Pre-trail Jitters and Last-Minute Notes

In about 5 hours, dad and I are going to wake up, pack up, and drive over to Springer. We're shacked up in a little hotel in Dahlonega, GA for the night, about 20 miles from the southern terminus of the trail.

One of the interesting things about EDS is that it is often associated with issues regulating adrenaline release. For the last couple hours, I've been on a fairly steady surge of the famed "fight or flight" chemical. I can't explain why; There's no real specific reason for me to feel this stressed. It's almost more like I was stressed first, and I'm now searching for reasons to be stressed. An "effect -> cause" relationship, instead of a "cause -> effect" relationship.
Anyway, so I'm laying here with this adrenaline pumping through my veins, but since I can't identify a tangible issue, there's nothing for me to fight or flee from. Instead, this giant, heavy ball of energy is just sitting in my gut, and I'm so excited to go burn it off on the trail tomorrow.

Because this hotel has reliable wifi, and I don't know when the next time I'll get that will be, I want to clarify some stuff:

1. I'm not expecting that I will be able to update this blog every day, or even every few days. I only have my phone and one battery (the solar battery I ordered weeks ago is still in Texas...) and reception will likely be spotty at best.
2. The incredible amount of support I have been getting is unbelievable! I've been contacted by people from all over the world, and have page views registered from every continent except South America and Antarctica. I've been doing my best to get back to everyone that I can, but it's tough!
3. I will be posting pictures on this blog, but I suspect that I will be posting more over on my twitter page. On the upper section of the menu to the right of this post, you'll see a twitter button, as well as a live twitter feed. Check those out!
4. Finally, another huge thank you to my parents for all their support over the past 18 months. I know this has to be a little nerve-wracking for them, but not once have they let that affect this journey. I love you guys!

As far as the hike itself, the next few days shouldn't be terrible at all. It'll rain a lot, but it should be relatively warm, and I haven't seen any horror stories about ice.

It's a late start, but it's a better start than I would have gotten if I had left last week!

An Open Letter to My Family and Friends

Dear Loved Ones,
     Right now, it is technically February 28, 2015, which means that in quite literally a matter of hours, I'll be taking the first steps of an almost 2200 mile journey across an entire country. Don't think for a second that the incredible magnitude of this undertaking escapes me. I hope it doesn't escape you either.

We would do well to remember this fact as well: This will not be 2200 miles of pure fun.

     Now, that's not to say that there is no fun to look forward to. Getting my trail name, tagging Mt. Washington, petting ponies in Grayson Highlands, and dangling off of McAfee Knob are all moments that I'm giddily awaiting, along with countless others. I certainly don't mean to say that this is going to be terrible the entire way. In fact, I like to think that most days will be wonderful in their own right. I am expecting a phenomenal trip.

     However, there will be bad days. There will be rainy days. There will be achey days. There will be blister days, bruise days, chafing days, and yes, there will be dislocation days. There will be wet days, and cold days, and steep days, and days where the magic seems to be sucked out of the trail more and more with each step I take.

There will be days when I want to stop.

     It's on days like these that I will need you the most. If I call you up one day, in tears and ready to come home, it may be tempting to tell me that it's okay, that I tried my best, and that there will be a warm bed and a fire waiting for me when I get home. This is exactly what I will want.
But it's not what I will need. What I will need is for you to help me keep walking. Remind me of the 18 months I spent planning this trip. Talk to me about how it will feel to kiss the sign on top of Katahdin. Ask me what it felt like to reach the top of Cloudbelly Pass in Colorado. Hold me accountable to myself. Whatever you do, in lieu of an emergency, please do not enable my quitting.

