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29 March A Rough StartI just made it into Franklin, North Carolina 3 hours ago. I've had to change out my hiking shoes/boots already due to the heels of my feet being tore up. It's been wet and cold the last 5 days, but everything is starting to look up! I'm making this post before all my calls and e-mails so that I may not have to over explain everything each time. I will be here today and tomorrow, then hit the Trail back up. This should give my feet ample time to heal (maybe) and continue northward at a decent pace. I miss everyone of you dearly, and will speak to you as soon as I can. I will buy a pre-paid cell phone just to keep in touch. Pictures will have to wait until I feel like uploading them, though!
 People I've met on Trail already: Skip, Snuggles, Richard, Mr. Ed & Lightweight, Baltimore Jack, The Dude, Joe Kickass, Turtle, Pickle, Trusty, Moose, Monkey Wrench, Skunk Ape, Romeo & Juliet, Hot Feet, Chupacabra, Phil, Ken, Ron Haven, Miss Janet & on & on & on it goes! BTW, my Trail name is Tapeworm.Peace until next time.
01 March One more countdown
So, I sit here with only 17 days before one more effort to complete the whole Appalachian Trail in one shot. The saying is "The 3rd time is the charm." Let's hope that I can complete this. I have my doubts and I have my hopes, so maybe I can meet them somewhere in-between. My house is no longer semi-vacant, and I have a cash flow for the first time ever. Things tend to be getting better, so I'm just waiting for the smaller storms to finish out. So, check out www.whiteblaze.net in the meantime to get an idea of the Trail, and maybe I'll see a few of you out there? Otherwise, you might be locked down in a boring job and planning some great adventure yourself! Here's to your dreams out there! 18 February Chat with me!So, Yahoo! has a new feature which allows you, the visitor, to chat with me via this blog anytime that I am on my Yahoo! Messenger! Isn't that just farking awesome? So, if you visit this, and want to chat with me, let's try this out!
16 February The Pre-CalmAs with any Tempest, there is a lull in the storm, as it recedes in it's final throes. There will occasionally be a smattering of rain, as the storm fades, and dissolves to a memory. The memory will remain for a quiet time, but as all things, will fade in time itself. Even after the memory of the Tempest has faded, there will come a time on a most spectacular day that you will remember that you had suffered so much to enjoy what you have now. Either that, or on a most common day, when smaller storms seem to batter you, that you will come to a realization that you have survived much worse; and with that, your little clouds will seem like a speck of dust laying on a dusted counter-top.
As for Tests of Life, there is no Pass-Fail, just a common reoccurence of lessons unlearned, until they have been understood and you are able to move on to the next lesson. It's a common, glorious, often times forgotten fact of life that everything comes 'round again. When it does, though, who says we have to be standing in the same spot? Why, to do so would be death by complacency. I suggest, when those trials & joys of life come back round to you, that you can see them from either a lower perspective, or a much higher one!
Seize the chances as they come, do not force them. To force things is to imply we have power, although powerless. To realize the chance, and seize it then, now that is the true power! I have had many chances to be extremely happy or extremely remorseful. I have, by seizing or letting go certain chances, become stuck in a middle road that is border line complacency. When the time came to take the love of my life in my arms, instead of just letting her go.... I did not seize that chance and may never get that chance again. When I could have chosen to accomplish the needs of my being, I sacrificed them to another's needs, and have been left unfulfilled.
Now, I have to accept the choices I have made, and the choices left unmade. I accept them with no complaints, only a better understanding of what I have and have not done. A man that has taught me more than he knows once told me, "You just have to keep yourself interesting." I didn't know how to take the advice, as it didn't seem to fit in the conversation at the time. It just goes to show how little we pay attention to ourselves and others, as now I know what he meant. Correcting course always seems like a good idea. I think this time I will do just that. 22 August When it Rains it Pours"Life never gives us what we want, but what we need."
"What we need is never easier than the things we we want;
but will fulfill us more if we survive the test
of necessity."
So, once again, here I am staring down the gauntlet of life and her tests of endurance and fortitude. This time, I don't rush in headlong as I have been known to do in past tests. This time... I tremble before the magnitude of it all; not in humility, no, as that will come in another test. See, this test is not like the past ones, nor will it be like the future ones. This Test, as it shall forever be known, is an amalgamation of my past tests, and my future tests. It is a study to see how much I have learned so far, and a glimpse of what I might be capable in the long run.
