Success!
Showing posts with label Resupply. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Resupply. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Resupply
From Table to "If It Fits, It Ships" Boxes. One more to mail to a friend where I'm taking a Zero day!
Success!
Success!
A True Story or "Why I didn't finish my hike in 2009"
This is a true story I just shared with AWOL of the famous The AT Guide.
Right this minute, I'm obsessing and panicked over my mail drops. I finally got them boxed up and I'm 'missing' a mail drop because I consolidated a couple and I'm having to change one. I'm just not into "pricey" hostel stays. I'm from the South. When we pay $77 plus tax for a room, it's a private room with a private bath.
Okay, deep breaths. Tomorrow I leave all my mail drop boxes here and drive to my Mom's in Baltimore ... on Saturday I get my wonderful massage from a Massage Therapist ... and then on the 4th of May, I head out from Gathland State Park.
Deep breaths ... hold ... exhale. Rinse and Repeat. Okay, hold the Rinse.
Psalm 119:133 Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.
I let the Trail beat me up in 2009 ... actually, I had a 'near death' experience at Devil's Racecourse Shelter in Maryland. My foot went into a hole, the rocks closed around my leg above my ankle, I dropped my toilet supplies, grabbed my leg and did a "Hap Ki Do" type roll, as I was in the process of grabbing my leg and rolling, I went 'out of body' and was watching myself from above about 20 feet or so, laying on the rocks with my leg broken at the shin, bones protruding and blood gushing into the hole where my shoe and foot were stuck. I went into the roll and the rocks released my ankle, allowing my foot and shoe to come out of the hole. The rocks then closed back onto themselves. I 'tested' the area looking for the 'trap' but wasn't willing to put too much pressure on the rocks. I never found the place again and I avoided the area.
When I calmed down, I talked myself out of staying on the Trail.This year's hiking plan was to hike with a friend so she could finish her AT Section hike and get her 2000 Miler Certificate from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. As it turned out, she was told she had ruptured a disk and needed neck surgery. I am hoping she was able to arrange it and can join me on this hike. Because basically, I wouldn't be hiking if "we" had not planned to hike together. In the meantime, this "Half-A-Thru" has taken on a life of its own. If I was planning to Half-A-Hike on my own, I'd probably hike from Maryland to Georgia or Georgia to Maryland. [What I deem the 'easy' half.]
Right this minute, I'm obsessing and panicked over my mail drops. I finally got them boxed up and I'm 'missing' a mail drop because I consolidated a couple and I'm having to change one. I'm just not into "pricey" hostel stays. I'm from the South. When we pay $77 plus tax for a room, it's a private room with a private bath.
Okay, deep breaths. Tomorrow I leave all my mail drop boxes here and drive to my Mom's in Baltimore ... on Saturday I get my wonderful massage from a Massage Therapist ... and then on the 4th of May, I head out from Gathland State Park.
Deep breaths ... hold ... exhale. Rinse and Repeat. Okay, hold the Rinse.
Psalm 119:133 Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Changing Re-Supply Plans
Today I went to the Post Office and purchased the Stamps for "If It Fits It Ships" boxes. When I was rechecking my food and vitamins, I realized I'm going to have to change my UPS mail drop for a USPS drop farther along the Trail because I'm not staying at The Inn at The Long Trail in Killington, VT. Too pricey.
So I asked a quick question on WhiteBlaze and got a "check the Trail Guide" answer. I can't locate it in all these boxes and plastic bags of food. I just needed a quick response not Sarcasm. So I responded in kind. Now I have to re-write my schedule so I don't arrive in Hanover, NH, on a Sunday. I have to take a couple of Zeros or hike faster to get there on a Monday or a Friday ... Post Office hours are 8-11 AM on Saturday and I will be about 5 miles from town making it risky that I can rush to get there in time.
