[at-l] Always a Newbie in Life! :)

[icw39@ncfreedom.net (Clark Wright)]

Kelley, of recent marriage announcement fame [is Shane doing the honors
somewhere on the AT??], had a great idea, asking us all to put down our
swords of supposed knowledge long enuf to tell a bit about ourselves . .
.

So, here goes!

Born in the USA [just like the ring of that these days], here in NC;
grew up in a great, stable home situation [we moved once, down a few
blocks on the same street in Raleigh, NC].  Dad was a busy Doc - I
regret that in terms of the time we had to spend together; he died of
the C-word in 1989; Mom loved girl scouts; and her girl scouts ROCKED -
they didn't draw posters, they hit the trail . . . Also, starting when I
was about five, the whole family would pack up for several weeks in the
NC mountains at a kewl camp for kids; Dad would be the camp Doc and we
all got to stay for either free or a reduced amount.  I still remember
swimming in that stone-lined, mountain stream fed pool where in late
July the water temp might have hit 45 degrees!!!  Thus my love of the
outdoors was born . . .

As I grew up, I did the whole 9 yards boy scout thing; again, lucky
enough to grow up in a troop that focused less on rank and status and
uniforms, and more on woodmanship and hiking/camping outdoors.  I reckon
I am blessed [cursed] with a good, active and creative mind - never did
get into the school jock scene much, though I semi-started on our state
champ soccer team.  Instead, the outdoors was my love, my place of
centered security, and where I excelled . . . I got into technical
climbing at the ripe old age of 12; summitted several classic NC climbs
at ages 13 and 14 [including the classic Nose route on Looking Glass,
North Ridge on Table Rock, and Bumblebee Buttress down in Linville Gorge
- all well before the fancy stealth rubber friction shoes were
invented]; went on 50+ miler hikes; and even did a 4-day, 3-night solo
on an island at one of the big lakes in western NC [either fontana or
another one - not sure to this day where it was!].

I was also lucky enough to have close friends who loved this stuff,
too.  Once I got my driver's license, I would take my grandms's old '63
Chevy Belair [she had died recently, and it was now the "kid's car - for
me and my older sister].  My best friends and I would load the old
Belair up and Dad/Mom would actually allow us to do 400+ mile roundtrip
weekend and weeklong [summer] adventures into the NC mountains - that
was so smart on their part, and so way cool, that it became my form of
"being kewl" and "taking risks."  I had an awesome climbing instructor,
with safety as issue number one, so while not without risk with
testosterone filled teenagers, I am confident that my teen years had a
lot less risk that most of the alternatives practiced by my peers,
involving drugs, alcohol and fast cars.  The woods are an awesome
generation gap bridge - I hope I never forget that as Johanna and I cope
with the joys and fears of being "rookie parents" [Hannah, aged 3, and
Elizabeth, 4 months old!]

My best buddy Paul and I really wanted to do the AT in 1975, after HS
graduation.  Somehow, we never got it done then.  However, he and I
spent 10 weeks out west in the summer of 1976 - a time I will never
forget.  I did all 10 weeks on about $280 bucks; only spent 4 nights in
a motel [to recover from Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever], and saw/experienced
many, many wilderness and interpersonal "learning to get along" things
that I believed I would never, ever get to experience so intensely
again.  

I then became a victime of my own success - all the academic success;
college graduation Phi Beta Kappa; law school; good first job; special
projects lawyer on environmental issues in the N.C. Dept. of Justice's
Environmental Protection Section, woo'd by major regional firm; last 10
years making more money than I ever thought I would . . . but, softly,
the trails, ridges and woods kept calling me home . . . until, prompted
by external symptoms in the nature of burn-out and depression, I walked
into my senior partner's office in January 2001 and screwed up my
courage to announce that I needed at least 6 months off to decide if I
wanted to continue the pressure-cooker pace of modern, high end legal
life.  I expected to be asked to resign; surprise, he was most
understanding, and I took a leave of absence, with his support [and the
support of many, but not all, of my peers].

I left Springer 3/16/01, with little precise planning, but a lot of
general reading up.  I found the companion and my own printouts from the
CD-ROM that the ATC sells to be most helpful, not to mention my 30+
years of good experience.  I still had 46 or so pounds at the approach
trail, though! :)  I hiked thru the middle of PA, came home to reunite
with a very pregnant wife - [ahem, one male-specific hiker hint not seen
to-date on the list:  don't get your wife or sig. other pregnant right
before you leave on a thru-hike! :)] - who I could tell was missing me
terribly [which made me miss her terribly, too!]  We decided I would not
finish in '01, but I did drive back up to the Green and White Mtns in
VT/NH for two weeks of awesome hiking fun, spontaneous moments of my
first efforts to be on the giving end of trail magic, and lots of
surprise reunions with my fellow hiker friends, some who I'd not seen
since March back in NC/GA.

I returned to the office to resume my legal practice 6 days after 9/11,
and still reeling from my return to civilization after the Greens and
Whites.  I did not know which end was up, but have settled into the old
routine, but with a lot less stress, with the hope that I will only need
to do this for a few more years to achieve some level of what I call
"financial courage" to buck me up the gumption to quit and try something
different! :)

In the meantime, a few final thoughts.  I thought my summer of '76 trip
could never be topped, but little did I know then of that fatal,
naturally transmitted disease known as long distance hikeritis!  I now
have a terminal case; I spend my days plotting how to get back out, even
if only for a week or two.  I hope to get back on this summer in
Duncannon, PA [where I last got off prior to the VT/NH fling] for at
least a week or two; and to get to know some of the regulars on this
list in person at a RUCK, Trail Daze, or elsewhere.  I did drive all the
way back to Springer about a month ago to attend a 2001 hiker reunion
that ended up drawing over 40 folks - what a blast we had!

I have tons of pics, and was trying to post some, along with edited
entries from my journal, on the trailjournals.com website, but what is
there right now is at best a work-in-progress . . . but feel free to
click on over if ya want to read/see more.

http://www.trailjournals.com/   [click on journals; then scroll down to
2001 AT; then look for thru-thinker]

So much for being brief! :)

Hike on everyone!

thru-thinker
[clark wright]