akratic's ERE journal

Where are you and where are you going?
J_
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by J_ »

I support Tylers words too, purpose find you.
I live already relaxed a long time like you do now, last decade located in two countries. I leave my own (winter)home in the Alps on the 12 of March ( I have to make speed by myself with cross country skiing (skating)).

Last three years I helped (parttime) a neighbour family of 4, where the husband had a brain tumor, but it was not at all like helping. It was for me much more a feeling of using (part of) my time well, and I got a lot of satisfaction out of it. Now the husband is stable and can help himself, his wife has a new friend, the children are accustomed to it. So I can let go, I only still walks with him every week and we enjoy it both.

I have time again for a new "purpose" if it occurs. Being more static helps perhaps. But as long you enjoy moving like you have planned to do with your AT walk? the "purpose" can be complete something other, I wish you one that suits you!

theanimal
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by theanimal »

What kind of books are you looking for?

The first one that came to mind was A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson: http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Redisc ... 0307279464 You may have already read it. This might be better to read before or after though.

Some more book lists:
http://www.kenilgunas.com/2014/12/the-b ... labus.html

http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/11-travel-books-bums/

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adven ... books.html

henrik
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by henrik »

Another book list by Ken Ilgunas with longer introductions:
http://www.kenilgunas.com/2014/12/the-b ... -2014.html

akratic
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by akratic »

I liked Walk in the Woods.

Those two Ken Ilgunas lists were exactly what I was looking for!

I guess what I’m looking for is a list of favorite/most influential books for people “like me”.

m741
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by m741 »

A lot of people I respect consistently recommend Walden, and it's a book that can take a while to really parse, and which you can really think about while hiking.

I always liked pulp science fiction while backpacking. Short story compendiums from the 60s and 70s, stuff like that (Niven, Bova, Asimov). Maybe it's because, as soon as you turn out the light in your tent or hammock, you can look up at the stars. It's not like that in a city, house or RV. It's a nice thing to dream about, leaving Earth, as you fall asleep.

JasonR
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by JasonR »

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C40
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by C40 »

You might find some interesting books at http://bookpickings.brainpickings.org/

Tim Ferris and his podcast guests often recommend books. The Episode with Ryan Holiday (Episode 4) has quite a lot of recommendations.

Some books that I have on my "read again some day" list:
- You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation I really liked this book. Might be interesting for you, especially since you've travelled a lot and have also seen cultural differences as well.
- The new toughness training for sports (James Loehr) - It focuses on sports performance but the material can be applied to other things as well. It's a simple and straightforward and useful book
- How I found freedom in an unfree world
- The Magic of thinking big
- The selfish Gene, and Sex at dawn

If you haven't read them, most of the Malcom Gladwell books are good. They're really easy to read and interesting - could make a good break/distraction from all the nature and walking. I'd imagine after a while, with all the walking and looking you'll be doing, reading more books about nature and hiking might not be appealing. Freakenomics is similar.

Looking at my list of Books to get and read, maybe these would be good:
- Running Anatomy (Patrick Milroy) - might be useful as you'll be using your legs/feet a lot
- How to be Idle (Tom Hodgkinson)

akratic
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by akratic »

@above, thanks for the recommendations.

@ffj, my first day on the AT will be with my cousin who is in recovery from stage 4 cancer. I’m going to let him decide about the approach trail once I get to Atlanta. No hammock, I tested them out and didn't sleep well. Here’s my gear list:

Image
Image

The ones that say REI/EMS are just placeholders until I get to a physical store and try stuff on.
Last edited by akratic on Sun Mar 08, 2015 9:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

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C40
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by C40 »

It also might be interesting to read some history books about the areas while you're currently hiking through them. Books about the Indian tribes that lived around there, colonization and settler expansion, and so on.. Those could be more interesting while you're seeing the landscape, and give more context to taking it in.

Same thing with books about nature - plants, wildlife, the hills/mountains, weather, etc..

theanimal
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by theanimal »

Toilet paper? What's that for? :P

akratic
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by akratic »

@theanimal, if that’s the best thing you can find to comment on, I’d say my gear list is dialed in! Thanks for your help getting to this point.

