Ok so I am pretty new at this blog stuff. Never really thought much about it until just recently. My intention for this blog, is to document what I go through as I start training (slowly) to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. I'll be the first to tell you I have NO experience in long distance hiking. The last time I did an overnight hike, up in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area, it was a miserable experience. I got chased off a 20 foot cliff by hornets and fell into devils clubs, AND my body cramped up from dehydrating. It was rugged terrain like nothing I've ever experienced.

   I hope to post a lot of my trials and tribulations on here. And I will pretty much bare my soul for all to see. I think its important that people who read this get the context and reasoning's behind my decisions and thoughts.
Currently I am quite out of shape and in fact heavier then I should be. The reason for this is 2002 I was hit by a car while walking across the street. I had a separated shoulder which still bothers me, bruised ribs, and a laceration on the back of my head that required 14 staples. My concussion lasted for a long time. Not too long after this I moved to Ellensburg to go to school at Central Washington. by the end of the first quarter i developed severe insomnia that i still have to take medication to sleep every night. Once school was finished for me I went to work at a warehouse and sustained a severe neck injury that was misdiagnosed and laid me up for a long time. I have been unable to work in a warehouse type of job because of this neck injury that still exists. As a result of this i gained a lot of weight. Which by itself makes things difficult to want to work out.

  I used to be a wrestler, a damned good one. I learned how to fight adversity and I've always overcome my obstacles when it came to wrestling. People said i would never place in state, and i took 4th. People didn't think i could wrestle in college and i did at Highline.People didn't think I was good enough to compete at Freestyle Nationals and I did. For me, when someone says I cant do something i take that as a personal challenge.In each of those wrestling experiences, I had always had to make weight. In high school I competed at 135 all four years, In college my last year competing i lost 50 pounds. At Freestyle Nationals I lost 30 pounds in a month and half. The fact is when I put my mind to it I achieve some measure of success.

  So why am I training to hike the AT? It's not because anyone has challenged me,  It's not because I am just seeking another adventure in my life. Its a journey. It's a journey for me to become healthy again, to change who I am into someone far stronger.