Last day of January 2012

Good morning everyone!  Yesterday I went shopping at WalMart and bought a few more hiking/camping items!

I got my CCF (blue) sleep pad for about $8, a 8 x 10 tarp for $6, a magnesium fire rod for $8, a cheap-o cook set just for shakedown hikes for $7, a waterproof container for my phone, wallet, ID, etc. for $2 (sealed tupperware-like container!), a 10 pack of instant oatmeal variety pack for $2, extra virgin olive oil for $6.

One day soon I am going to pack up all my gear and head out to the woods for a practice trip.  I will let you know how that goes.

Yesterday it was almost 70 degrees and today is expected to be the same only with a little rain possible tonight or in the morning.  Insane!

More later guys I need more coffee!

Speaking of coffee, here's something funny for ya!

The Best AT Video I've Watched So Far

http://youtu.be/B807bJvkFlM

by far one of the BEST videos out there for an AT thru-hike

No More Juicing

Hello again.  About my backpack:  I'm still waiting for my money to process on PayPal.  I texted the guy I'm buying my pack from and told him what's going on.  I hate this.  Shame on you PayPal... :(

I broke my fast, ate solid food and I'm returning my juicer Tuesday.  It was cool and I lost 5 pounds but realistically I want to keep working out and making smart/healthy food choices to lose weight.  I bought some boca burgers (soy and veggie) some 100% whole wheat buns and Kashi  snack bars.  Also some diet Lipton green tea.  I refuse to starve myself and be miserable.  I will lose the weight but it will be done in a healthy gradual manner.

Oh, I want to share one of my favorite YouTube videos with you.  It's an AT thru-hike vid and not only is the video great but the music is awesome too.  Here it is:

http://youtu.be/B807bJvkFlM

Juicing

Hi everyone!  Sorry it's been a week since my last post.  I am doing a juice fast and have the attention span of a 2 year old!  It's getting better since I added black coffee back into the mix.  My goal was not to detox 100%, I wanted a Reboot but I've personalized it to fit me.  Purists would call it cheating but I call it "customization".

The reason I'm doing this fast is to accelerate my weight loss.  I've been working out and eating right for about 2 weeks now.  Prior to the fast, I'd lost about 4.5 pounds in a week.  Since the fast began, I've lost an additional 7 pounds in 2 days.  I know it's mostly water and waste but I'm very excited.  I want to lose 30 pounds in 10 days if I can last that long.  I am going to try.

In hiking-related news, I am buying my backpack from a hiker off of Whiteblaze.  It's a Gregory z55 pack and it's black.  I'll try to get a pic up here for ya.  We made the deal verbally last night over the phone but I'm still waiting on the money to go from my bank to my PayPal.  It says it's processing.  Ugh.

Here's my pack!

I can't wait to get it.  Hurry up PayPal...*sigh*

Big Workout; Big Appetite

This afternoon I did 7 miles on the bike.  I then did 30 minutes on the upper body circuit machines.   After that I walked home and took a hot shower.  Dinner was Firehouse subs and salt n vinegar chips.  I also had several beers.  It's about midnight and I am ready to go to bed now.  More news tomorrow.  :D

PS  I need a nice backpack.  If anyone knows of a good one, please let me know.  Thanks!

Goodnight~

Gym Time

Got off my ass and walked to the gym. Watching ESPN and riding the bike. More later this is tough to do on a bike, lol.

Made Reservations!

Just downloaded Blogger app to my smart phone. So excited about hiking, I can't sleep. Today I made my reservation at the Hiker Hostel run by Josh and Leigh! For 75 dollars they will pick me up in Gainesville GA, take me to the hostel, give me a bunk for the night, feed me breakfast the next morning and shuttle me to the trail head. Total bargain. I have a ride to Gainesville. I'm so psyched. Next wk I am going to try and get the rest of my gear. The week after that, I'm  going on a shake down hike near Hot Springs to test the gear_and myself!

Now I need to try and sleep.

More in the morning!

Going Home

Good morning!

Yesterday I got outside and walked the circumference of my apartment complex.  It was really nice outside yesterday, around 68 degrees F.  Today it's down in the 40s but I happen to love winter and its weather so I don't mind one bit!  Today I am walking to Target and back.  Tomorrow I will going back to the gym and the treadmill.  I think I will start my strength training tomorrow also.  I enjoy the weight machines in the gym and I feel SO much better when I work out.

I woke up feeling rested and halfway decent this morning!  I'm surprised  because I normally stumble to the kitchen with one eye open, hit the start button on my Mr Coffee, and grab a diet soda and the ibuprofen right away.  I think - no I know - I'm getting in shape.  My body is thanking me for doing this.  I feel ashamed that I literally layed around for a year and got fat and flabby, not to mention depressed.  I'm sure I'd be in a lot better shape all around if I had done this last year but ya know what?  I refuse to be sucked down into the mistakes of the past!  I'm doing this NOW and I'm taking care of me NOW and that is what I need to keep focusing on.