@ffj, I’m torn on the GPS. I see its utility in an emergency and also to check pace. I want to disconnect from electronics as much as I can though (aside from my Kindle). My smart phone has a GPS, but a big part of me wants to take a flip phone instead (just to coordinate meeting up with people on the trail), and another part of me wants to bring no phone at all. This will probably be one of the last decisions I make.

The Packa you linked to is nice. I like the idea. My rain gear is one of the things I thought least about, because I already owned a decent jacket. If I find my rain jacket insufficient on the trail, perhaps I’ll order a Packa.

tommytebco
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by tommytebco »

Good list. looks complete without padding.
I have hiked over 1300 miles of the trail as a section hiker (I month a year)
I would add ear plugs for sure. If you plan to use shelters you will need them at least 1/2 of the time.

You're a little heavy on clothes. I ,personally, think briefs are highly overrated and "go commando". The only thing I double up on is socks. I do carry thermals and heavy socks for sleeping only.

I have an electric book that plays music, If your Kindle had that capability (I don't know) that would eliminate the iPod. But it's so small that???
also, I don't see fuel (alcohol) in the list.

And food is a major part at the start of each leg. Faster speed and frequent resupply lightens that. I start with about 10 pounds and hike for a week between resupply.

With toe socks, you could use flip flops for camp shoes. They are the lightest,( I believe). most shoes weigh about a pound and up.

tommytebco
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by tommytebco »

Good list. looks complete without padding.
I have hiked over 1300 miles of the trail as a section hiker (I month a year)
I would add ear plugs for sure. If you plan to use shelters you will need them at least 1/2 of the time.

You're a little heavy on clothes. I ,personally, think briefs are highly overrated and "go commando". The only thing I double up on is socks. I do carry thermals and heavy socks for sleeping only.

I have an electric book that plays music, If your Kindle had that capability (I don't know) that would eliminate the iPod. But it's so small that???
also, I don't see fuel (alcohol) in the list.

And food is a major part at the start of each leg. Faster speed and frequent resupply lightens that. I start with about 10 pounds and hike for a week between resupply.
Also, I carry a poncho as my only rain protection. Nothing keeps you legs dry and loaded hiking is so strenuous that sweat soaks you with perspiration.
I added ties to the back corner to hold the tails in place over my pack in the back. You get damp in the rain one way or the other.

akratic
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by akratic »

My flight to Atlanta is today. I'm leaving my computer and smart phone in New York, so the next few journal updates will be written at town libraries.

I was surprised to find that I still wanted to be a ski bum even when it was time to leave. Even though I progressed to bombing down single black diamonds and cautiously doing double blacks, I still have a lot of room to improve on my carving turns, and I haven't tackled jumps or moguls or off-piste whatsoever. And then, even after I master the remaining skiing techniques, it will still be good exercise in the outdoors. I suspect there will be another ski bum adventure in the future, although this is in tension with the plan that we would settle down and have kids and a Vitamix.

Anyway, I believe I'm prepared for the hike. The bag is packed and ended up at 12 lbs before food/fuel/water. My start date is this Sunday. Although many hikers keep a log at trailjournals.com, I'm not planning to, unless I find that I have a lot to say. I probably will keep this journal updated though, except maybe not on a regular schedule.

Here's a map of how long it'll take if I move at the average speed of successful thru-hikers from the past (although I plan to go a bit faster):

Image

My kindle is stuffed with interesting books, and my shuffle is stuffed with interesting podcasts, so I expect I'll have a lot to keep my mind occupied. I look forward to mastering the outdoors, to losing about twenty pounds, to meeting some interesting people, to nevertheless experiencing a solitude so profound that it pierces my introversion's wall against loneliness, and to developing an intense appreciation for hot showers and normal beds and flush toilets.

vexed87
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by vexed87 »

Wow, quite an adventure, I'll be back to hear how you are getting on!

McTrex
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by McTrex »

So cool! So jealous! Enjoy!!!

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C40
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by C40 »

Awesome!!

Be safe and have fun. :)

mxlr650
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by mxlr650 »

You might develop sensitive taste buds and have new respect for flavor fatigue! Good luck!!

