Going International

I was pretty excited when I checked out the blog earlier, as I have already exceeded the number of followers I had on my first iteration: "Brent's Appalachian Trail Blog". I had a chance to reread it and I realized how far I have come. It looked kind of shoddy and it was not particularly well written. If I get enough interest in re-posting my ’09 adventure, I might look into putting it back up on Blogspot.

After reading my old posts, I had a nightmare last night. It was back in ’09, day one of the hike and my body wasn't ready for that type of abuse. I begged for Andrew to slow down, to let me catch my breath, but he forged ahead, showing no mercy. I passed out at some point and when I woke up it was pitch dark. Andrew was nowhere to be found. I was too tired to set up camp, so I got in the sleeping bag, took care of business, and then went to sleep.

Now I laugh as I remember that trip. I did not get very far, and it was totally overwhelming. This afternoon I was thinking about how many times an incompetent first attempt has led to huge triumph. Castro went down in flames at the Moncada Barracks in ’53. Then he ran the country for fifty years. The Beer Hall Putsch was a disaster, and the rest is history. It even took Colonel Sanders visiting over 600 places trying to sell his chicken recipe before he found a buyer interested in his 11 herbs and spices.

Like those guys, I was not up to the challenge the first time. I had some pretty unrealistic expectations about the trail. I feel like this time I am so much more prepared, and it shows to all the readers. I think more of you are following me this time because you know that I am going all the way. This is so reassuring because recently the slightest bit of doubt had started to creep in.

So I was looking at the blog stats and thought it was pretty cool to see so many international visitors to the site. The largest contingent came from Spain. I heard the Sierra Morena is a pretty tough hike. They were probably trying to get some tips from me. For my readers abroad: I have not hiked much internationally, but I can definitely help you guys out with the fundamentals.

Only two days now before I head off into the Jungle. I'm really excited and anxious so I need to make sure not to drink too much Dew tonight, or I might not be able to sleep.