why?
Why do I want to embark on this journey?

It seems like a fairly simple and straightforward question to ask, yet the answer is not. After all, it isn't everyday you decide to pack up everything that you own and lead a life very different from everything you have been used to. Its reasonable to expect that I have a good reason for doing do! Hiking has been my leisure activity of choice for the last few years now, and I have found myself enjoying it increasingly over this period. I have made several one or two night trips out into the wood, and met many people who either had completed or were completing the Appalachian Trail. They all had great stories to tell of their accomplishments, the problems they had overcame, and in general the great experience they had or were having.

While those that I met made the trip sound great, it all seemed a little too far fetched for me. After all, quitting your job, packing up your entire life and walking a trail for MANY MONTHS seemed a bit extreme to me, to say the least. However, the more I thought about it, the more that I decided if I was to make this trip ever, I would like to make it now, while I am young and in good health. I know that people of all ages make the trip, even Earl Shaffer made a repeat journey last year, but as you get older, there are mare variables to consider. I have very few bills currently, don't own a house or have a family and I am in good shape.

But why am I choosing to go for a five-month walk, in the woods, alone at all? The idea does scare me a little bit, but I consider that a good thing. Mostly, I look at this trip as a way to get more in touch with who I am (commence puking). Seriously though, I enjoy nature, and I even moved to a town where there are more trees and fewer people for that same reason. I would rather go for a hike in the woods, than go for a stroll in a mall. I think that this trip reflects my view of the world and how I most enjoy it, that is small groups of people living simply. I tried living in Boston for a year and half, and there are many things about the city that I enjoy, but it is not who I am or how I want to live.

I have been called by one of my good friends a walking paradox. By this he means that everything up until this point that I have said is true, yet I have a completely different side. I work in the computer field, in fact I love it. I enjoy tinkering around with computers, and writing programs. I own a big screen TV, good sound system, and several computers. I have cable and broadband Internet access, yet I search for peace and quite wherever I can find it. Are these two lifestyles compatible? I don't know, on the surface they don't appear to be but I seem to be doing ok with this duality in my life right now. I guess that is one of the things I will have to figure out on the trail. This is for sure; I will have plenty of time.