Some times it just doesn't seem real that I'm going to do this.  I look at all the youtube videos on thru-hiking the AT and it's all so beautiful but it's ... surreal.  I can see myself at the overlooks and on the trails but only because I used to live practically IN Shenandoah National Park.  I know I'll be there again but my it's just like watching a movie on TV...

It's true what they say about not knowing or appreciating what you have until it's gone.  I always knew Virginia was a wonderful, beautiful, and historically rich area, but I took a lot for granted too.  The Appalachian culture, from which I am descended, is rich and beautiful in its own way.  It's a unique way of life that I am so proud of now.  I went through life just assuming everyone knew what it meant when I said, "I'd stretch a mile if I didn't have to walk back" and other little things.  Some people have never had homemade apple butter or seen a Mennonite buggy.  Others have never know what it's like to wake up with the sun blazing over a mountain, a river, or a forest with squirrels scampering thru the trees and across the electric wires.  Some have never sat around an open fire roasting hot dogs on sticks and drinking a beer with friends.  I took this way of life for granted.  I didn't think it was a big part of me.  I was wrong.  Very very wrong.  Hiking the AT is like going home for me.  It's in my blood.  It's part of my soul.

VIRGINIA'S FALL COLOR EXPLOSION

APPALACHIAN AUTUMN

THE AT THRU VIRGINIA AND SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK
CLICK TO ENLARGE

Hiking thru my homeland! I can't wait.

Map of the AT

January 17, 2012

January 17, 2012

Monday:  Lee-Jackson Day and MLK Day.

Hi again! 

Okay, sorry I haven't been updating faithfully.  I will from now on, promise. 

I will NOT be using Trail Journals, my blog will stay right here so don't YOU go anywhere! LOL

I want to send out a HUGE round of thanks to a friend of mine, Kim Pintabona and Appleseed Camping of Washington, DC.  Kim is sending me a giant box of CAMPING GOODIES!  I urge you to go to their FB page and check them out.  Here is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Appleseed-Camping-Corporation/338979559449782

THANK YOU KIM!

The other good news is that I've been seen near …and even  IN the gym!  I did 2.5 miles last Thursday and 1.5 miles last Friday.  I punked out over the weekend, had beer and pizza and totally immersed myself in the NFL playoffs.  I loved it, all the teams I chose won and MY team, the New York Giants,  won their game as well.  Yippee!

On a totally different note, I want to tell you about this gem of a DVD I found at my library.  I love history with a passion and I was thrilled to see a PBS DVD called, "Colonial House".  It is basically a living history "reality show" where a group of people go to an isolated area of Maine and have to live and prosper in the year 1628.  I thought it was AWESOME.  If you like history and documentaries, you'll have to dig this one up at your library or check out www.pbs.org for more information.

I didn't go to the gym today purely because I was foul and lazy most of the day.  I'm in a rut or a funk or whatever you want to call it and it's SO HARD to pull myself out.

As you can see, I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally want to get up in the mountains!

Some people say the isolation and the loneliness of the trail is hard.  I am looking forward to being alone in the mountains.  That's not to say I don't want to make friends and socialize, I do!  I just want to be alone inside my head for a while.

I am going to miss my cat SO MUCH.  I literally cry when I think about it.  I will pick him up and hold him and he'll purr in my face and I feel so bad leaving him.  I think the worst…what if he gets sick?  What if he dies?  I will feel so guilty.  I know I shouldn't think that way but it's hard.  He's been my best friend and constant companion for almost 8 years.  When I say constant I do mean constant.  Like 24/7.  I have worked from home since I've had him so I rarely go away and leave him alone.  Sigh.

Well, I DO plan on going to the gym in the morning.  Actually THIS morning!  I need to get to bed if I'm going to be worth anything later today.

That's today's update.  See ya tonight!