     Family members, do you remember when I was born?  I don't, but I imagine it must have been pretty cool. I was thrust into this weird world where everything was too bright and noises were too loud and everything just freaking felt different. It may sound horribly uncomfortable, but it was in this strange new world that I was able to grow and discover myself, a process that I'm still continuing today. I don't know if I would go so far as to say I'm hoping to recreate my birth- that would be weird- but I certainly do plan to come out on the other end of this trip a different person. It is outside of our comfort zones that we grow best, and I look forward to a great deal of growth over the coming months. This is why I'm hiking.

     Old friends, do you remember when I was diagnosed with EDS? Amid the hormonal throes of puberty and the social hurricane of middle school, I learned that I was "disabled." For the rest of my life, my joints would dislocate, my skin would tear, and I would have to worry about another hernia. It was shortly after that I was diagnosed with KC, and told that without surgery, I ran a risk of going blind. I felt as though life had been wrenched from my fingers and spent spiraling out of control.
Fast forward 5 years, and I think I'm still caught up in that spiral, though I'm no longer convinced that it's downward. I avoid the "d-word." Not only have I learned to respect the limits that my body has set for me, I've learned to love teasing those limits, pushing myself to see what those limits really are. This is why I'm hiking.

     Newer friends, do you remember when I discovered rock climbing? Do you remember how scared I was? Not of the height of the cliff, but of the world below me. I was alone at boarding school for the first time, my body was screwed up, and it was around that time that a good friend of mine was killed in a car crash. The world was terrifying.
The moment I tied into that rope and grabbed the rock though, everything changed. I was able to pull myself up, by myself. I had a friend on belay for support, but everything was largely on my terms. This freedom was exhilarating and eye-opening. I began to see these challenges not as walls to stop at and glare in spite from the bottom, but mountains to climb over and relish at the top. This is why I'm hiking.

     Friends and family, I'm stepping into another new world, and I can't think of anyone I would rather have at my back than you.

I love you. Thank you.

Let's take a walk.

-Alden

Filler Post- FAQs

This morning, I posted on Twitter that my starting date is once again being delayed due to weather. We got another fresh dumping of snow Tuesday night, and with it a plethora of downed limbs, power outages, scary road conditions, and funny gifs of people slipping on ice.

My father and I will be driving down to GA on Sunday, and he will be dropping me off at the head of the approach trail Monday morning. Barring any major medical issues, acts of God, or world-ending events, this is my final starting date. I'm starting to get frustrated and annoyed with all of these delays. It's getting to the point where cabin fever is worse than being chilly.

To make this post a little more interesting than me complaining about waiting, I thought I'd cover a few questions that people keep asking me about the hike.

Q: How long is the hike?
A: This year, the trail is 2189.2 miles long. It passes through 14 states, has a total elevation change of 464,464 feet (Mt. Everest x 16) and takes an average of 5 months to complete.

Q: Are you really going alone?
A: Sort of. I am technically solo hiking the trail, which means that I'm not bringing a partner. However, there are plenty of people starting starting within a few days of me, and we will more than likely cross paths every few days along the way

Q: Why are you doing this? Are you a crazy person?
A: Probably! Also, you may be new here- check out my first blog post to read more about the "why."

Q: Have you read "A Walk in the Woods?
A: Yes. Wonderful book. Bryson is some kind of wordsmith!
*If you enjoyed AWITW, consider checking out "The Lost Continent," by Bill Bryson, at your local library. Also, remember to thank your librarians for the work they do!

Q: Did you see "Wild?"
A: Great movie. I highly recommend it for anyone over the age of 16ish.

Q: What about bears? Bears are big and scary.
A: There's a saying along the trail- Bears are basically big raccoons. As a general rule, they're more scared of you.
Along the east coast, the only bear you really stand a chance of encountering is the American Black Bear. While these guys are certainly large enough to totally mess up your face, they don't seem to realize it. As long as they aren't after your food, they are very unlikely to even show themselves to you. The biggest exception here is when cubs are present- If you come between a momma bear and her cub, your day stands a significant chance of becoming much worse.
That's rare, though. I'll be following basic bear safety- Hang food in a tree far away, make a little noise while hiking, watch out for cubs.

