One Week Count-down

It's been a couple weeks since we've last updated. This is because our routines have dramatically changed since the last blog. As of the Friday before last, March 16, Lindsay and I parted ways with our day jobs. It was tough, but necessary. We both had pretty resounding exits.

Now that our jobs don't consume our lives, we have more time to focus on preparations. I'm happy to say that dehydrating is just about complete. We've been ripping apart dinners,(Hamburger Helper, Pasta Sides, Bear Creek Soups) and partitioning them into meal sizes. We get all of our bags of dehydrated ground meat, chicken, corn, tomatoes, peas, beans, and okra and place them in the bags with the meals. Using the Backpackchef.com method, we pack a dinner, snacks, lunch, and breakfast into a vacuum sealable bag for our homemade MRE's.

We mark them to let us know if contains meat or fish as Lindsay does not eat meat. We will then distribute to boxes to be shipped. The idea, originally, was to have one for every potential night on the Trail. We have adjusted that seeing how I will be consuming many cheeseburgers and won't need to rehydrate as many meals. Nevertheless, we are still working towards making as many meals as possible. In addition to all that we've purchased, a ton of food as been kindly donated to us from our awesome friends and family. I do believe we have enough to eat very well every night. Now for the crunch time event: organizing all the food! We have a long ways to go but I have faith we'll complete it within the next couple days.

This past weekend has been packed with going away gatherings. We have a lot of people behind us on this adventure. They are psyched on the journey, the idea of the journey, and the films and paintings to come of it. We feel the love and will throughout our hike. 

I've been feeling much more confident about the construction of the film within this adventure. If nothing else Chaser's new backpack camera set up has performed flawlessly. The shaky, 95% unusable footage is a thing of the past. We were able to attach the camera much better than before. The test results have turned out incredible. It's funny, when I was first tinkering with the idea of Chaser having a camera, I did some Google searches on how other people have connected cameras to dogs. Not a lot out there and they didn't seem to work that well. I hope I have time to post a little footage before we go. The real beauty about Chaser's cam is that we will have no way of looking at it until after we get back. Good dog.

Chaser also got a microchip implanted, just in case. We opted out of trying dog booty after dog booty even though it was quite a funny site. He looked like a show pony plopping around. Instead we are going to treat his paws with pad enhancers. If this isn't as effective as we hope, we'll submit to booties.

We may not have much time to post another blog before we depart for the mountains. It's here. It's finally here. Stop talking, start hiking. We are very excited and look forward to keeping everyone who cares so much updated.

There are too many contributors to count in the last 2 weeks. We have been truly blessed by a lot of people. We thank all of you for believing.

Even Stella, my best friend, Dustin, and his awesome girlfriend, Logan's, baby showed up!

Too cute.

Oh wait, there will be one more post of a guestimated mail drop list.

See you on the Trail

26 Days Until The AT!

March has me all kinds of backwards right now. So many last minute buys and preparations are flying around in my head. Camp cups... pot cozies... doggy booties. Ideally we won't show up on the Trail and have a "DAMMIT WE FORGOT THAT" moment. The basics are covered but we are more than basic. I'm sure throughout the trip we'll narrow down to the bare basics. There are many things we simply won't know until we spend a couple weeks out there. But I think that goes for everyone, so we don't feel so bad.

The anticipation 3 and a half weeks prior to our departure brings a large range of emotions. Excited. Nervous. Ready. Not Ready. But ultimately we are ready and will be more so when that day comes. It's right around the corner. The preparations, themselves, feel like a journey. I haven't really had much of any free time. Before and after work consists of nothing but food prepping for dehydrating and removing other freshly dehydrated food. I wake up earlier to take food off/put food on and go to bed later than normal to do the same so food can dehydrate as we sleep. Nonstop. Currently we have diced tomatoes/Rotel, black eyed peas, cooked noodles, and bread with syrup, honey, and cinnamon sugar dehydrating. I had to start utilizing the oven due to lack of dehydrating space. Set it on the lowest setting and leave a good crack for air to escape. The only thing is you gotta be there the whole time if you use the oven. Too much about dehydrating? Sorry. Had to get it out.

