One of the first rules of writing is to “consider your audience.” In the case of this journal, I’m not completely sure who that audience is. I am guessing that many of you who are reading this trail journal are here because I invited you to follow me along my trip. Some of you are family, some co-workers, some close friends and community acquaintances. And then some of you are probably just surfers who randomly found this site through a Google search of “classic tales of daring adventure.” Those of you who got here by searching “bear attacks” can just move on to the next search result link.
No matter how you arrived here, WELCOME.
Just so I can get an idea of who is out there, I’m going to request that your price of admission here is to sign the guest book on this trail journal site and let me know something about yourself.
This journal will be a bit of an experiment. I plan to use it to serve multiple purposes:
– A chronicle of my hike(s) along the Appalachian Trail,
– An ability for my family to track my activities and location in something close to real time,
– An opportunity for me to experiment with mobile phone technology and its ability to record and upload in-situ info from remote locations for others to see, and
– A test of my patience in writing every word posted here with one finger typing on this tiny little mobile phone virtual keyboard.
That last item may be the limiting factor of what gets written and posted. AT&T cell phone coverage, my ability to keep a charge on the phone using the GoalZero solar charger, and certain climate considerations may all affect what gets posted when, but I will at least make an attempt to keep my audience informed and happy. 31 days until I start the climb to Springer Mountain.
The Professor