Q: How do you... y'know, "make a deposit" in the woods?
A: Many shelters along the trail have simply privies nearby for all your toilet-related needs. If one of those isn't readily available, there is a standard Leave No Trace procedure for pooping in the woods.

• Find a suitable spot 200 ft. away from shelters, trails, or water sources. Bonus points if there's a view.
• Dig a 6x6 in. hole.
• Do your thing.
• Dispose of any toilet paper, leaves, pinecones, branches, small mammals, or other cleaning materials in the hole before refilling the hole with the original dirt.
• If you are with a group, consider placing a pair of crossed sticks on the spot as a warning. Treasure hunters, always remember that in the woods, an X doesn't always mark golden doubloons!

Q: How will you keep in touch with the world?

A: I will have my phone. I'll charge it when I'm at a resupply point every few days, and I also have a small solar battery that is (theoretically) supposed to arrive at my house tomorrow.

Q: How many people actually read your online journal?
A: As of 3:22 PM, on Feb 27, I have 540 pageviews (not counting my own) from something like 14 different countries. In addition, I'm being featured every week on a weekly hiker update over at /r/AppalachianTrail.

Q: How will you get home from Maine?

A: Good question!

A Note About Cold Weather [Serious]

I want to take a few moments to talk about the cold, because I'm not sure many people really understand it.

Did you know that if you were to take your average human being, strip them of their clothes, and lay them down motionless in a tank of water kept at 32.5°F (0.3°C), they could succumb to hypothermia and die within 20 minutes?

Woah.

Of course, this is a highly unlikely situation. We are human beings, and as human beings, we generally like to do things like wear clothes and generate heat by moving around (except during lazy Sunday Netflix marathons, when we I do both to a minimum.) Both of these activities drastically increase your chances of surviving the biting cold. Neither of these are fail-proof, though; In fact, they are far from it. Everyday clothes can only do so much, or even worsen the situation (deliciously comfy cotton t-shirts, I'm looking at you) and moving around requires energy, and cannot be done while asleep.

Tonight will be Raleigh's coldest night in memorable history. It's supposed to reach around 5°F (-15°C) with wind chill rushing as low as -10°F (-23.3°C). These numbers aren't just cold, they are potentially very dangerous.

Keeping that in mind, I will be sleeping outside again tonight, in order to test my sleep system in as extreme a situation as possible. However, I am only doing this because I have enough experience to feel confident in my equipment, enough formal medical training (WFR) to know when the situation is bad, and most importantly, my back door is 15 feet away. Otherwise, I would be spending the night curled up under 5 blankets, watching Netflix in my undies and eating Nutella with a spoon.

"Now Alden," you might be saying. "This seems like a pretty extreme post, especially since people die on the trail so rarely. Is this really necessary?"

Frankly, yes it is.
Because two people have already died along the trail this year.

Granted, one of those deaths has been ruled a suicide, While this is incredibly saddening and my heart goes out to the victim's friends and families, I would like to focus for a minute on the other death.
This past Monday (2/16) the body of Kate Matrosova was found near Mt. Washington, NH, a day after her emergency beacon was activated. An experienced hiker and no stranger to the cold, Kate was a native to Siberia and had summited several notable peaks, including Uhuru Peak, on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Over the weekend, she took off from her NYC home to try and hike up Mt. Washington, which is notorious for being the deadliest peak in the lower 48 states. By Sunday afternoon, temperatures had dropped down to 35°F (-37.2°C) and winds were whipping at up to 100 mph (160kmh), bringing wind chill temperatures as low as -92°F (-68.8°C). It took teams of Fish and Game officers, Androscoggin Valley S/R responders, and Mountain Rescue Service members a full day to find her, at which point it was too late.