That box will have my Winter Gear in it ... And I did not want to have a Mail Drop in Hanover, but now the choices are Spend Money or change my schedule to Save Money. Why, you ask, does it make a difference. Hanover is the town "everyone" uses to mail their Winter Gear. Think a Post Office with hundreds of boxes all addressed to "AT Hiker" and mine lost among them.
The Trail either makes or breaks the Hiker. Right now, I'm stressing & thinking that I will NOT let the Trail take over My Hike! If I have to, I'll buy a couple pounds of Protein Drink, a box of PayDay candy bars and Night Hike if necessary! I will get past VT and all their expensive accommodations.
The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.
Gilbert K. Chesterton
Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
So I asked a quick question on WhiteBlaze and got a "check the Trail Guide" answer. I can't locate it in all these boxes and plastic bags of food. I just needed a quick response not Sarcasm. So I responded in kind. Now I have to re-write my schedule so I don't arrive in Hanover, NH, on a Sunday. I have to take a couple of Zeros or hike faster to get there on a Monday or a Friday ... Post Office hours are 8-11 AM on Saturday and I will be about 5 miles from town making it risky that I can rush to get there in time.
That box will have my Winter Gear in it ... And I did not want to have a Mail Drop in Hanover, but now the choices are Spend Money or change my schedule to Save Money. Why, you ask, does it make a difference. Hanover is the town "everyone" uses to mail their Winter Gear. Think a Post Office with hundreds of boxes all addressed to "AT Hiker" and mine lost among them.
The Trail either makes or breaks the Hiker. Right now, I'm stressing & thinking that I will NOT let the Trail take over My Hike! If I have to, I'll buy a couple pounds of Protein Drink, a box of PayDay candy bars and Night Hike if necessary! I will get past VT and all their expensive accommodations.
The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.
Gilbert K. Chesterton
Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
For Senior Hikers - What I've learned in preparing for my "Half-a-Thru Hike'
I posted this over on Trailplace [Dan Wingfoot Bruce owns the site] ... not sure if it posted though.
What I've learned as I prepare for a Pre-Thru Hike ... hiking the North Half of the AT starting next month ...
1- Get your physical and talk to your doctor ... and a Sports Medicine Doctor like I have will do what he must to keep me active ... IE ... Steroid/Novocaine shots in my knees ... After I hike this 'half-a-Thru' he's talking about a referral to an Orthopedist and getting shots that will replace the meniscus missing in my knees. I have arthritis in my knees and my lower back.
2- Carry Giardia meds and hope you don't need them. Carry a "Lyme Aid" kit ... you mail the removed tick and a fee in and within 3 business days know if you have Lyme Disease. Even take something for constipation, just in case.
3- Take a vitamin supplement. [I'm also taking 50 mg B-1 daily to keep bugs at bay.] Eat your greens when you go into Restaurants. Get enough protein. Using a protein drink before bedtime is a good idea ... 30 grams of protein is optimal for muscle recovery.
4- Do research on foods high in calories and low in weight so that when your Hiker Hunger kicks in you'll know how to carry the most calories for the least weight.
5- Don't get stressed when reading trail journals ... It's really easy to get panicked when you read about the house and car sized boulders slick from rain and snow in Maine ... and 18" of snow ... Retrain yourself to focus on a simple single goal at the end of the day ... don't dwell too much on the 'big picture' until you get to Baxter State Park.
6- Make a conservative schedule and be prepared to be flexible. If you need a Zero Day or a Nero Day and it's not scheduled ... take it ... If you're feeling super and have the time to make it to the next campsite/shelter ... go for it. Throw out the schedule ... it's for your resupply person, anyway. This is your hike. You are in charge. There's no time table other than getting to Baxter State Park before it closes. IF you find you're going to run out of time ... or IF it's just too hot or humid where you are ... there's nothing 'wrong' about Flip Flopping. Shuttle to Baxter State Park, hike Katahdin and then hike South to where you got off. It's your own hike, after all.
