[at-l] Bio

[kborski@yahoo.com (Karen Borski)]

Went and read all the August bios that came out before
I signed on to AT-L (thanks for the link), so I'll
contribute my own as a more proper introduction.

 Name: Karen Borski
 Trail Name: Nocona ("the wanderer" in Comanche)
 Home: suburban Houston, TX (Nashville, TN '99 -'00)
 Born: suburban Houston, TX
 Age: 30, as of two weeks ago (still adjusting to
fact)
 Single, no kids except the furry kind: 1-yr old
shetland sheepdog, Buddy, rescued and saved last
January

 Occupation: Bioengineer for NASA contractor
supporting space station life sciences research, but
have worked a multitude of service jobs (clerk,
paralegal) including one-year stint as an Information
Systems Manager at a publishing company where I
learned my supposed love of computers was not real. 
Went back to writing, project planning and
engineering.  Spent last 5 years reading and studying
wolves and still plan on getting around to grad school
in wildlife ecology/behavioral biology - gray wolves.

 Hobbies: living outdoors, visiting/climbing all 50 US
high points (21 left to see), reading, writing,
traveling, and learning.  Currently hunting for
perfect place to build a small cabin off the power
grid ("...but you should see where I live now!"). 
Options include, not limited to, Idaho, Vermont, New
Hampshire, Colorado, Washington, Oregon.

 Last books read: Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad;
Mortgage-Free Living, Rob Roy; Two in the Far North,
Mardy Murie; Mark of the Grizzly, Scott McMillion;
Winterdance, Gary Paulsen.  (don't watch TV...)

 First time on the AT:  Drove over Newfound Gap on
business trip excursion in 1996.  Stepped out of car
for 10 minutes.  Looked.  Marvelled.  Saw
southbounders.  Made decision to hike it soon
unbeknownst to my conscious mind and irregardless of
the fact that I had never backpacked before.

 Hikes on AT:  Thru-hiked in 1998, additional sections
rehiked in ME, NH, VT, TN, NC, GA, Amicalola to some
gap beyond Neels Mar '00, Long Trail Greylock to
somewhere past AT cutoff whence the hills got to
ridiculously steep and the Inn at Long Trail wouldn't
stop calling.  Climbed Ktaadn every fall since '98.

 First maintaining trip: Illness prevented me from
joining the TN Eastman Club during 1999 when I lived
close enough to do trail maintenance.  Currently
signed up to maintain Lone Star Trail in E. TX when
oven-like heat and jungle-like vegetation abates in
January.

 Favorite soft beverage: Diet Coke

 Favorite hard beverage: Diet Coke

 Portions of AT covered: Every lovely inch.


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