This, you may say, is the Test of my life. The most important one that has been, and surely the most important one to come. Why is this Test so important? Mainly because it has me on a crossroads that if I choose wrong this time, I will never have another chance, in any form, to make up if I choose wrong.
Trembling... I make my way towards that gauntlet. I stand before this Test, and with a mental shudder, I step right into the mix of things... 20 June Sweet-ness!Hello once again! I am only about a week from the New Hampshire border! I sure can't wait to get Maine out of my system and be on with the rest of the trip. For those not in the know, I have a surprise. Come early February, I am going to be a Father. More reason for me to hurry it up and be done with the hike.
Plans for getting done before Christmas are not only possible, but reality. My new goal is to be done in early November. I'm sitting in Stratton right now, talking with a NOBO. I've met quite a few NOBO's already, namely Bleach, Trek & Do-Rag.
Some of these NOBO's have only been hiking since March! That puts them at 3 months! So it is quite possible for me to finish early November. Well, I'm off here. Peace all!
O'Riain 15 June Out of the WildernessHello! I just finished with the 100 Mile "Wilderness" yesterday, the 14th. Going to take a Zero day at Shaw's today. I enjoy the new ownership, but miss the old owners. I only spent 8 days in the "Wilderness", and one day for Katahdin. Had a blast of a road trip on the way up, and if you are ever happen to be in Portsmouth, NH, stop in at Jumpin' Jay's Fish Cafe. To get there, look for the big seafood buffet place, get lost for about 15 minutes, and just as you think you are getting back to where you started, stop and you are right there! Be sure to dress appropriately! *Grin*
Ok, for those who want to keep track. First day I did about 12 miles, followed by 18 miles, then a 10 miler, a 7 miler, a 12 miler, a 11 miler, a 22 miler, and a 15 miler. Approximately! Have it down in the Data Book and my journal, but not with me. Oh, and I'm using the Net at the small *very* library courtesy of Monson. Will be in Caratunk in 3 days, and Stratton in about a week or so.
Met a lot of cool people on the Trail heading Southbound. Sharing the Trail right now with Birdnut (GAME '02), the Jarheads Easy & Pepper, and a day behind Carlos "Fire-starter", the Cancer Kids Grizzly, Bandit & Goat, and Scott AKA Lefty. Check out the Cancer Kids' website as they hike for breast cancer awareness @ www.hike4thecure.com Great group of kids, with TONS of enthusiasm.
Pictures of the road-trip and the climb up Katahdin with Wildman AKA Mountain Slayer Kev will be up sometime in the next month, depending on how well the download process goes from the home end. Some are just hilarious while others should be breath-taking. Glad to have all of you along!
Peace,
O'Riain 01 June One Last Call!Well, all is set. 2 days and I'm off. Only change in plans is that Scott's dad can't make it due to work, and we will not be stopping in NYC due to time and money restrictions. Other than that, I just can't wait until Saturday so I can learn some more Kihon Waza for practicing in my spare time along the Trail.
There is a couple from Ohio that are doing a flip-flop of the Trail, starting the exact same day as I. They will be starting in Waynesboro, Virginia and will be making their way up to Mt. Katahdin. Then they will be headed back down to Waynesboro, to head south and finish on Springer Mt., Georgia. We are planning to meet up in Waynesboro, on their flip-flop and possibly finish the Trail together sometime before Christmas.
Another potential hook-up will meet me around that time or so, and do the last half of the Trail with me. I figure doing the 1st half by myself (mostly) is enough time to contemplate the things that need contemplating. Then it's time for good ole' re-socializing.
I will be in contact with many of you through this medium or by surprise phone calls or even a little something via postal means. May your lives give you exactly what you need to fulfill your purpose. May we all be blessed in the end of our endevours!
O'Riain 30 March Full Steam AheadAll plans are finished! I have sent out my reservation request to Baxter State Park, the begining of my migration South. I have also sent out my 'AT Support' to Outdoor Source in Columbus, OH, whom I purchased my Aether 70 pack and Montrail Torre GTX through. If anything should happen to my gear, they will help me with the manufacturer, and on Trail I will get a 20% discount on any items I might need along the way! Talk about awesome!
In addition to my brother-from-another-mother (read best-friend!), his dad, Ron, and a friend of ours from work, Kevin, will be making this road trip. I'm so damned excited, especially with the sun shining through my window, and a cool breeze from outside blowing through my open door, as I write this!
