Saturday, February 25, 2006

News from Lincoln

Yesterday on the road my little Ipod to tape deck converter crapped out and I was only getting the left channel on my stereo. Needless to say, this was highly vexing especially since I was listening to some old Credence which was mixed with a really severe stereo image: drums at right, guitars at left etc. So I switched off the old Ipod and started listening to Iowa radio. The main story I kept hearing about on the news was the funeral for a Lincoln native killed in Iraq which happened earlier today. The funeral wouldn't be such a big deal--tragic obviously, but not fodder for talk radio--except that Fred Phelps of www.godhatesfags.com fame, and his Westboro Kansas Baptist Church flock have come up with the idea that IEDs are killing American soldiers as a form of vengeance because America loves fags, and are picketing the funeral. This logic is built on two (wacky) interdependent syllogisms:
first,
(1)God hates fags
(2)America is at war to protect fags
(therefore) God is at war with America
and second,
(1) God shall smite his enemies by the sword
(2) Improvised explosive devices are the 21st century sword
(therefore) God shall smite his 21st century enemies with IEDs

Here's a picture


So obviously these guys suck, and nobody wants them around. I mean fags make this rockin' world go round, Right? Well, enter their awesome counterpart the Patriot Guard Riders. Here's a story about them from CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/21/funeral.motorcyclists.ap/

and here's a sweet picture:


These guys are the sort of dudes all Americans can get behind. They're motorcycle riding veterans who ride from military funeral to military funeral to honor the fallen soldiers and to drown out Fred Phelps, not with a counter-protest, but just by being patriotic and participating in the funeral services. Also, they wear biking leathers (possibly a little pro-faggishness?). They were talking to some of these guys on Iowa radio and they sounded like perfect gentlemen. They only go to funerals at the request of the family, and the families ask them to rev their motorcycle engines to drown out the the Fred Phelps crowd. What's super rad about all this is that on the average a hundred or more of these Patriot Guard dudes roll to any funeral they are invited to, whereas the hatery-types can usually only draw like five or six people. Anyway, that's the news.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Tales from the American Palatine

I'm shipping out in the morning, stopping in Philly, Chicago, Lincoln Neb, then back to Dallas. Five days later it's off to the Drrty South and Amicalola State Park in Northwest Georgia. It's pretty sad leaving Providence, what with all the nice people here, but I'll cope. The landscape has become too laden with psychical energy anyway--it's getting a little cramped. I need some apathetic mountains. There's just too much to say about Providence and everything it means/has meant to me over the last four years: it's a city of fell winds and radical dialectics. Here, however, is a brief photo-essay on how I feel about Providence...



That's it. John Fitzgerald+plant pretty much sums it up. That picture makes me infinitely happy and infinitely sad all at once, just like Providence.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Economy

One (but not the only) major component of a successful thru-hike is the gear you bring, and since it seems like a lot of people are asking me "what are you going to bring?" here is a thorough list of all the non-consumables (everything but food, water and fuel for my stove) that will accompany me on my trip.

clothes:
3 pair ultralight undies
3 pairs of ultamax light hiking socks
2 pairs sock liners
2 army/navy surplus tshirts
3 capeline thermal shirts
1 rei polartek thermal pants
1 ultralight fleece
1 heavy windproof fleece
1 rain jacket
1 rain pants
1 light hiking shorts
1 stocking cap
1 pair gloves
1 pair of moccasins
1 pair of hiking boots
1 watch

other:
1 backpack w/ waterproof pack cover
1 sleeping bag
1 msr zoid 1 tent
1 tent footprint
1 sleeping pad
2 nalgene water bottles
1 stove i made out of a 2 pepsi cans
1 stove guard i made from a can of beans
1 cookware set (skillet/pot)-these things are fucking tiny
2 bandanas
1 box waterproof matches
1 windproof lighter
1 compass
1 bear bag for storing food
50 ft. rope
2 carabiners
2 hiking poles (includes duct-tape lashed around the poles)
1 first aid kit
1 sewing/patching kit
1 headlamp
1 leatherman multi-tool
1 journal
2 pens
1 book
1 minidisc recorder/ mic/ handful of minidiscs
1 ipod nano w/ double a battery adaptor/ headphones
1 pipe
1 oz pipe tobacco in leather pouch
1 camera/film
and various amounts of aluminum foil/ ziplock bags etc. etc.

sounds like a lot, but i'm pretty sure i can keep my dry pack weight down to 25 or fewer pounds considering I'll be wearing some of the stuff at all times.

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis

...otherwise know as the hellbender salamander. One of my fondest hopes is to see one of these things and possibly eat it. Measuring it at about two feet and weighing 3-5 pounds, one would probably provide enough protein for a week's worth of hiking, and i've rarely had the pleasure of dining on amphibian. If i do see one, which isn't super likely because they're endangered, it will probably be in the first stretch of the trail in norther GA or in the Smokies along the Tennessee/North Carolina border. Anyway, they look like this...



fucking cool right? it's like a newt but it's the size of a kitten. Probably if i find a hellbender i'll take it with me and keep it as a pet. It would probably keep flies away and keep me up at night telling me stories about epic battles it had with crayfish and stuff like that.

Welcome

On March 4th 2006, I will begin a northbound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. This blog will serve as an intermediary between myself and the world at large while I'm on the trail. I'm not sure how frequently I'll be able to update given the obvious technological limitations entailed in carrying my entire life on my back through 2200 miles of wilderness, but hopefully I'll be able to sketch out something of a comprehensive picture of my daily comings and goings on the trail.