Magnum slug

As a recent arrival to the Northwest, I have no way of knowing if this is a normal size for a gastropod in these parts. I should ask Kristin, who probably used to befriend hell-beasts like this in the family garden in Portland when she was a little tyke.

But speaking for myself, I can say with conviction that this is the largest slug I've ever seen in my life. I hope my training hikes continue to provide such rich wildlife interactions.

UPDATE: My girlfriend, as predicted, turned out to be a fount of information about slugs. She says that this is a banana slug, that yes this is a normal size, that you can tell it's moving because its antennae are out, and that these are an "integral part of Northwest forest ecosystems."

And lest anyone be tempted to crack wise about my foot size, I'll have you know that's a size 10 for scale.

Hello, world!

"Well, bout time for me to be hittin' the ol' dusty trail ..."

Hello, hello. Welcome to my first attempt at blogging since I kept up a LiveJournal back in those angsty high school years.* Since graduating college and hiking most of the Appalachian Trail in 2011, I have developed a deep obsession, not with Furries as is commonly rumored, but with long-distance hiking. This site aims to be the outlet for the strange body of knowledge and philosophy that I have lately been acquiring.

In May, I will start my attempt to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail, and this will be the home for all my journaling and pictures. Before that, I plan to post random and possibly quite dull ruminations on the preparation process. And in the meantime, there is the FAQ, my 95%-complete gear list on GearGrams.com, and the video page to check out. My girlfriend, Kristin, has a nascent food blog (read: there are no posts up yet) on her tangles with our new food dehydrator. It's all linked to at the top of the page. 

Have a look around, and subscribe so that when the good stuff comes along, you'll be reminded that this blog exists and hopefully be able to read along with interest. Pip pip.

*Which did not under any circumstances also include my college years ............. Shut up, okay?

The AT 2011

In 2011, I attempted to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail NOBO starting on April 3. Things were coming along nicely until early July when, about 15 miles north of Duncannon, PA, my right shin acutely started to hurt. I hiked on it for 3 more days, it didn't get any better, and eventually I ended up going home to Virginia for two weeks to rest it and attend a series of inconclusive doctor's appointments. All symptoms were consistent with tibial stress fracture but a bone scan couldn't positively diagnose it. Regardless, my leg felt better with two weeks of rest and I headed back out, but skipped up to rejoin my friends in Falls Village, CT. I later missed the 100 Mile Wilderness and Katahdin, at the northern end of the trail, when I ran out of time before the plane ticket I had booked for mid-September. So there are 380-ish miles missing from the AT for me. Someday I'll knock the rest of them out.

The AT was, except for that fight with the injury, a fantastic time all-around. I've looked back on my (handwritten) journals and realized that almost every day was a good day where fun and memorable things happened, with fun and memorable friends. Hiking is so simple, and it is such a rich experience of human nature and, you know, Nature nature, that for now I find it hard to accept any other expenditure of my own time. I'm lucky to have a girlfriend who understands this and is not only letting me go off to do it again on the PCT, but is actively supporting my escapism by being my food and maildrop coordinator, which is pretty time-consuming and skilled labor.

Like it's done for many other people, the AT got me hopelessly addicted to long-distance hiking. Here are some selected images from that journey. More pictures exist in these two facebook albums.