I have already chosen my trail name: O'Riain. It means Son of Ryan; the Little King. It's the old Irish spelling of my middle name. Simple, yet dignified! ;)
The official date of my hike begins June 6th, 2006. As I wander along the trail, stopping into towns occasionally, I will be in touch with my Father and lil' Sister. They will post my progress on this site, for any of you who are interested in silly details. ;) Well, time for work.
Peace, -O'Riain 15 January Time is nigh!Well, I've managed to put it off last year, but not this one! You better believe it that I'm taking up my pack, strapping on my boots, and hitting the trail for 6-7 months this year. And you know what? I can't wait!
I am going to be doing a SOBO (South Bound) thru-hike of the AT (Appalachain Trail) starting sometime in the first 2 weeks of June. My friend and brother from another mother, Scott, and I are going to be road-tripping up into Canada, straight east and down into Maine. Should be a week long trip with it culminating in us peaking Mt. Katahdin in Maine's Baxter State Park, and the northern terminus of the AT. From that point on, I'll be on my own as I hike an estimated 2, 180 miles south along the Appalachain Mountains, where I will finish late this year at the southern terminus of Springer Mountain, in Georgia.
I have section hiked the 100 Mile Wilderness and climbed Katahdin back in '04. View my 170 or so pictures of that trip in the photo album. This time is gonna be a thru-hike and seriously, can't wait can't wait can't wait can't wait can't wait!!!!1!111!!!one!!1!!
Anyone out there have any good digital camera options? If do, post a reply with camera model, price, memory space *number of pictures capable of being stored* and any other specs. you can come up with. Heck, even a link to the camera will be fine! 20 November Just to Get Everyone's Spirits UpIf you are feeling a little down, a little blue, looking for a little inspiration, or just to see something good, check out this link. It brought a smile to my face, and may just be the coolest Christmas light shows out there. Let it load, and it runs for a little over 3 minutes. Enjoy!
~Patrick 05 November Simple updateBetween work and sleep, there is only one thing that I have been able to do in my very limited spare time. That is to study a few books of mine. I have been dutily decoding the pages of Maranatha: Et In Arcadia Ego, and letting the simple wisdoms of Soke Hatsumi sink in. These simple mental pleasures take away the redundancy of the work life that I have taken up!
 Well, time to go. Enjoy those precious moments that seem small. They are the moments when we are truly see a glimpse of what life should be.
12 October WorkBeen helping build the new CVS Pharmacy store that is coming to town. Talk about doing some hard labor; those masons don't mess around. Also helping my dad get his house ready for some painting and much needed winterization. *natural gas prices are gonna be KILLER this year!*
I begin working for Pepsi in Indy @ 9am Tuesday, the 18th! Can't wait, my paychecks are gonna be outrageous! :D With all of this work and energy everywhere, I'm happy to announce my appetite has come back from a 2 year hiatus! I didn't think I was ever going to get that back.
Well, for those few of you who actually check this site out, be careful in your actions and in your words. Be easy, and peaceful, and hope to keep this updated as much as possible. Peace! 23 September Excitement, I may not contain!Well, I'm finally getting out of one of those minor slumps that life throws at you every now and then! Oh yeah! hehehe I shall soon be starting a job making at least $13.03/hour, which will help me come up with the funds I need to move to Dayton, very very swiftly.
If all goes according to my tentative plans, that move will be one of my major 1st steps to accomplishing what I want with my life, and that is study/learn who I am and to make very good friends along the way.
I do believe I've out-let some of that uncontainable excitement enough through this medium, for the time being. I'm pretty sure as the days go though, there will be more hooop-laaaa to write about!  21 September Meanderings for the day--Humans are bodies of motion. When we are actively doing something, we feel at one with ourselves. Yet we tend to put ourselves in lockdown situations that are not healthy.
--The current state of humanity is degrading. We use and abuse things around us, not thinking of what effect we are having on our environment, and thus ourselves. Once we run out of that which we use so gluttonously, we switch to something else, forgetting the lesson(s) from before; thus continuing an ugly downward spiral.
--Love is one thing that makes us so great. When it comes right down to what matters, we CAN overcome with love. Love is the hardest way to the end, but it's end is so much more fulfilling than any easier path. 15 September Hello, Web-surfers!This is my first attempt a web-page and "blogging"! I put this site up, probably for the same reasons everyone else does, in hopes to share a little of who I am, what I want, and where I am destined to be.
I hope everyone of you who checks out my page(s) also checks on the music and photos and links, which will be updated whenever I feel like it!
 So enjoy, and don't be afraid to give kind criticism and considerations.~Patrick~ |
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