We organized our foods that we've been collecting for months last night. I'm impressed with how much we've accumulated. I'm gonna estimate it's about 4 months supply. We'll be out there for about 160-180 days. Therefore, we need about 115-130 meals ready in the mail drops. So, we haven't quite accumulated enough. A big trip to the grocery store again is coming up soon. Oh, and so much vacuum sealing needed, so little time.

 

Sure looks like a lot, right?

That's because it is. This doesn't include a substantial amount of dehydrated foods(meat, veggies, bread).

We haven't been able to do as much training recently. Simply no time. We are split between work and working on the Trail. But I'm not really scared about it. I believe we'll hike just fine. Of course, everyone struggles at first. Few are truly in shape at the beginning of a thruhike.

I do, somehow, manage to find a little time to do some skateboarding. It has to happen. It's been my anchor of sanity for many years and I will miss it greatly. It's amazing how long I can entertain myself just thinking about a nollie kickflip noseslide even though I can't do that. It often haunts me in the best way as I rest my eyes to sleep or gets me through a long day of work. My brain battles between the Trail and skateboarding all the time and I really don't mind. I envision myself returning in 7 months and slinging my first nollie flip. The thought, itself, is so satisfying. 

Adventurer on and off the board.

Couple years-old footage.

Skateboarding, NPR, Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, my friends, and my family. I will miss them all. But we shall return.

Real quick, special thanks to my cousin Jimmy who works distributing Little Debbie and Lance snacks and is coming up with a gift package for us with as many long-shelf life items as he can. Jerky, crackers, and other snacks. Perfect.

We love all you guys. Looking forward to updating a fraction of text that these blogs contain but from the Trail!

PS. www.backpackingchef.com has helped immensely and we appreciate that it exists.

Never Been More Thankful for Leap Year!

Every day counts right now. The days have consisted of finding clothing, dehydrating more veggies/fruits/meat, further research, and preparing the home front for our departure. Plus, "another day, another dollar". However, that will be ending soon. March 16 to be exact, will be our final days of work. The solid 2 weeks leading up to our leaving will be packed with some serious last minute figuring out. Mail drops, in particularly, are the most stressful. We are close to having the appropriate amount of supplies(we think), but how much of what items goes into each parcel to each place is a maze I often scatter through in my head(with some assistance of Whiteblaze.net). Either way, it's still confusing but we are gonna give it our best shot those last two weeks. I mean, do you know what food YOU want to eat 5 months from now? Or NEED to eat since you are cranking out 16 mile days? Neither do I. So, educated guess work is what its gonna come down to. Worst case scenario we buy food here and there on Trail. I'm sure that's gonna happen some anyway. It'd be crazy if it didn't.

Our buddy, Austin, is opting to resupply at grocery stores along the way as he didn't have time to prepare packages for himself. I know that I've mentioned that before but it makes me wonder if that wouldn't have been the better choice. More expensive, yes, but every little bit of preparation outside of food is so strenuous as it is. And dehydrators take so damn long. Nevertheless, it's what we are doing and we believe it will help and not hinder our making it to the very end. And you know what? You'll be seeing every pleasure and every struggle via the film. These questions will be answered. We'll know every answer by no later than October.