7- Know that you will be hiking 3 to 5 day hikes interspersed with resupply points ... be they groceries or mail drops ... and you can thru hike with a minimum of mail drops if you so desire. You're not expected to carry enough food and water for all 2200 miles. You'll be near 'civilization' for most of the hike.
8- You actually can avoid expensive town stays with some planning ... stealth camping or campsite just before a Trail Town, going in for laundry, shower, resupply ... and hiking out to next campsite or stealth camping. There are places where you can shower for a small fee. You can take a Nero day and do your laundry LNT style while on the Trail. Or use an inexpensive campground and take Zero to do your laundry there. [WhiteBlaze has articles that may be helpful with Hike Planning.]
9- I took a tip from Warren Doyle and started hiking with a full pack ... slowly at first ... 3 miles three times a week and he suggests 5 miles one weekend day. Then adding 2 miles every two weeks. You can be 'in good trail shape' within 10-12 weeks. And it doesn't have to be hiking up and down mountains. You're trying to get your body prepared for carrying your pack ... it's pretty much in the legs ... not injure yourself before your hike.
10- Use Poles ... Youtube has videos on how to correctly use trekking poles.
11- If you have a smart phone, use Google Drive to create off-line files you can refer to. I've got my schedule, my list of resupply points, list of rates for Hostels, list of stealth camps in Maine, list of high calorie/lightweight foods I like and know I'll eat, list of shuttles on mine.
12- Know that there have been countless others who are older than you and not in the best physical shape who have Thru Hiked and made it all the way ... even with those huge boulders in Maine and Presidential Mountains in NH, and rocks [I hear it's not that bad, just tread carefully] in PA. If they can do it, so can you. And remember the Tortoise and the Hare? It's okay to hike your own personal pace. It's not a race. Make your hike enjoyable. Make it personal, make it yours. You're not competing with anyone else. Unlike the 'real' world, the AT is not a competition.
“Why, an Indian would die laughing his head off if he saw the Trail. I would have never started this trip if I had known how tough it was, but I couldn’t, and I wouldn’t, quit.”—Grandma Gatewood, 1955, on her first of three thru-hikes.
13- Make up a mantra that you'll use to pep yourself up when things get hard. Hard climb: Wow, that was worth the view. Hard downhill: Turn around and say Wow, I am a downhill hiking machine. Day of rain: Ah, liquid sunshine. Think I'll do a 'spit bath' before bed. More than one day of rain: Great, there will be water available at the springs. A dry spell: Well at least I don't have sopping wet shoes to hike in. Getting to a Road Crossing and Trail Town: Wow, that didn't take long. ..... You get the idea. While on the Trail, you'll come up with more of your own. Write them down in your journal ... who knows, they may turn into a poem or a song.
14- Expect hard days. Expect awesome days. Write about the Awesome Days in great detail. Write about the hard days briefly so you don't dwell on them.
15- There will be days when you think you want to quit ... when you 'know' you want to quit. I had one of those in 2009 and I regret quitting. If I knew then what I know now, I would have take a Zero day or two to recuperate and more than likely completed that 500 mile section hike. I had pushed myself ... still too goal oriented I had made my hike a competition ... and I was exhausted. I nearly broke my leg and with my 'all or nothing at all' personality, I talked myself off the Trail.
16- There is an excellent book entitled "Appalachian Trials" by Zach Davis which talks about the trials and the mental preparation for a Thru Hike. I recommend it for your Library.
17- Do your "lightweight" gear research before you buy your gear so you don't spend money replacing gear.
18- Practice your night time and morning ritual before you get on the Trail. Learn how to put up and take down your tarp, tent, hammock in the rain and in the dark. Learn your knots. Practice your breakfast and dinner rituals. DO NOT go to bed without eating something ... that's why I have my protein drink. No matter how tired I am, I can mix it with water and gulp it down.
