Food planning

So I didn't get as much done today as I thought I would. I was hoping to plan out all the mail drops so that I could start to figure out the menus. Instead, I went shopping at BJ's and a local natural food market with Mom. We got a lot of stuff to start putting the packages together, including GORP ingredients, instant oatmeal, fruits to dehydrate, and six pounds of ground beef to make some more jerky. I'll put some jerky in the dehydrator tonight before I go to bed so it will be ready in the morning. At this point I have no idea how much the food bill is going to be, but I am making steady progress. This is just one of those things I am going to have to learn through experience, like many things to come.

Apart from shopping, I was able to resume my workout schedule. I hit the Stair Master at the YMCA and did some weightlifting after. It felt really good to get a solid workout in. Hopefully I will get a good hike in over the weekend so we can try out Harley's new pack. On Monday, I'll be back to pilates and spinning class. I go with Mom twice a week as it's really good cross-training. I am one of only two guys in the pilates class, the other is a nice old man named Sam. He saw me warming up today and wanted to know why I had skipped class. I promised him I would be back on Monday.

Planning, planning, planning

I never imagined the amount of planning that goes into organizing a six month trip. I had experience planning a 50-mile backpacking trip when I was in middle school, but the scale of this trip just blows that out of the water. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the menu planning yet. Hopefully tomorrow, I will have a clear idea of how many mail drops I will have so I can start packaging them up. I anticipate being on the phone for quite a bit tomorrow talking to hostel owners and outfitters trying to figure everything out. Luckily Whiteblaze is an amazing resource for the trip planning. I don't know what I would do without it. It is a lot of fun though and I am enjoying myself while doing all of the logistics.

Today was a pretty productive day. I was interviewed for the local paper and that went pretty well. The article should be coming out in about two weeks. I'll definitely post a link when it is published. I also watched TREK, which is an awesome DVD about the AT. It is the story of 4 guys attempting the trip in 2001. It really puts the whole thing in perspective and the thing that I found most valuable was learning more about the struggles that you face on trail. Of course not everyday is going to be rosy. There are going to be days that will be an absolute hell. But I think the movie did a good job of showing how you have to roll with the punches and take everything in stride. As I look forward to my trip, I hope that I am able to persevere through the tough times and become part of the 10% of thru-hikers that complete the trail.

Tomorrow, I look forward to returning to my workout plan. I have fallen off of the wagon the past two days because I tweaked my back while shoveling snow on Tuesday. It was absolute agony on Tuesday evening, but with the help of vitamin I (AT code for ibuprofen) and the massage pillow that my mom got for Christmas, I am feeling much better tonight. I'll be hitting the stair-climber in the morning. So that's the latest news. Time to hit the sack.

Introductions

Welcome again everybody to my blog. I think I have it set up the way I want. I added the FirstGiving link on the right hand side last night. I also uploaded my gear list complete with pictures (just click on the item that you want to see and it links you to my webshots account). This list will likely be tweaked as I go along, but right now my base weight, sans food and water is around 17 pounds! Pretty darn good!

I thought that I should give everyone a proper introduction to the main characters of this adventure, namely Harvey and Harley. I am Harvey. I just graduated from Cornell University this past December with a BS in Human Biology, Health & Society. Basically that is a fancy name for pre-med. I have applied to med schools for this fall, but unfortunately have not been interviewed anywhere to this point. This is one of the reasons I am taking this trip. I want to step back from the world, get in touch with myself and reevaluate my options. I need to decide if medicine is really the path I want to take. Maybe there is something better out there for me. Only time will tell. Enough with the Debbie Downer stuff, time to talk about the other character that you will undoubtedly be readin about, Harley.

Harley is a 1 and a half year old Yellow Lab/Coonhound mix. My family adopted him from the Ithaca SPCA last summer and he has quickly become a member of the family. He can get into mischeif quickly, but is a loyal and loving dog. He has tons of energy and is ready to hit the trail. Above is a picture of him in the tent I took with my phone. A couple of days ago, I set up the tent in the basement to introduce him to it. We slept in it overnight, and in the morning he liked it so much that he didn't want to get out. I had to start collapsing it on him in order to get him to leave. Hopefully that won't be a regular occurence on the trail.

Today I also experiemented more with the food dehydrator. Hopefully that will turn out well. I have already made beef jerky and turkey jerky earlier this week. Today I experimented with fruits and New England Clam Chowder. Hopefully I'll post some pictures tomorrow. Also tomorrow, my good friend from my days in Boy Scout Troop 129 is going to interview me for the Brighton-Pittsford Post. He writes for them now, so hopefully I'll get a cool article that will encourage people to follow my journey through this site. Well it's exteremly late now, so I am going to bed. Happy Trails.

Opening Thoughts

I am 21 years old, recently graduated from Cornell, have a wonderful loving family and girlfriend, and am about to embark into the adult world. Why, in the prime of life with my future awaiting me would I decide to escape to the woods for six months with only my dog for companionship?
Even as I sit here making preparations for the trip, it seems like an impossible task that only fools would chase. And yet it appeals to me. Perhaps I am a fool after all.
A month ago at my college graduation, the President of the University challenged myself and the other new graduates in the room to "lead the life of the traveler, not the tourist." Although I have a plan, I do not know where this adventure will take me or where I will finish (Maine hopefully). All I know now is that I am about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Hopefully, with self-reflection through this journal, I will learn more about myself and document my experiences for all to enjoy. Thanks for reading.