Good news comes from our good friend, Eric Beyer, who relocated to Asheville, NC a few years ago as he agreed to pick up Chaser at Fontana Dam before the Smokeys and drop him off after. There was some slight inner conflict with this blessing. One of the aspects of this film was the true trials and tribulations of having a dog on the Trail. One of those, being boarding and shuttling through segments of the Trail dogs aren't allowed. As of last year it would have cost $250 to board and shuttle through the Smokeys, possibly more this year(damn gas prices). When I realized how close Asheville really was, I hit Eric up. His dog, Quincy, and Chaser spent time to together as young pups. Chaser knows Eric. It may not be a whole lot cheaper getting Eric to and from the Trail twice, but it's far more comforting knowing that he is with a familiar face. So, we are gonna go ahead and write it off as Trail Magic. Well, PreTrail Magic. Here's to you, Eric. Thanks, Bro!! Looking forward to seeing you and hiking some miles with you. We hope you are getting in shape cause we should be tip top by that time.

We have one month. What a count down. We decided December before last. What, 400 or 450 days of talking, learning, teaching, working, gearing, and reading towards this huge event? And now it's the final 31. The books, the films, the dreams of white blazes, shelters, mountains, trees, fellow hikers, fires, rain, small towns, and big stories are closing in to becoming reality. It almost doesn't seem real. So much support from so many people, strangers and friends alike.

Lindsay's friend at work, Lauren, mentioned to her dad that we were off to hike the AT. She said that he had recently watched the NatGeo doc on Netflix, coincidentally, and became serious with excitement for us with some knowledge of what we'll be up against. "Lindsay, you don't understand. My dad doesn't get like that", she said. We don't know him. Might never have the chance. But he supports it. Hell, it may have even planted the "I get out there and see what it's about, like these kids" seed in him. We really hope so.

I finally got all my clothes. I wanted to put up some pictures but my MacBookPro doesn't seem to want to read my iPhone's new pictures via iPhoto. Fine. Have it your way. Good chance upon coming home, the film will require a more up-to-date, more powerful Mac to successfully create a full length film. I'll worry about that when the time comes. Columbia clothing is what matched the budget, availability, and design I've been looking for. Their small shirts are actually small and 30x30 pants are actually 30x30 and all within monetary range which is a huge plus. I racked up on Academy's clearance rack yesterday. Cold weather gear on sale. Perfect. Exactly what we'll need the first month or two for early spring in the mountains and the last month or two for above-treeline hiking. I feel set. I'm comfortable with the weight and, well... the comfortably of the clothing. It's all gonna be put to quite the test.

They know

There are some serious thanks that need to said. We completed our goal on GoFundMe.com thanks to a very bad ass uncle who wanted no thanks. But he's getting some anyway. Thank you, Uncle Uncle. We really appreciate every one of those dollars and hope you can make it for some miles. Also, good friend, Spencer Rimes, who set aside some cash and slipped it to us the other day. It's already come in handy. Not a penny of any donation has been spent frivolously. It's all for the Trail. Most all of it still untouched. To everyone, again, WE THANK YOU. Mind you, people are still able to donate even though the "goal" has been met via GoFundMe.com. We won't turn away money. Keep in mind you are also purchasing the film and water painting(s). We have a serious list going on and would be happy to add your name.

Ponchatrain Sunset

More pictures next week!

Time Moving Too Quickly/Slowly

I sell boots at The Boot Store. Where "Boot" is our middle name. I've been there for a couple years now. I can often tell what boot you are gonna buy before you even look at our pretty enormous selection. I know how it is suppose to fit your foot. I find myself saying things like, "snug is good, tight is bad" and "if you get it a little too loose at first it will be way too loose later on" wayyy too much. I've been saying it for years. There's not a whole lot more to it. It's a nice little comfortable store. Yet I am so uncomfortable there. The feeling of needing a change is overwhelming. I've never carried less about selling boots than I do now. I'm ready to be in the mountains. I'm ready to see if all the preparations, studying, and saving pays off. I'm ready to see things I keep seeing in pictures and films. I'm ready to make my own. I'm ready to get this show on the road.

I love my home. Between Baton Rouge, Baker, St. Francisville, and Liberty I'm happily content; like I have been virtually my whole life. It's time for some uprooting. I want to see what else America has to offer. I want more options. I wanna meet more people from all over, not just the ones that ended up Baton Rouge. In addition, I want to spread the news about how great the South is too.