19- Go as lightweight as your comfortable with. Remember that it's your fears that cause you to carry too much weight on your back. At the same time, be sensible and carry what you need. Use your mail drops to mail yourself cold weather clothing and be willing to use a Bump Box for items you don't need 'now' or mail back to your resupply person any clothing or gear you know you won't need.
20- Plan to replace some items ... shoes wear out, insoles wear out. Put it in your budget. Send your shoes back to Mountain Crossings for their collection or to some other place which collects old shoes.
21- ENJOY YOURSELF. Through it all ... have a good time. You'll undergo great emotions on this hike. Live in the present. Laugh when you're happy, cry when you're overcome with beauty beyond your comprehension, overcome your fears, gain new insights, get wet, get cold, get sore feet, know that you'll hurt at the end of the day and sometimes when you get up in the morning, be spontaneous. But most of all, enjoy yourself.
These were written as a post for other Senior Hikers as much as for me. Especially number 21.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
What I've learned as I prepare for a Pre-Thru Hike ... hiking the North Half of the AT starting next month ...
1- Get your physical and talk to your doctor ... and a Sports Medicine Doctor like I have will do what he must to keep me active ... IE ... Steroid/Novocaine shots in my knees ... After I hike this 'half-a-Thru' he's talking about a referral to an Orthopedist and getting shots that will replace the meniscus missing in my knees. I have arthritis in my knees and my lower back.
2- Carry Giardia meds and hope you don't need them. Carry a "Lyme Aid" kit ... you mail the removed tick and a fee in and within 3 business days know if you have Lyme Disease. Even take something for constipation, just in case.
3- Take a vitamin supplement. [I'm also taking 50 mg B-1 daily to keep bugs at bay.] Eat your greens when you go into Restaurants. Get enough protein. Using a protein drink before bedtime is a good idea ... 30 grams of protein is optimal for muscle recovery.
4- Do research on foods high in calories and low in weight so that when your Hiker Hunger kicks in you'll know how to carry the most calories for the least weight.
5- Don't get stressed when reading trail journals ... It's really easy to get panicked when you read about the house and car sized boulders slick from rain and snow in Maine ... and 18" of snow ... Retrain yourself to focus on a simple single goal at the end of the day ... don't dwell too much on the 'big picture' until you get to Baxter State Park.
6- Make a conservative schedule and be prepared to be flexible. If you need a Zero Day or a Nero Day and it's not scheduled ... take it ... If you're feeling super and have the time to make it to the next campsite/shelter ... go for it. Throw out the schedule ... it's for your resupply person, anyway. This is your hike. You are in charge. There's no time table other than getting to Baxter State Park before it closes. IF you find you're going to run out of time ... or IF it's just too hot or humid where you are ... there's nothing 'wrong' about Flip Flopping. Shuttle to Baxter State Park, hike Katahdin and then hike South to where you got off. It's your own hike, after all.
7- Know that you will be hiking 3 to 5 day hikes interspersed with resupply points ... be they groceries or mail drops ... and you can thru hike with a minimum of mail drops if you so desire. You're not expected to carry enough food and water for all 2200 miles. You'll be near 'civilization' for most of the hike.
8- You actually can avoid expensive town stays with some planning ... stealth camping or campsite just before a Trail Town, going in for laundry, shower, resupply ... and hiking out to next campsite or stealth camping. There are places where you can shower for a small fee. You can take a Nero day and do your laundry LNT style while on the Trail. Or use an inexpensive campground and take Zero to do your laundry there. [WhiteBlaze has articles that may be helpful with Hike Planning.]
9- I took a tip from Warren Doyle and started hiking with a full pack ... slowly at first ... 3 miles three times a week and he suggests 5 miles one weekend day. Then adding 2 miles every two weeks. You can be 'in good trail shape' within 10-12 weeks. And it doesn't have to be hiking up and down mountains. You're trying to get your body prepared for carrying your pack ... it's pretty much in the legs ... not injure yourself before your hike.