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C40
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by C40 »

And just imagine how much you're going to appreciate sex after this!

akratic
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Re: akratic's ERE journal

Post by akratic »

I'm on mile 70 on the AT after 8 days, which is about the pace recommended for those that don't already have their hiker legs. I'm taking my first zero day today, and then I should cross the Georgia border tomorrow, putting me exactly one day behind the map I made earlier (which is good -- I anticipated falling behind early due to poor conditioning, then catching up later due to single-mindedness).

== Body ==

I haven't been injured yet, thankfully. On a ten point scale with 10 being the most bothersome, here's how much everything is bothering me: knees 5, soles 4, heels 4, back 2, blisters 1, shoulders 1.

Every night I try to sleep from around 8:30pm when it gets dark until 7:00am when it gets light. I probably only manage to actually sleep about 60% of that time, but it's been enough.

== Mind ==

My thoughts are surprisingly crisp and clear considering the restless sleep. One of the things I wanted to figure out during the hike was a good entrepreneurship idea to pursue after I was done, and I already have four compelling ideas already! Regardless of how the rest of this thru-hike plays out, I expect I'll do more mind clearing 3-4 day backpacking trips in the future, because even that seems to be long enough for a pronounced effect.

Unfortunately, the new Kindle Voyage that I bought for the trip died within the first week. The screen cracked, breaking the touchscreen, making it impossible to select a book. What I did is call my dad and have him ship me a new Kindle Paperwhite to the town that I'm resting at today. It arrived on schedule, along with a case (big mistake trying to go without a case), and I transferred my books to it, so I should be good from here.

So the only books I got through are:
- Flowers for Algernon - great start, disappointing from 30% of the book on. I was hoping the retard-turned-genius would develop some wisdom or at least non-conventional ideas, rather than spouting out crap like the word "utilize".
- One Million Steps (paperback from shelter after Kindle died) - interesting subject, a 500 mile walk through Spain and France with a spiritual bent that has been done by millions across history. It's kind of an easy, consumerist version of thru-hiking, where you eat out every meal and stay in a hostel every night. The problem with this book is I found the author and his writing style to be obnoxious.

== Interpersonal ==

I'm struggling to connect with my fellow thru-hikers. I'm surrounded by so many conversations that are of such low quality that it kind of feels like I'm back in high school. I've asked about 20 people to play cards, and only got one enthusiastic yes, which just blows my mind considering the alternative seems to be talking about absolutely nothing. There are some small groups of people playing games like Rummy, but just with their clique.

Of the people I know well enough to guess a Myers Briggs type, the people I've met so far would be: ~25 SP, 2 XTP, 1 NF (quit with a sprained ankle), 0 NT, 0 SJ. The only good conversations that I've had are the three people that I isolated and hiked with for a few hours each. I was hoping to find a small community of people to hike with for the first couple of months, but it seems unlikely at the moment.

== Looking forward ==

So far so good I guess. Things are supposed to get pretty hard soon in the Smokies, and then relatively easy after that.

My 28 degree quilt is proving just barely sufficient, especially during the recent cold snap that had town temperatures at 28 and mountain temperatures at 16. I'm debating buying a 15 degree sleeping bag, but it just seems so inefficient considering how close what I have is to working.

I still don't have a trail name, and I'm getting a bit worried that I won't get one at all, or that it will be terrible. If anyone has any suggested trail names for me, I'd love to hear them! Here's some examples names that I know: Pretzel, Squirrel, Why Not, More Please, Finch, Sparrow, Moose Head, Sir-Packs-a-lot, Renaissance, Chuckles, Peg Leg, Oblivious, Iron Man, Honey Badger, Beast Bison, Goose, Cap, Spice, Patty Cakes, Shades, Zen, Red Beard, Gump.

Anticipating some name ideas, "akratic" wont' work; I'd be hesitant to pick something above even an eighth grade reading level with this community. Also don't bother referencing how light my pack is: my pack is light, but quite heavy compared to the handful of people who recently thru-hiked the PCT.

It's supposed to rain for the next four days straight, so that should be an interesting test.
Last edited by akratic on Mon Apr 06, 2015 2:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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