The Trail is for everyone. It's for those reading this right now and those who aren't. Adventurers from America and travelers from anywhere else in the world. It's there for anyone who needs something different from what they have right now. It's there in the summer, spring, fall, and winter. You can decide to adventure on the AT today, tomorrow, next week, or next year. It'll be there. But this is all because of the tremendously hard working efforts of many people. Notably the original visions of Benton MacKaye and Myron Avery, to the first thruhiker, Earl Shaffer, to every single member, volunteer, and supporter of groups dedicated to keeping and maintaining the condition of trail as intended(ATC, other mountain clubs).

If there's a tree down in the trail, you can't just throw a chainsaw on a four-wheeler and go remove it like I can at the camp. You gotta hike there. And generally NOT with a chainsaw. You bring handsaws, picks, and muscles. And what do you get paid when you finally make it back to comfortable safety and a hot shower afterward? Satisfaction in knowing that you helped clear the path making it significantly easier on future hikers. Not money. To those awesome people, we thank you.

We are very determined to give back during and after the Trail. It's not all about us. It's about everyone who wants to be apart of it. "Leave a place nicer and cleaner than when you found it" my dad always told me. It's instilled deep inside my soul. And I appreciate that.

We have 46 days until the first steps on the AT. Until we see what we adjusted our lives to experiencing. Until we find in ourselves what we've been waiting to get out. Until we can say we are really doing it. And do it we will.

Again, we want to give everyone who donated a special thanks even though they deserve so much more(and will get it post trip). Just since last week, Aunt Valerie, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Gayle/Uncle Howard, Lindsay's old manager: David Powell, Lindsay's Aunt Debbie, Lindsay's sister, Lauren Fasic, coming all the way from China with without a doubt the largest donation yet, and Brad and Laura Griffin. You guys are awesome and the fact that your support accumulated in the form a donation is overwhelmingly kind. We are going to finish for more than just ourselves. This is for everyone and we thank you again and again and again.
(don't know if I've ever started and ended a paragraph with the word, "again")

One more thing, it's looking like my awesome mother will be the one transporting us to Springer Mountain. Lindsay, Chaser, Austin aka Caveman, and myself will be piling in in just over a month to begin the journey. 9 hour drive there. 9 hours back. Thank you, mom! I love you!

VDay. She don't like roses.

If you haven't been to Tunica Hills yet. You need to.

PS. The vacuum sealer is working beautifully. Pictures soon!

Trying to Make Blogging More Weekly with Only a Few Weeks Left

If I counted correctly, 52 days till departure. That's a little over a month. It's crunch time. We plan on actually leaving March 30th or possibly the 31st so that we can take our first steps on the Trail April 1st.

We got a little more tenting practice with our tent this last weekend. Once again, it was in the rain and it held up superbly. Easy set up and easy break down. We went to Tchefuncte State Park for a friend's birthday to do some camping. Some really pretty woods there.

That's ours on the left.

We are headed back to Tunica Hills Sunday for some more training. Nothing will really prepare us for true mountains locally, but Tunica is so beautiful and a good semi challenge. It'll probably be a stroll by the time we return.

Our dehydrating journey has still been nonstop. Fruit after fruit after jerky after jerky. My dad and Lindsay's parents have awesomely been picking up bags of nuts, granola, fruits and other crucial trail food when they go to the store. That sort of thing helps so much. We've been advised, in order to complete the Trail on a budget, to eat the free food that you send yourself as much as you possibly can. It's so hard to determine what's gonna be enough. We have SO much right now. We just did another run at the grocery store for Trail dinners and breakfasts last night. But it still doesn't seem like enough for 6 months. Next we need a substantial amount of flat rate mail boxes to pack out with vacuum sealed meals we'll be preparing.

 Good donation foods.

