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