10- Use Poles ... Youtube has videos on how to correctly use trekking poles.
11- If you have a smart phone, use Google Drive to create off-line files you can refer to. I've got my schedule, my list of resupply points, list of rates for Hostels, list of stealth camps in Maine, list of high calorie/lightweight foods I like and know I'll eat, list of shuttles on mine.
12- Know that there have been countless others who are older than you and not in the best physical shape who have Thru Hiked and made it all the way ... even with those huge boulders in Maine and Presidential Mountains in NH, and rocks [I hear it's not that bad, just tread carefully] in PA. If they can do it, so can you. And remember the Tortoise and the Hare? It's okay to hike your own personal pace. It's not a race. Make your hike enjoyable. Make it personal, make it yours. You're not competing with anyone else. Unlike the 'real' world, the AT is not a competition.
“Why, an Indian would die laughing his head off if he saw the Trail. I would have never started this trip if I had known how tough it was, but I couldn’t, and I wouldn’t, quit.”—Grandma Gatewood, 1955, on her first of three thru-hikes.
13- Make up a mantra that you'll use to pep yourself up when things get hard. Hard climb: Wow, that was worth the view. Hard downhill: Turn around and say Wow, I am a downhill hiking machine. Day of rain: Ah, liquid sunshine. Think I'll do a 'spit bath' before bed. More than one day of rain: Great, there will be water available at the springs. A dry spell: Well at least I don't have sopping wet shoes to hike in. Getting to a Road Crossing and Trail Town: Wow, that didn't take long. ..... You get the idea. While on the Trail, you'll come up with more of your own. Write them down in your journal ... who knows, they may turn into a poem or a song.
14- Expect hard days. Expect awesome days. Write about the Awesome Days in great detail. Write about the hard days briefly so you don't dwell on them.
15- There will be days when you think you want to quit ... when you 'know' you want to quit. I had one of those in 2009 and I regret quitting. If I knew then what I know now, I would have take a Zero day or two to recuperate and more than likely completed that 500 mile section hike. I had pushed myself ... still too goal oriented I had made my hike a competition ... and I was exhausted. I nearly broke my leg and with my 'all or nothing at all' personality, I talked myself off the Trail.
16- There is an excellent book entitled "Appalachian Trials" by Zach Davis which talks about the trials and the mental preparation for a Thru Hike. I recommend it for your Library.
17- Do your "lightweight" gear research before you buy your gear so you don't spend money replacing gear.
18- Practice your night time and morning ritual before you get on the Trail. Learn how to put up and take down your tarp, tent, hammock in the rain and in the dark. Learn your knots. Practice your breakfast and dinner rituals. DO NOT go to bed without eating something ... that's why I have my protein drink. No matter how tired I am, I can mix it with water and gulp it down.
19- Go as lightweight as your comfortable with. Remember that it's your fears that cause you to carry too much weight on your back. At the same time, be sensible and carry what you need. Use your mail drops to mail yourself cold weather clothing and be willing to use a Bump Box for items you don't need 'now' or mail back to your resupply person any clothing or gear you know you won't need.
20- Plan to replace some items ... shoes wear out, insoles wear out. Put it in your budget. Send your shoes back to Mountain Crossings for their collection or to some other place which collects old shoes.
21- ENJOY YOURSELF. Through it all ... have a good time. You'll undergo great emotions on this hike. Live in the present. Laugh when you're happy, cry when you're overcome with beauty beyond your comprehension, overcome your fears, gain new insights, get wet, get cold, get sore feet, know that you'll hurt at the end of the day and sometimes when you get up in the morning, be spontaneous. But most of all, enjoy yourself.
These were written as a post for other Senior Hikers as much as for me. Especially number 21.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Monday, April 15, 2013
The Pre-Hike that Wasn't
Well, today was supposed to be a good hiking day for me. Although I stayed up too late last night finding hymns I want to print out and learn all the verses to, I didn't know that I was going to be tossed around like a leaf in a gale.
