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[at-l] Hello!

Well, when I subscribed, the Majordomo told me
to introduce myself.  Here goes....

About two-and-a-half years ago, during a visit to a local
Scout camp, at the age of 36,
I started to remember how much I missed the outdoors.  A
few friends invited me to go backpacking with them in May
'96, so I went to Sam's club, invested a whole $80 (pack
plus sleeping bag), and went with them to Otter Creek, part
of the Monongahela National Forest.  I was rewarded with
the experience of crossing a flooded creek (about 11 times),
getting heavily rained on, a fierce temperature drop
(started at 70 F, ended somewhere around 29) and then --
why not? -- snow.  All the while wearing blue jeans, chafing
until I bled, and staying constipated while I, a desk-jockey,
huffed, puffed, and shivered through the whole experience.

Needless to say, I decided I liked it.

A month later I went solo on a very tough loop in the Otter
Creek system.  I discovered I could huff and puff to the point
of dehydration just by going up a 600 foot switchback.  Got
lost (well, a mite bewildered) three times.  Slept alone with
my pack and food, in bear country.  Learned the next day
(from a well-met Sierra clubber) that there was bear activity,
and also how to do a bear bag.  Obtained bursitis in my right
shoulder, which should be "fully" healed by the summer of '98.
Escaped a poked-out left eye by just 90 degrees during one
small tumble.  Etcetera.

Needless to say, I fell in love.

A couple more weekend hikes (i.e., several months) passed,
and we were up to Summer '97.  I began the Money Pit
pilgrimage -- bought a stove and a 72" Therma-rest.  Went out
with another 40-ish buddy -- who also fell in love with
backpacking,  and started talking about a week on the AT.  By
this point (with all of 7 or 8 days BPing experience, plus the
proxy experience gained by reading Colin Fletcher) I knew that
it weren't gonna be that easy, and told him so.  There is an all-

too-apparent difference between two nights' packing and
a week's packing/preparation (let alone the long stuff like the
thru-hikers do).  So, we decided
to go for a 4-day local weekend this Spring, an 8-day nearby
week this Fall(in case we need to tuck tail and run back home),
and then -- after we've gotten a chance to learn some of
what it actually takes -- we'll attempt the AT for a week in
Summer 1999.  (Because we both have jobs, and non-backpacking
wives, I have no plans at this time to attempt a thru-hike.)

And that's why I have subscribed to this list.  To learn from
folks, like y'all (or at least y'most) who have long trek
experience.

I figured I'd read the list a few days, check the signal-to-noise

ratio, before deciding I would Really Subscribe.  Between Alice
Kauzlarich's non-patronizing answer to the "what is a white
blaze"
and Charlie Thorpe's excellent distillation of LNT principles,
I'm
now convinced -- this is a good list, with nice folks populating
it.

     -Tom Williams

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