Now, this is an extreme situation. A very extreme situation. Most people will never find themselves facing conditions anything like this, but taking note of what happened still bears a lot of merit. Despite years of experience, Kate was taken unawares, and paid dearly for it. The same thing can happen to anyone else, at any time. Fortunately, we're usually able to cope with the issues and move on- if you're cold, go inside. If you get hurt, call an ambulance.
In a wilderness situation though, those coping mechanisms are limited drastically. A temperature 10° below forecast could spell a night of hypothermia and an ugly morning, at best.

So, fellow hikers, I ask you to please prepare.
Don't ask yourself "What do I need?"
Ask yourself "What might I need?"

*     *     *     *     *
Side Note
Due to the extreme conditions on the trail, as well as a suggestion from the USDA Forest Service, I've yet again decided to suspend my start date. As it stands now, my parents and I will be driving down to Springer Mt. on Thursday, Feb. 26th, and I will begin walking on the 27th.

Best wishes to those already on the trail- Hope you all are taking some well-earned zeroes and are staying warm.

*     *     *     *     *


This was not an incredibly fun post. If you've made it this far, thank you!
Hopefully I haven't done too much to ruin your day/hour/week/life/current relationship/other.

If you're worried that I have, go ahead and mosey yourself on over to r/animalsbeingjerks (<-- that's a link!)
Everything there is an absolute riot, and is bound to warm even the chilliest of moods.

Winter Storm Sleep Test

Almost everyone in the Southern US remembers Snowmageddon 2014; Inches of snow covered the entire nation south of the Mason-Dixon line and east of the Mississippi. Raleigh itself got somewhere around 3 inches, and shut down for days.
Not only are we just miserably equipped to handle more than a few snowflakes, but every day for a few days after the snow, it melts and refreezes overnight. Every morning, black ice is everywhere.

Well, today is supposed to be Snowmageddon 2015. Naturally, it seemed like a great chance to test my sleep system in a nasty, wet, cold environment. Since tonight went so well, I figured it'd be safe to give it another shot tonight.

It's supposed to be a bit warmer tonight- 23°F, instead of 17°F. Plenty of snow and freezing rain, though. In fact, every half hour or so, I need to punch a layer of ice off of the roof of my tent- it freezes solid!

Again tho, wrapped up in a 0° bag and Arc'teryx Atom down jacket, I'm pretty comfy.
Hopefully all will go well again, and I'll have another good post in the morning.

Sleep Test 1- I Survived!

Good Lord, when am I ever awake at 7:35 in the morning? I must really be serious about this whole "hike 2200 miles" thing.

In other news, I survived the night! Aside from some chilly feet around 11:30 (nothing a hot Nalgene couldn't fix) I was quite comfortable.
Actually, that's a solid ProTip: If you're ever camping and you get cold, boil up some water on your camp stove, pour it into your water bottle, and stick it in your sleeping bag. Not only does this warm your precious footsies, it will hopefully prevent your water from freezing overnight.

Anyway, that's my quota for actual real sentences this early in the morning. Too much more and I'll just start to sound kinda dumb.
I'm gonna go make a mocha!

I'll post more this afternoon about tonight (and maybe tomorrow night)

Cold Weather Test: Night 1

17 degrees in Raleigh tonight! When does that ever happen?

We figured that it's cold enough that all the friendly neighborhood vagrants wi be staying indoors tonight, so I opted to set up the tent and test out my sleep system. So far, I'm warm and cozy, and I'm not even in my thermals. I'm definitely going to stick out the night, and post results in the morning.
If all goes well, I'll do the same thing tomorrow night as well. It will be warmer, but a winter storm will be blowing through- Snowmageddon 2015!

posted from Bloggeroid

7 Days Out! (Start date change, and pre-trail workout routine)

My new start date has moved from Feb 15 to Feb 20!


Not only will this hopefully allow for some better weather, but it makes life a LOT easier for my parents, who have taken it upon themselves to get me down to Springer Mt. (Love you guys!)