Back in March, when I traded my AT&T phone for the Verizon Samsung, which I later traded for an iPhone [Samsung puts too much 'stupid samsung stuff' on their phone and the learning curve for ANDROID was confusing], I asked the smooth talking salesman at the Flea Market in Sevierville, TN, to make sure that my contract was up. WELL, he was more interested in selling me a Galaxy One ... Stellar ... same/same ... and LIED to me. AND he sweet talked me into "helping" him get extra points by giving him my iPhone 3s ... which he probably sold. Had I kept that phone, I'd have had Dad's voice mails. But I wanted to help ... and put MY needs aside ... and I didn't check my ATT account and I didn't THINK about my voice mails ... I assumed they'd follow my phone number. ASS=[u]=ME.
Long story short, I now owe over $200 to ATT for EARLY TERMINATION ... Two lousy months early. I would have waited had Mr Smooth Talker been honest with me. Not only did I lose my Dad's voice on the voice mails, I now have to pay a FINE .... my IRS refund is now unavailable for use on my "Half-A-Thru-Hike." I will HAVE to sleep in the Shelters or under the poncho tarp and I won't be staying at Allenberry Resort $40 Hiker Special or the Port Clinton Hotel $49 plus $10 refundable Key Fee, but I will stay at the Doyle in Duncannon, PA because I have to go to pick up Prescriptions there and at various Hostels that charge $30 or less a night] I have to recoup that money and put it back in my savings account for emergencies. But, okay, LESSON LEARNED. Never ever ever will I trust another salesman or any person out to 'sell' me something. "Thanks, but no thanks."
NEEDLESS to say, Cellular Sales will NOT be getting a renewal from me in March 2015. I've already marked my calender! And my YELP REVIEW about them is not positive.
SO besides having to go get another steroid/novocaine shot in my 'other' knee ... the right one this time, going to pick up a prescription and eye drops and finding out that someone else got one of the two OTC but behind the counter Eye Drops I ordered from Rite Aid two weeks ago and I could only get one because the second box was gone ... and getting GUT PUNCHED by AT&T ... It's been a day I don't want to repeat ever again.
I am so angry at myself for being SO gullible ... It's MY fault ... and my own fault for not double checking my AT&T contract and for being so easily persuaded. I am 68 and I STILL think I can trust other people. You'd think after two divorces that one day I would learn. It seems as if the minute I let my guard down, the minute I fall for a bunch of compliments, I get mistreated. At least THIS time there was no wedding and divorce. Let's look on the Happy Side of Life.
Tuesday is another day ... and I leave for Georgia on Friday morning so I need to get cracking and packing! Tuesday is going to be a GOOD day. I'll ice my knee, I'll do a load or laundry, I'll sort and pack. And I'll drink a lot of water and juice.
Maybe I NEEDED this day to get my guard up for this hike ... and to learn NOT to fall for compliments coming from smooth talking people, especially, or ANYONE who says he/she to want to help me. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Well, I am ashamed. And it will take me a long time to forgive myself. It's my fault ... I just didn't 'think it through' ... I wanted a Verizon phone so I could talk and text while in the Appalachian Mountains ... like my friends could. There is no 'undoing' this mistake. If I'd just kept my iPhone 3s, this post would not have been written and I'd have my IRS refund to use to stay in Hostels while on the Trail. After all, I could have gotten a Verizon phone here instead of East Tennessee. I will not dwell on the "If Onlies" ... I will not allow them to depress me.
The face of a sucker, isn't it?
.
I'm remembering this recent post from Datto ...