That's one of the toughest parts, really. Planning out our stops. The itinerary still isn't as finely tuned as I'd like. However, I've been making an Excel list for anyone who would like to send us necessaries along the way. It'll be posted here when it's complete. Dog food is another concern. So many things we won't really know until we are out there. After the first couple weeks we should have it down.

We are pleased to be joined by fellow skater and buddy of mine, Austin aka Caveman. He tinkered with the idea of the Appalachian Trail a bit, spent a couple days hiking it in the Smokey's section last year, and decided three months ago to attempt the through hike. He's headed up there with us and we are gonna try and hike the first couple weeks together. He has a little more experience than us and he is good company.

I can't imagine having only 3 months to prepare for something like this but people do it in less. I recall on an AT video, some dude was just gonna hike a section but decided to keep going and completed the whole thru hike. That is kinda encouraging, really. If he can do it on a whim, we can do it with our year and half preparation.

We haven't really updated Twitter as often as we like even though we've been gaining followers. This is mainly due to every time I've attempted to update the last couple weeks(and it hasn't been many times), an error would come up or it would pretend like it's posting and not post. I got a little frustrated with it and distanced myself from it until we have some real stuff to Tweet about. I'd rather talk to you guys with a couple more characters than they allow.

YouTube, too. There is a slight lack of updating. I'm working on a pretty sweet dehydrating montage but dehydrating is a slow process. Also, the hike this weekend. I plan on making it a little more informative than the last one.

Thanks again to everyone. There were a lot of donors in the last two weeks and we couldn't be more appreciative. Aaron Crafasi, Jessica Pounce, and Chris Cafferal(again). You guys are awesome and every dollar is crucial.

One last thing. We are gonna have a little gathering at Greenwood Park in Baker near our house two weekends before departure for a "Goodbye for a Couple of Months" "party". We will miss everyone and will do our best to keep everyone as updated as possible. Note: if anyone would like to bring some cheap Trail foods for donation, we wouldn't mind. :)

Greenwood Park Sunset (2/7/12)

Psst. Mardi Gras is coming up. Louisiana rules.

2 Months Tomorrow

The pace of these last few weeks have been out of control. It seems like blogged just yesterday but that was actually about 3 weeks ago. I hope the next three weeks slow down a little. Not that we aren't ready for the departure date to be here already but the more prep time the better.

Training took a backseat the last two weeks. A friend of Lindsay and mine, Nathan Crawson, was struck by a drunk driver on his bike and killed. He had a 5 year old daughter he had just gained full custody of her, deservingly so. It was and truly is a sad occasion. Nathan was a very unique individual of whom I'll never feel I got to spend a sufficient amount of time with. He was an amazing artist, an even more amazing dad, and a supporter of our trip. He was taken too soon and will be sorely missed.

Sarah(gf not mom), Nathan, and Kat

I sometimes wonder what the home life is gonna throw at us while we're on the Trail. How soon will we get the news and will we be able to do anything about it? We both have Grandmas and other family we'll be leaving that we hope and pray all stays well for at least the 5 and a half months while we travel. I imagine a lot of people have to get off the Trail due to such circumstances. It's so sad when a twist of fate calls you back where you truly need to be. But I would have it no other way. If you gotta go, you gotta go. Family first. That includes the closest of friends.

Hunting season is over too. I ended the year with 4 deer. The last one is in the ice chest now. All 25-30lbs is going straight to jerky for the trail. Few things match the taste of deer jerky. It's squirrel and rabbit season now which I will not be taking part in. Too much preparation left. The itinerary begins tomorrow and thanks to the good people at WhiteBlaze.net for running such a helpful and useful website and the Appalachian Trail Conference for the Data Book and Thru-Hikers Companion, the necessary task should be much less difficult. I love reading the Thru-Hikers Companion. It's so informative and every bit of information is crucial.

 In case you needed a reminder.