Tammy

January 04, 2012

January 04, 2012

Started my lifestyle makeover today.  Getting my sleep back on track…up for daytime and sleep for nighttime.  No alcohol.  No snacks.  No fast food.  Ate Grape Nuts and Special K w strawberries for breakfast, 2 cups of black coffee, lots of waters and some diet cokes.  No snacking.  Made lowfat burger meatloaf, instant Idohoan potatoes, beef gravy, green beans in real butter and broiled peppers in oil for dinner.  Ate one plate at 430 ish then had another piece of meatloaf around 6pm.  Water and diet coke the rest of the night .  Went to bed early, around 630 pm, back up now at midnight and it's officially…

January 5, 2012

Sleep still a bit off but getting better.  Bought a few items at Dollar Tree and WalMart today.  Got matches in waterproof vial w screw on lid, a whistle, a cheap knife that's very sharp, some wooden matches, some pepperoni in vacuum sealed plastic, a bag of fruit and nuts, some antibacterial wet wipes in travel packs, some tea light mini candles…  Packed 2 gallon sized ziplock bags each with 2 weeks worth of drink packets like coffees, Crystal Lights, and teas.  Gathered 7 bags of Knorr pasta sides, got 8 Lipton soup and sauce packs,  some spices, put all in a duffle bag with new gear.  Need to do a practice hike but don't have trail pack yet.  Still using Tim's laptop backpack.  Will work with what I have for now.

Walked to mailbox and back yesterday and today.  Took trash out yesterday, walked all of WalMart about twice today. 

Got , "A Walk in the Woods" at the library today.  Half way done.  Makes me really want to go.

Signed up for Trail Journals.  Not sure if first entry posted, internet at home being a bitch.  I'm sitting in the living room in the dark at 12 14 am and I'm tired, I have to pee and my wrists hurt.  I don't feel like making complete sentences LOL.  Anyway, I want to make an entry here for EVERY DAY from now till I go to Georgia.  From that point on I will be using trailjournals.com  I will transfer this  into the tj if I feel like sharing.

Lastly, I really need to pee, brb.  Want to talk about a possible sponsor, Stop Pain. 

Okay…whew!

I contacted an arthritis pain relief company called, "Stop Pain" on their FB page and asked them if they'd like to be partners and help sponsor my AT hike.  They replied with, "please email us at this link".  So I did.  I pitched a pretty good deal to them, asking for money for food, a few trail town visits, and to pay my mobile phone bill for the months I'm on the trail.  In return I told them I'd endorse their product exclusively.  I also pitched myself rather well.  I hope they are interested.  It would be so nice to go out there and not have to worry so much about money.  If they don't, that's okay too.  It's always been about the experience and the journey, not how much money I can spend while doing it.  I'll still be fine.

January 3, 2012

January 3, 2012

 

It's exactly 12 weeks until March 27^th – the day I've planned to start my NOBO thru-hike of the AT.  I hate my body.  I just looked in the mirror again and I am disgusted and depressed.  I have really let myself go, something I swore I'd never do.  I have gained 15 pounds in the past 3 months alone.  Prior to that I think I put on 25 pounds last year.  I can remember thinking I was fat when I weighed 177lbs.  Back then I was only about 25 pounds over my target weight.  (note:  as I'm typing this a fat commercial came on television.  Great. L )  Now, I need to lose close to 85 pounds.  I am disgusted with and at myself.  Sometimes I think, "Why bother?" or "You'll never make it up the first hill."  I know I shouldn't think that way but when you get out of breath from just making the bed, it seems more truthful than hurtful.

I WANT to get in shape.  Well, the truth is, I want to want to.  I want to wake up and be in shape without having to put forth the effort and the deprivation.  I hate being hungry.  I also hate cooking a big meal every night or having to turn down a Firehouse Sub or Burger King.  It's so hard. I know I need to focus my energies and frustrations into exercising.  I just dread the sweating and the pain.  I know there will be lots of pain.

 

 

My biggest food enemy is the potato.  Mashed potatoes, French fries, kettle cooked chips, scalloped potatoes, fried potatoes, hashbrowns, tater tots, baked potatoes, and vodka.  Beer is a close second with wine being third.  I could live on potatoes and beer for a long time and be very happy.  I'd probably weigh about 500 pounds but I could truly eat nothing but potatoes and drink beer.  Pasta and breads are too yummy too.  I need to get off of carbs.  I think I'm addicted to carbohydrates.  It's depressing.  I want to stay strong and make this diet and exercise program work.  I want to get out of the kitchen, off my ass and outside and WALK.  Whether I succeed or fail is UP TO ME.  I don't want to sabotage myself even secretly so I can say oh I'm too fat to go hike the AT, oh well.  I don't want to give up on this … or on myself.  I feel like I'm at a critical point in my life right now, this year is a turning point for me.  I also feel like I can DO IT if I just try.  I feel like I am ready to accomplish something and do well for  a change. 

Smartphone Success!

Hi everyone! I just registered my new smartphone on here so I can update my blog on the trail.

Updates coming tomorrow!

Yes!  I am STILL hiking the AT in March!  I will post some current entries tomorrow.  I'm down to about 11 weeks before I leave for Springer Mtn.  I am sooooooooooo excited!  Anyway, I'm exhaused tonight but I will be back here tomorrow for all the updates.  If anyone feels the urge, I have put my PayPal button on here too.  I'd appreciate any help towards my costs.