I did something. I didn't just just sit back ... I did something and I ended up hurting myself ... I'm going backpacking ... I'm going to walk off all this 'sum of my past decisions' ... and keep my guard up. And keep my Focus on Hiking to the next Shelter or Campsite. I can live without staying at places that charge more than $30 a night. [I just checked the cost of the Inn at the Long Trail ... $79? That's NOT happening. I'll pick up my mail drop for the $5 fee and walk on.] [Crawford Notch Bunk with supper and breakfast is $77 ... that may not happen, either.] I've already spent too much money getting ready for this hike. And my 7 mail drop boxes don't have Postage on them yet, either. That's another $100 plus the UPS box will probably be in the $30+ range. I will mostly resupply food at various trail towns and I've read that the 'great' North East grocery stores are more expensive than our 'greater' Southern ones. Groceries could well take most of the money I'll have available.
Maybe DAD, I didn't think this through well enough. I'm reading on WhiteBlaze that I should expect to spend $1000 a month on my hike. After expenses, I have $600 to $700 to spend. I am going to have to think "white bread and cheap peanut butter" ... and not Kashi Go Lean and Peter Pan Peanut Butter. Well, the FIRST Thru Hiker, Earl Shaffer did it with White Bread and Peanut Butter ... So Can I.
I'm NOT going to talk myself out of this hike. I may have to skip Motels and Hotels and Resorts and I may have to stealth camp after stopping at a Trail Town until I get to Maine ... but if I have to do it, I have to do it. I have no choice but to stay at Hostels or Hotels in Maine ... well, I guess I have a choice, but I think making a mistake in Maine [fortunately there are $8-$12 tent pads in New Hampshire] could be more expensive than staying at a Hotel ... I was checking recently and would you believe that there are States that refuse to accept my brand of Medicare Advantage? And ObamaCare hasn't kicked in completely yet. When it does, I no longer have Medicare Advantage.
Enough Negative ..................... I'm going to do this ............. DAD told me to do it and I want to make him proud.
But first I have to Hike.
Psalm 25: 4-6 Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are god my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O Lord, Your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
Back in March, when I traded my AT&T phone for the Verizon Samsung, which I later traded for an iPhone [Samsung puts too much 'stupid samsung stuff' on their phone and the learning curve for ANDROID was confusing], I asked the smooth talking salesman at the Flea Market in Sevierville, TN, to make sure that my contract was up. WELL, he was more interested in selling me a Galaxy One ... Stellar ... same/same ... and LIED to me. AND he sweet talked me into "helping" him get extra points by giving him my iPhone 3s ... which he probably sold. Had I kept that phone, I'd have had Dad's voice mails. But I wanted to help ... and put MY needs aside ... and I didn't check my ATT account and I didn't THINK about my voice mails ... I assumed they'd follow my phone number. ASS=[u]=ME.
Long story short, I now owe over $200 to ATT for EARLY TERMINATION ... Two lousy months early. I would have waited had Mr Smooth Talker been honest with me. Not only did I lose my Dad's voice on the voice mails, I now have to pay a FINE .... my IRS refund is now unavailable for use on my "Half-A-Thru-Hike." I will HAVE to sleep in the Shelters or under the poncho tarp and I won't be staying at Allenberry Resort $40 Hiker Special or the Port Clinton Hotel $49 plus $10 refundable Key Fee, but I will stay at the Doyle in Duncannon, PA because I have to go to pick up Prescriptions there and at various Hostels that charge $30 or less a night] I have to recoup that money and put it back in my savings account for emergencies. But, okay, LESSON LEARNED. Never ever ever will I trust another salesman or any person out to 'sell' me something. "Thanks, but no thanks."
NEEDLESS to say, Cellular Sales will NOT be getting a renewal from me in March 2015. I've already marked my calender! And my YELP REVIEW about them is not positive.
SO besides having to go get another steroid/novocaine shot in my 'other' knee ... the right one this time, going to pick up a prescription and eye drops and finding out that someone else got one of the two OTC but behind the counter Eye Drops I ordered from Rite Aid two weeks ago and I could only get one because the second box was gone ... and getting GUT PUNCHED by AT&T ... It's been a day I don't want to repeat ever again.
