learned very well in the Marine Corps Reserve as I saw bigger and stronger guys fall out of hikes when smaller and weaker guys held out. Being physically fit makes it easier for the will to continue, but a strong will will go on much longer than a strong body will. 

For this reason I was drawn to read the book called Appalachian Trials by Zach Davis which had the compelling tagline, "A psychological and emotional guide to successfully thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail." My wife and I have both read it, along with many other books we could get our hands on about the Appalachian Trail and backpacking. One of the first exercises Davis suggests is to create a list of why one is thru-hiking the Trail so that when the tough times come (and come they will), I can pull it out and read it. When reading, it will help to remember why I have wanted to do this for so long and how many of the reasons can only be fulfilled through the tough times. 

This blog will be part of the trek, and I will write through it all, from this planning and logistics phase, through the hike itself, and the post-trail effects and life. I will be getting a smartphone so that I can blog along the Trail when stopped in towns for resupply. We have ten months before we hit the trail and there is still plenty to accomplish, from selecting and purchasing gear to becoming more physically fit and embarking on practice hikes and practicing camping. 

Here are my reasons for thru-hiking the Trail:

- To spend a significant amount of time away from many of the conveniences of the modern day.

- To connect with God in an environment of seclusion.

- To conquer something physically, emotionally, and mentally challenging.

- To become physically stronger.

- To be away from the irksome obligations of paying bills, keeping schedules, etc.

- To become close to God; to awaken my spiritual side.

- To have a time away from many of the temptations and distractions in my current life.

- To get away from the many apathy-creating and life-destroying ways of life that hallmark today's standard living.

- To have an adventure that so well exemplifies the reasons God graciously bestows me with life: to become surrounded by and a part of His glory, beauty, and power.

Stay tuned for blog posts about lightweight backpacking gear, tips on how we have successfully been able to save money, the dreaded Lyme disease and much, much more!