In other prep news...

• My bag is packed! I'm still making a few adjustments here and there, but I'll hopefully be able to post a complete gear/clothing list in the next day or two.
• I'm breaking in the new boots!
• Clothing is planned, laid out, and should be in the backpack tonight
• A food pile has begun!
• Packing for college is starting soon! (Probably won't have time after the hike)

I've also begun a pre-trail weight lifting routine to try and pack on some last-minute pounds before I start:

• Nutella Dead Lifts:
• Lift one (1) spoonful of Nutella to mouth and return to jar (10 reps)
• Peanut Butter Curls:
• Lift one (1) spoonful of PB to mouth and return to jar (repeat until exhaustion)
• Pizza Sprint:
• Eat an entire pizza. Do not leave the table until finished. Even if you have to pee.
• Ice Cream Shot Put:
• How far away can you launch ice cream from, and still catch it in your mouth? (20 reps)

Repeat exercises every 2 days before hiking

*    *    *    *    *

One week! I'm starting to get the hiking itchies!

IFTTT Test! (and a note about post frequency)

Hopefully, notifications for this post (and all subsequent posts) will be sent to both my Facebook and my Twitter feed. With any luck, IFTTT will run smoothly, and life will be easy.

Also, posting!

I haven't been posting a whole whole lot so far, mostly because not a whole whole lot has been happening. Packing, prepping, etc. However, as my start date looms closer, I'm going to do my best to pick up on that.
Once I actually take off, posts should come whenever I have internet access.

Relevant fun fact:
So far, this blog has pageviews from 13(!!) different countries! Portugal, Indonesia, what are you doing here?

So, what now?

That's a question I keep asking myself, and I think I finally know the answer.

First of all, for those who don't know, the Appalachian Trail is a footpath spanning the oldest mountain range in the world. Stretching almost 2200 miles (~3500 km), the trail passes through 14 states, from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. The total elevation change is 464,464 feet, which is roughly equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest 16 times.
Basically, as far as wilderness strolls go, it's a pretty damn big one.

Obviously, that much walking requires a lot of time, planning, and equipment.
Since I'll be starting college in August, I figure I'll need to start walking a bit early; most thru-hikes take between 5 and 6 months to complete. My ideal start date is February 16, but as I've said before, weather conditions play a major factor in whether or not I'll actually be able to hit the trail then. Mountains get cold.

With my start date only 17 days away (!!) I've still got stuff to do. I've got my budget mostly planned out, and most of my gear purchased and laid out. I still need to contact the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation and see about getting a list of EDS-friendly doctors along the trail, as well as do what I can to set up a support system along the trail in order to get me to one of those doctors, if need be.

I'm out of town right now, but when I get back I can do a more comprehensive post about the gear I'm packing, as well as what I've decided to leave behind.

I also realize that I haven't posted in a week- sorry about that! Hopefully as the big day comes closer I'll start finding more to post about.

Site Update: Twitter!

My twitter is up!

I'll be posting journal entries/major updates here, as well as smaller updates to my twitter page.

Be gentle, as the twitterverse is a new and scary place.

Click the twitter button on the right-hand side of the page, or on this link to follow me!

Right now, I'm in the process of updating the live twitter feed below "latest tweets," as well as other little adjustments to the menu bar.
Hopefully that will be up and running shortly

On the topic of joints

Don't get excited, not that kind of joint.

    Actually, I read somewhere that something like 40% of people who turn back on the Appalachian Trail do so because they ran out of marijuana. I don't know if that statistic is true or not, (though somehow I suspect it might be a wee bit inflated) but either way, Mary Jane seems to be a constant part of culture on the trail. It'll be interesting, as someone who does not and doesn't plan to smoke pot. I suppose that's a post for another day, though...

Today's post is about other joints. Articulations of bones that allow for musculo-skeletal movement.

