A Brief Explanation

A brief explanation about my backpacking experience. My plans for backpacking began in high school but didn't materialize until the end of my freshman year in college about 13 years ago, it think. I continued to backpack for a few more years until I took my girlfriend (now wife) on her first and only backpacking experience. She swears she will never go again. After that trip with work and a family there just wasn't time or money to do much on my own. Then in 2003 I decided I needed to get back to the woods, so I planned a solo trip to North Carolina to climb Cold Mountain before the movie came out and ruined the are with too many people. In the process of planning the trip a colleague at work volunteered himself to join me on the trip. Ever since that first trip and since my wife and family have no interest in joining me (with the recent exception of my son, but those are still limited short trips) this colleague (his name is Gustavo who is from Guatemala) has been a part of all but one of my misadventures. All of my trips to date have been either in Michigan or North Carolina, mostly for reasons of convenience, which I will detail later. I am hoping to expand my geographical horizons eventually but as I said it is usually a matter of convenience.

Coming next: Labor Day Death March on the NCT