[at-l] Hike ended short after 13 miles

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 12:16 PM 3/4/2005 -0500, Bob C wrote:
>I'm always amazed at those who start what is obviously a very difficult 
>six month project with almost no preparation. I met people on Springer in 
>1993 who were wearing a backpack for the first time. The amazing thing is 
>that a few of them quickly get their act together and make it to Katahdin. 
>I had backpacked a few days at a time for years and had one 200-mile walk 
>on the Maine AT behind me, but I was worried about what I was proposing to 
>do. I don't care how much experience one has, a six month commitment to 
>living in the woods and mountains is a bit scary -- or at least it should be.
>
>Has there ever been anyone thru hiking for the first time, regardless of 
>preparation, who hasn't been a bit surprised at what they actually 
>experienced while wending through Georgia and North Carolina?

This guy really set himself up for a large portion of humble pie though. 
Not only was he overloaded and under prepared but he had announced his 
plans to the local media, involved the local high school in tracking his 
progress and built a really slick website complete with photos and 
illustrations that gave him a "intrepid explorer" image. Sometimes that 
kind of advance PR can provide the motivation to save face and keep going 
when the going gets tough but apparently Lucky Cowboy was so overwhelmed by 
the reality that even embarrassment wasn't enough.

Observations: In his journal he mentions that he picked up a DVD to watch 
on the return bus trip because his computer pals DVDs. Checking his 
equipmant list I see he was carrying a SONY Vaio. There's several pounds of 
weight he didn't need. He also had a GPS unit. Not as much weight but when 
you have bad knees and 70# on your back do you really need it? There's lots 
of other excess stuff there too like a 4 piece cook set (for a solo hike?) 
and what's with the coffee press, even if it is titanium. Opps, there's the 
answer at the bottom. Apparently a coffee company is one of his sponsors. 
He badly needs tuckerization.