    I remember 6 years ago, in 7th grade, I was in Botany class, finishing up some notes on how to plant something. When the bell rang, I threw my notebook into my backpack and stood up to move to my next class. In the process of exiting my seat, I hit the inside of my kneecap on the corner of the table. I remember it hurting quite badly, but I didn't have time to stop and look at it. I only had 4 minutes to make the 5 minute walk to class, and I did not want a lunch detention.

    Partway through the walk, I felt a little *pop* in my knee, and felt a strange sliding sensation as my kneecap slid back to where it was supposed to be. Suddenly, the pain was significantly reduced. Sure, it was still sore, but I didn't feel like I was limping around like a drunken zombie anymore.

    When Mom picked me up from school that day (lunch detention-free) I told her about what happened. Neither of us had been aware of me dislocating anything before, though in hindsight I do remember experiencing aches and pains that seemed disproportionate to the normal growing pains that my classmates felt. That afternoon, we went to an Urgent Care center. After listening to my story and looking at xrays, the doctor told us to go home and research Marfan Syndrome and other connective tissue disorders (CTDs)

    It became apparent pretty quickly that I didn't have Marfan, given the fact that folks with Marfan are noticeable for their tall stature (Abe Lincoln had MS) whereas I am not. However, in all my mom's research, one other condition seemed to keep coming up more often than any other: Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS).

    EDS is actually an umbrella term for a group of conditions that are all linked by the production of faulty collagen (the body's main building block). There are quite a few classifications of EDS (Wikipedia lists 14), though it is usually limited to the 6 most common types (listed in order of prevalence):

• Hypermobile (Type 3)
• Classical (Types 1 &2, mostly differentiated by degree of skin involvement)
• Vascular (Type 4)
• Kyphoscoliosis (Type 6)
• Arthrochalasia (Types 7A & B)
• Dermatosparaxis (Type 7C)

-I will make a post giving more details about what EDS is and the individual types in the near future-

    Within a few months, I had been officially diagnosed by a geneticist with Hypermobile type EDS. HEDS is characterized by extreme flexibility (I've been called triple jointed), a relatively low degree of weakened skin, and unstable joints that dislocate or subluxate (partial dislocation) frequently.

    Of course, because nothing medical is ever really straight forward, everyone with HEDS has a different experience. In my specific case, it could be said that I have a relatively minor case of EDS. However, that is not to say that it is a minor condition. I still dislocate and subluxate joints more than most people (generally to the tune of 1 major joint/month) and my skin stretches and scrapes like nothing else. As an added bonus, a related condition called Keratoconus has left my 90% blind (Dr.'s words) in my left eye, due to the huge amounts of collagen that help make up the cornea.

    I would never say that I have been blessed with this minor manifestation of EDS (is it possible to be blessed with something like EDS?) I do recognize, though, that I am incredibly fortunate that with physical therapy (~1 year with a pro, and on my own since then) I am able to treat my EDS as a factor more often than as a disability. 

    So, this is generally the point where people look at me like I'm some kind of fool for even considering this hike. And I think to some degree, they might be right; If I were to dislocate a knee or blow out my back in the middle of nowhere, it could potentially be a dangerous situation. I recognize this completely, and in no way do I want to minimize that danger by ignoring it. However, I fully intend to minimize it by preparing. 

    This summer, I took a 9 day course at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (coincidentally, on the AT) to become a Wilderness First Responder. This certification means that I've been formally trained to handle most situations that might be encountered in a wilderness setting, ranging from minor scrapes and burns, up to dislocations, fractures, frostbite, or even emergency childbirth (though I'm not terribly worried about needing to perform the latter)
    Along with this certifications, I will always be carrying a cell phone with extra batteries, extra food, and I am currently setting up contact with people who live along the whole trail and are willing to provide assistance if I find myself deep in it.

    And of course, there is the ever-present possibility that I will need to stop hiking. I am determined to do this hike, but if I feel that I am doing permanent damage to my body or that I am in immediate danger, I'm not so determined that I won't abort the hike completely. My life and health are always top priority.

