[at-l] 'Nother Newbie

[KAB@concordia-ny.edu (Kurt Bodling)]

I've been lurking for a few days, wondering whether I'd stumbled into 
the right list, or not.  But seeing Denise's self-intro and the 
responses, I figure maybe it's not always full of arguments about 
semi-obscure Trail politics and so on.

So who am I?  My name's Kurt.  Born and raised in the East.  On 
the faculty now at Concordia College in New York.

Been wanting to do a thru-hike since high school (which was back 
before some of your were born!) and haven't been able to find the 
time between school and family and work.  A couple of life 
transitions later, and I've been day hiking the AT here in New York 
for a while.  I live about an hour from Bear Mountain and about the 
same from the RPH cabin.

I looked ahead last summer and decided that this coming July 
would be a time I could finally do an extended backpacking trip.  
But obviously not the whole Trail.  So I thought, well, there's always 
Vermont.  The Long Trail's 270 miles divided by a month comes to 
about 10 miles a day.  Makes sense to me.  And now it's turned 
into a fundraiser for the college, with faculty and staff pledging so 
much per mile, or lump sums, or whatever.  (And probably some 
betting I'll be eaten by a moose before I finish.)  Brings both 
external motivation and a couple of un-wanted burdens.  (Like, the 
first question most people ask is "You ARE bringing a cell phone, 
aren't you?")

So here I am.  Will be asking for a couple gear suggestions and so 
on in the next month or so.  For now, what's the deal with the cell 
phones?  I've never used one; the college's development officer 
would provide one so they can track my progress on a map on their 
wall; would there be any reception in the Green Mountains anyway; 
should I just refuse it, or "accidentally" lose it?

Take care,

Kurt A.T. [really!] Bodling