Introduction

My love for hiking is actually just over a year old, but is has become a serious pastime (and maybe a passion) in that short time. The impetus for it however is a bit older.

I have been a non-athlete all of my life. I have never been sedentary in any sense, but have never engaged in sports or formal exercise of any sort. Two years ago, for a number of reasons, I began an aggressive workout program, and got myself in pretty good shape. At the same time, I had just read Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, which really puts an emphasis on spending time in the woods away from all distraction, and the importance of challenging one’s self physically. The author makes the case that this is not only important for ones masculine development, but is a great way to hear God speaking to you. I loved the book, but rejected the idea of getting out in the woods completely.

Flash forward to Thanksgiving 2006. I spent the weekend with my bother and family in the North Georgia Mountains. Since I did not have access to a gym to keep up with my exercise program, I decided to try one of the nearby nature trails, accompanied by my 10 year old nephew. I surprised myself at how much endurance I had, and more importantly, I began to discover a sense of adventure I never realized I had.

The idea of hiking was put on the shelf until the following September, which I was on vacation in Sarasota, FL. My family likes the beach, which I hate. I decided to try hiking one day while they went to the beach. I picked a 6 mile trail at a state park well outside of Sarasota. Although I ran into one obstacle after another, I stuck with it, and arrived at the trailhead. I was as far out in the woods as I had been in my life, and did not encounter a single soul the entire time. It was scary in many ways, and at the same time one of the most satisfying things I had ever done in my life. I discovered that day that the sense of adventure I never knew I had was very strong. I also found a unique way to related to God – just he and I with no other distractions. At that point, I was hooked.

Having a 30 plus year career in technology, I found I could not separate one from the other. As such, I spent considerable time on the Internet researching trails in my area, and the necessary (and nice but not essential) gear. I discovered REI, and equipped myself as follows:

REI Hydration pack
Inexpensive hiking boots (which I would later regret)
Garmin etrex Vista HCX GPS
US Topo Map CD
SPOT Satellite Messenger (not recommended due to unreliability)

The latter was a concession to my boss, who was uncomfortable with me being alone in the woods. With the above, I was off, and have rarely missed a Saturday since.

The purpose of this blog is twofold: to document my experiences with different trails in the hope that the information may help other hikers; and to relay any insights that God chooses to provide to me in the process.