    Anyway, that's a brief synopsis on my journey with EDS, and how it pertains to the trip. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment or shoot me a message on Facebook!

This is a blog!

Congratulations!
There are 4.6 billion web pages out there, and by some twist of fate, you wound up on this one!
It's pretty cool, if you think about it.

    Anyway, if you hadn't figured it out already, this is where I will be detailing the day-to-day events leading up to, during, and possibly after my 2015 Appalachian Trail thru-hike attempt.

    Given the spotty nature of cell phone reception and the limitations of lithium ion batteries, I'll obviously not be updating every day (at least after I start walking.) I will, however, try to update when I can.

*     *     *     *

    So, I assume that most people reading this blog will be friends or family, and will already know me fairly well. If we haven't had the pleasure of meeting, keep reading for a few weeks. I'm sure you'll get to know me just fine! (Also, leave a comment! New friends are great)
For those who may not know me so well, I suppose I should introduce myself:

Hi!
I'm Alden, and I'm a 19 year old from North Carolina.
    I enjoy rock climbing, snowboarding, hiking, reading, video games, and savoring the first sip of a really good cream soda.
    Having completed my Junior year of high school a year almost 2 years ago at a fantastic boarding school in New Hampshire (shoutout to any of you Huskies reading this!) I found myself faced with what seemed like a Herculean task; College.
 College decisions. College interviews. College essays. College tours. College counselors. Everything college-y. Most daunting of all was coming to terms with the fact that in 12 short months, I would be in college.
    Now, there's a reason that the adolescent years of one's life are referred to as "the blunder years." And blunder I did. From my 7th grade diagnosis with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (more on that in a later post- Trust me, it's gonna be a fun one) to my 3-day suspension from school Sophomore year, I blundered a lot. And blundering, of course, is the best way to learn (which is why I still do it)
    Nearing the end of my summer as a rising Senior, I felt trapped by the collective weight of these years. I had spent the last half-decade of my life making mistakes, learning from them, and constantly trying to grow and reshape who I was as a person as a result of what I learned. It seemed so incredibly unfair that, come graduation, I had only 3 months to reflect on the ups and downs of this rollercoaster of self-definition before taking the next huge step out into the whole, wide world. I will always remember the night in early August, when I stayed up literally until the crack of dawn, thinking about all this. Around 6:30 in the morning, my mom came downstairs, and saw that I was still awake. At this point, I promptly burst into tears, and told her that there was no way I was ready to start college in a year. I didn't know how she would react; Would she be angry? Sad? Disappointed? Any number of negative scenarios were running through my head. Turns out, she just smiled and said something along the lines of, "Alden, we've been waiting for months for you to tell us that. Let me go get some coffee, and we'll talk."
    That's how I ended up taking a gap year. I graduated in May 2014, having committed to a fantastic school- Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah- and with an approved request for a 1-year deferral. Since then, I've taken a 90-day trip through Peru, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic with a program called Rustic Pathways, sightseeing and volunteering in hopes of broadening my horizons and learning more about myself (noticing a theme yet?)
For the record, I accomplished both of those to a degree I could not have hoped for.

    That brings us to today. 2:13 in the morning, on the 16th of January. Right now.
My room is a mess of warm clothes, camping equipment, and literature on backpacking the Appalachian trail. My goal is to be packed up and ready to start walking on February 15. However, because I cannot realistically expect my frozen corpse to show up at college in Utah and actually get a degree, I'll most likely be delaying my departure until early March, when cold and snowy mountain nights will be a bit less cold and snowy.
I suppose I should leave the details for my next post; It's late, I'm tired, and I've been typing a lot.

Old friends, glad to see you here!
New friends, drop a comment or Facebook me! I'm stoked to meet you.

Thanks for hiking with me!
-Alden