December 2008

It's been a year since I decided to take an opportunity to take a year off and fulfill a dream. I gave myself two simple tasks to do in 2008;

1. Hike the Appalachian Trail
2. Bicycle the Great Divide

In the process, making new friends, surviving hardships and reinforcing my belief in how little we need in life.

I am hoping that if you browse through this site, you'll also get the courage to escape the cubicle and go ahead and do it. It has been a most rewarding year and one that supports my optimism for the future, despite the current economic woes.

Thanks for all those that left messages of support when I was out there. It meant so much to know people were interested and following along as I traveled along.

What's with the Donkey legs?

Out hiking with friends from work, one of them refered to me as having donkey legs, due to me powering ahead of them. Following tradition, it was my Appalachian trail name.

Book Reference

Goals! by Brian Tracy. I read this in 2005. One great exercise to do was write a list of 100 things to do in your lifetime. If you haven't tried doing this, it's harder than you think. The key is not to stop until you have at least 100. It took me at least a week. One of them was 'Bicycle the Great Divide'. Three years later that is complete.

Task 1 : Hike the Appalachian Trail

On February 19th, 2008 I started my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail and climbed Mt Katahdin which is the northern terminus on July 4th completing my first task.

It's a Appalachian Trail tradition to take a small stone from the top of Springer Mountain carry it along the trail and place it on top of Mt Katahdin. I already have my stone. One I picked up on the Routeburn Track in New Zealand. Thought I'd add a little Kiwi spirit to the tradition.

Hiking the Length of New Zealand

While I don't suffer from a shortage of 'tasks' I did happen across another great idea while hiking to the Tamahunga Summit on my last trip back home and felt it deserved a mention here. Hiking the length of New Zealand, something I'm planning to do in my retirement. It's about 1,500 miles (2,600km). Not fully established yet, but a few have completed the journey. The TeAraroa Trust is establishing the trail.

more tasks added

After having completed over 2,000 miles of hiking, you would think that would be enough, but I'm already thinking of the possibilty of doing the Pacfic Crest Trail (2,650 miles) or at the very least the John Muir trail, which is only 211 miles. But that won't be this year.

TASK 1 criteria for success

1. Complete the hike in 5 months.
2. Ditch the gut and drop 30 lbs.
3. Do at least one 30 mile day.
4. Enjoy at least 75%.

Results

1. Completed the hike in 4 1/2 months, though the original reason for the success criteria was to minimize the lag time between tasks, that has changed and I will have well over a month before commencing Task 2.
2. Dropped 30 lbs after 1,000 miles and at the end of the hike had dropped 40lbs along with more than halving my fat percentage. I have noticed that my exercise recovery has greatly improved and I would have to say that I'm in the best shape of my life.
3. On reflection doing a 30 mile day seems silly, but when I was in Vermot I did a 32 mile day just to be silly.
4. I would say that I enjoyed it at least 95% of the time, it was only when getting to Maine that things began to test my sanity with constant rain.

Task 1 Risks

1. Injury or health problems prevent completion.
2. Unforseen circumstances cause delays.
3. iPod fails.

Results

1. Apart from a sore left knee early on in the hike and a few blisters I wasn't stopped from hiking by health issues.
2. The only 'unforseen' circumstance that was a potential delay, was the closure of Kennebec river ferry crossing, but by the time we got there it was operating again.
3. My iPod worked very well, even after dropping it in the Katahdin stream on the last night of the hike.

The Hike Statistics

1. 2,176 miles (3,500 km)
2. 89 miles (143 km) total vertical ascent
3. Usually takes 4 to 6 months to complete
4. Only 20% make it to the end

Personal statistics

The 'before' measurements were from February 17th, while the 'after' measurements were taken when I returned to California on July 11th, after having completed thru-hiking the Appalachian trail.

Website References

First site to hit is the Appalachian Trail Conservancy for details of the 'trail'. For gearing up, I used www.backpackinglight.com for most of my information and purchasing of some of the lightweight gear. www.whiteblaze.net is a great forum to meet and see who else is going to be on the trail.

Book References

Here are the books I used to plan the Appalachian hike.

	A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
	Awol on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller
	Long Distance Hiking - Lessons from the Appalachian Trail - by Roland Muser

Task 2 : Bicycling the Great Divide

Having cycled across Australia in 1994, I was already familiar with long distance cycle touring. Going from Sydney to Perth it took me a leisurely 58 days to cross. The previous year I had spent a wonderful 3 weeks cycling around the South Island of New Zealand.

Cycling across Australia

Back then I was contemplating a cycle across the USA. Perhaps down the Rockie Mountains or even across Australia. Australia was closer (I was living in New Zealand at the time) and won out. Though it's mostly flat, there were a number of climbs I remember well.

TASK 2 Criteria for success

1. Having the energy to start it after hiking for 5 months.
2. Visit National Parks along the way.
3. Do a century (100 miles) day.
4. Do a Ramen week - eating nothing but. (a Task 1 carry over)

Results

1. I guess energy wasn't really a problem, more returning to camping life after already having spent 4.5 months out in it.
2. I didn't visit as many as I planned. I left Zion and Bryce for another time as during the ride I decide not to ride around Utah.
3. Once I got back onto pavement, I was regularly doing 100 mile days. My longest mileage day was 131 miles (210 km).
4. Sorry, I just could not get myself to do this.

Task 2 Risks

1. Unfavorable weather conditions
2. Serious equipment failure.
3. Grizzly Bear encounters.

Results

1. I was laid-up a couple of times due to bad weather (snow and rain) but over-all I think it could have been far worse.
2. The only equipment failure was a broken chain but I repaired it and then replaced it in Helena, Montana.
3. I didn't see any Grizzlies, just two cute Black bear cubs, which just ran away as soon as they saw me.

The Ride Statistics

1. Actual distance 3,549 miles (5,711 km)
2. Actual time taken, 60 days.
3. Country/States traveled through
   1. Canada
   2. Montana
   3. Idaho
   4. Wyoming
   5. Colorado
   6. New Mexico
   7. Arizona
   8. California
4. Crosses Continental Divide 22 times.

Personal statistics

Here are some additional changes to my personal statistics after returning from the ride. Actually taken a month after competing the ride.

Previous Experiences

• Around South Island of NZ, 1992
• Across Australia, 1994
• Wellington to Auckland, NZ, 1998

MAP References

The route is wonderfully mapped out by the Adventure Cycling Organisation, and it's just a matter of purchasing the maps and getting on your bike. I did use a state map of New Mexico, when I went off route from the official Great Divide.