I am so angry at myself for being SO gullible ... It's MY fault ... and my own fault for not double checking my AT&T contract and for being so easily persuaded. I am 68 and I STILL think I can trust other people. You'd think after two divorces that one day I would learn. It seems as if the minute I let my guard down, the minute I fall for a bunch of compliments, I get mistreated. At least THIS time there was no wedding and divorce. Let's look on the Happy Side of Life.
Tuesday is another day ... and I leave for Georgia on Friday morning so I need to get cracking and packing! Tuesday is going to be a GOOD day. I'll ice my knee, I'll do a load or laundry, I'll sort and pack. And I'll drink a lot of water and juice.
Maybe I NEEDED this day to get my guard up for this hike ... and to learn NOT to fall for compliments coming from smooth talking people, especially, or ANYONE who says he/she to want to help me. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Well, I am ashamed. And it will take me a long time to forgive myself. It's my fault ... I just didn't 'think it through' ... I wanted a Verizon phone so I could talk and text while in the Appalachian Mountains ... like my friends could. There is no 'undoing' this mistake. If I'd just kept my iPhone 3s, this post would not have been written and I'd have my IRS refund to use to stay in Hostels while on the Trail. After all, I could have gotten a Verizon phone here instead of East Tennessee. I will not dwell on the "If Onlies" ... I will not allow them to depress me.
The face of a sucker, isn't it?
.
I'm remembering this recent post from Datto ...
... it seems our lives are filled with so much worry about past events we can do little about, yet our condition is made from the sum of our past decisions.
Many times we feel as victims, yet it's only because we have chosen not to make a decision, not to take action. We sometimes dwell on past mistakes and think those foretell our future ... and we become paralyzed by the fear of making a mistake. Our choice becomes one of doing nothing.Datto 10/1/2000 Crocker Cirque Campsite, ME
I did something. I didn't just just sit back ... I did something and I ended up hurting myself ... I'm going backpacking ... I'm going to walk off all this 'sum of my past decisions' ... and keep my guard up. And keep my Focus on Hiking to the next Shelter or Campsite. I can live without staying at places that charge more than $30 a night. [I just checked the cost of the Inn at the Long Trail ... $79? That's NOT happening. I'll pick up my mail drop for the $5 fee and walk on.] [Crawford Notch Bunk with supper and breakfast is $77 ... that may not happen, either.] I've already spent too much money getting ready for this hike. And my 7 mail drop boxes don't have Postage on them yet, either. That's another $100 plus the UPS box will probably be in the $30+ range. I will mostly resupply food at various trail towns and I've read that the 'great' North East grocery stores are more expensive than our 'greater' Southern ones. Groceries could well take most of the money I'll have available.
Maybe DAD, I didn't think this through well enough. I'm reading on WhiteBlaze that I should expect to spend $1000 a month on my hike. After expenses, I have $600 to $700 to spend. I am going to have to think "white bread and cheap peanut butter" ... and not Kashi Go Lean and Peter Pan Peanut Butter. Well, the FIRST Thru Hiker, Earl Shaffer did it with White Bread and Peanut Butter ... So Can I.
I'm NOT going to talk myself out of this hike. I may have to skip Motels and Hotels and Resorts and I may have to stealth camp after stopping at a Trail Town until I get to Maine ... but if I have to do it, I have to do it. I have no choice but to stay at Hostels or Hotels in Maine ... well, I guess I have a choice, but I think making a mistake in Maine [fortunately there are $8-$12 tent pads in New Hampshire] could be more expensive than staying at a Hotel ... I was checking recently and would you believe that there are States that refuse to accept my brand of Medicare Advantage? And ObamaCare hasn't kicked in completely yet. When it does, I no longer have Medicare Advantage.
Enough Negative ..................... I'm going to do this ............. DAD told me to do it and I want to make him proud.
But first I have to Hike.
Psalm 25: 4-6 Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are god my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O Lord, Your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)