Thanks ATC! Can't wait to get up there!

Maybe a month's worth?

Our friends with the film Beauty Beneath the Dirt will be showing their film at Trail Days in Damascus, VA May 18th. Trail Days is an annual event. Hikers and other Trail enthusiasts come from all over. Some have to catch a ride from further away on the trail to experience the festival then get a ride back to continue their hike. We might be in that very position. I want to catch that film. They gave some real words of wisdom and encouragement when this hike was still only an idea. I appreciate them and want to support them in anyway that I can.

We want to thank everyone who comes up to us and asks about the Trail. That little spark of interest, whether it be about the Trail specifically or just about what we are doing with our lives, we thrive on. We have such a massive support group and that is extremely comforting. We aren't going on this journey to escape anything. It's a journey to discover something, anything, and everything. We can't wait to have the same enthusiasm telling you about the stories we will have experienced as we do telling you now about the stories we have to come. We look forward to every step on the Trail and will have the people who helped us get there in the front of our mind. It's for anyone who believes we can do it. 2100+ plus miles won't be easy but will be completed.

Chris Caffarel, Andrea Baty, Rebecca Marchiafava, Becky Rhodes, Andrew Bursavich, Helena Wolfe, Barry Blevins, Aunt Sharon, Jill Barringer, George Waggner, Carol Patt, Marissa Frayer, Lyric Cox, Jonathan Tillman, Chesley, Mom, Dad, and anyone else who has helped in anyway. Thank you.

Final Hunt

Until next time...

"I swear I didn't chew up any tissue paper"

What a Holiday Season!

It's been far too long and we apologize for that. Around mid November both of our lives got pretty hectic especially with Chesley(my older brother who will be meeting up with us on the trail) in town for Thanksgiving, shopping and working for Christmas, and New Years(which consisted of a tree falling on my father's truck. Arg!). Despite the chaotic 2 months they were good ones. Christmas brought a lot of trail essentials including Timberland Chocorua hiking boots for both Lindsay and me, a few more solar powered chargers, and a few memory cards in addition to some Smartwool Phd socks(which are absolutely amazing!).

So it stands right now we only need a few more things. Mainly clothing but also meds for Chaser. Speaking of, Chaser got fixed this past Monday. He took it like a champ. I really believe it'll help on the trail. It's been needing to be done anyway. We are glad it got taken care of before the adventure.

We have been practicing any chance we get which are usually the days we both have off. We have been packing our packs out and heading to Tunica Hills aka Clark Creek where the climbs and descents are as close to the AT as we are gonna get. It's an all-the-way around roughly 4 mile trail. We got to test some of our gear which went great. The SteriPen, which uses UV light to kill bacteria in water obtained from streams, must've worked because we never experienced unusual stomach issues after use. Our hiking boots are awesome and so are our Black Diamond trekking poles. They really do make a difference. You can transfer a lot of the weight to your arms easing up on your legs and that's crucial.

One last thing. We've been dehydrating pretty nonstop. Mangos, pineapples, strawberries, all kinds of apples, bananas, tangerines, satsumas, deer jerky, hamburger meat, chicken and much more to come. We've been recording a lot of our training(as training) and dehydrating. There's a couple videos coming soon. Just need to find a little extra time to sit, convert video appropriately, and then edit it into something you'd like to watch and share.

One more last thing. I was awarded volunteer of the month by the awesome people at Appalachian Trail Conservancy for the videos I put together on trail acquisition for them! Article: Colton Calloway - January Volunteer of the Month. It was win win. I have so many facts and tidbits in my head about the trail after editing those videos. It's nice to chat about the trail to people who are unaware of it's existence. They are well aware of it by the time we finish. They are usually so fascinated. That's because it IS fascinating. I just can't wait to be on the trail, in the woods, with my girlfriend and dog others who share the same goal.

2 Months 20 Days.

And this movie was great and extremely helpful. Another great Christmas gift!