Tag: hiking

Planning for New Mexico, a Presentation to the NCT, and Fundraiser Update

Hey Folks!

First of all, here is a link to a post that I made on my blogger site with The Trek concerning my planning for New Mexico! As I had mentioned in my previous post here, you can feel free to check for CDT trail updates either here at tingohikes.com, or at my blogger profile with The Trek at thetrek.co/author/alpine-p-tingo. If you continue to check in on things here at tingohikes.com, you’ll be in for some bonus content that I won’t be posting to The Trek’s site!

https://thetrek.co/continental-divide-trail/cdt-planning-new-mexico/

An Update on the Library Fundraiser

As I sit and type this, I’m actually at the Lordsburg, NM public library! I had a lengthy travel day yesterday to get here, and I’ll be updating y’all with details on that shortly. Speaking of public libraries, I’m happy to report that our fundraiser for the Sherman and Ruth Weiss Community Library in Hayward has been going great! As of April 13th, we have surpassed our original goal of $5,000 raised, and have elected to increase our overall goal to $10,000! Thanks to everybody who has supported us so far! This money will make a huge difference to an indispensable asset to our community! You folks rock.

Excellent work so far!

If you’re interested in donating, you can donate online here, or, if you’re local to the Hayward area, you can donate or pledge in person at the library or at Backroads Coffee!

The North Country Trail Chequamegon Chapter Meeting

As many of y’all may recall, Matt and I hiked the Wisconsin mileage of the North Country National Scenic Trail (215 miles) last September. We had a great time, and you can read all about it in a previous post of mine. As it happens, we were invited to give a presentation on our hike at a recent meeting of the Chequamegon chapter of the Wisconsin NCT in Drummond, WI.

These chapter meetings are held at least twice a year for the purpose of conducting and organizing all things regarding their particular section of trail; in this case, over 70 miles of trail through the National Forest in northern WI. It was truly a pleasure to be allowed the opportunity to present on our experiences on the trail, and provide feedback on the things we liked, and also the things we would like to see altered concerning the trail. I was encouraged to see that the members of the chapter are actively working on improving the trail through routine maintenance, building new campsites, working to secure the trail’s future by building new trail, and seeking ways to encourage others to enjoy the fantastic resource that they so diligently work to improve. Thanks so much for all of your hard work!

If you are looking for a way to get out to trail, to meet new people, or to give back to your community, I would encourage you to join a local trail chapter, get out and volunteer, or just meet up for a group hike. Here are some helpful links to get you folks started!

Chequamegon Chapter – North Country Trail Association

Chequamegon Chapter FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1E2MtrV49t/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Attending members of the North Country Trail Chequamegon Chapter meeting!

That’s all for now! I’ll be working on a post shortly detailing travels to the start of the trail, so look forward to that. Posting from my phone will take a little bit of getting used to again. It’s so much nicer to bang these out on a keyboard, I can tell you that!

Check in soon; see y’all later!

Leaving home!

Hi folks! I am officially on my way to the trail! I am presently on a shuttle to MSP, where I’ll be flying out tomorrow morning. I’ll be staying tonight with my best friend in the cities, so major shout out to Wyat for hosting me tonight!

Since there may be those of y’all that are unfamiliar with the Appalachian trail, I’ll provide a cliff notes synopsis of it. The Appalachian trail (AT for short) is a trail that runs approximately 2,200 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Kathahdin in Maine, meandering its way through 14 states along the way. Those of us that endeavor to hike the entire length of the trail in a single season are referred to as “thru hikers”. With a little bit of determination, in 5-6 months I’ll be able to count myself amongst those who have successfully completed an AT thru. Many start, and many fail. Estimates vary, but the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) ventures a guess of a 20% success rate for the hike attempts. Any number of things ranging to injury, loss of interest, lack of funds, or unexpected emergencies can lead one to tap out of their trip.

I’m starting my adventure with confidence. I’m sure a lot of people do. I am not nervous, and I’m looking forward to encountering the unexpected. I have never done this before. Save for some week-long trips, my back country experience is limited. Despite this, I believe my preparations have been adequate in preparing me for whatever rolls my way. I’ve had an eye on hiking the AT for years, and have been obsessively researching and preparing for what probably amounts to way too much time. Go ahead and ask any would-be backpacker how much time they’ve spent researching gear choices alone, and I’m sure you’d be disturbed by the figure. I’m looking forward to finally putting foot to trail after all these years.

I will not be starting the trail until April 10th. I’m headed to Arkansas first to visit my parents and check out the total solar eclipse on the 8th. More on that later. For today, I’m excited to have left home behind to start my adventure!