They say whatever you are doing on New Year’s Day is what you will be doing all year round. Well, this was my view from the truck making my way back from West Virginia on January 1, 2024. If this old adage holds true, then it looks like the plans we are working on for 2024 are off to a good start. As the I-70 passed by the window, I contemplated how different of a year this was going to be and how much work it was going to take. If 2023 was the year that inspired the book of adventure, this was going to be the first chapter in that story. 2024 is going to be hard by choice.
One of the gifts I got for Christmas this year was from a librarian friend of mine. She knows me pretty well and she picked out the book “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson. This is the book I sat reading on my sibling’s porch in West Virginia. Like the book, I found myself also sitting in the first chapter of a new story of my own. In the book I was reading, Bill Bryson reflects on his time spent on the Appalachian Trail. In reading the first few chapters I couldn’t help but relate to his feeling at the beginning of that book. While I will certainly let you read the book for yourself, I will boil it down to this quote: “It was hell… I had never encountered anything for which I was so ill prepared. Every step was a struggle.”
And I think that is the year ahead. Every step will be a struggle. The clock has started ticking. Alaska is 6 years, and 4,000 miles away. And in terms of preparation… we have a steep learning curve. We have 6 years to bond as a team. learn new skills. get ourselves physically in shape, and square equipment away. We will need to read and plan countless trips into the wilderness. And this year is the scariest of all the steps that have to be taken: the first one. While we were sort of figuring out what we were going to do in 2023, this year we need to actually shift to the mindset of “Alaska is happening” and do the do.
There are a lot of unknowns for this trip. A lot can happen in 6 years. And believe me that when I say that everyone has offered their opinion, I do mean everyone. Right now, we have 3 people in the Alaska Pact. Nicholas Kelly, Andrew Seningen, and myself. We will have all the same problems as any group of friends trying to do anything together: schedules, communication, families, and jobs. Additionally, we still need a solid commitment from another person that has been so far illusive. We also have the same problems as any big expedition: logistics, finances, physical fitness, and equipment management.
Daunting, no? This year is going to be the first serious test. We are going to have to be able to rely on one another and be able to overcome some serious hurdles. So what are the plans exactly for 2024?
- We will be hiking weekly, as we have been, so that we can keep up our strength, stay tuned for more trail reviews.
- We are hitting Shenandoah and Acadia National Parks in “The Great U-turn”. (I’ll explain that crazy plan in a later post I promise.)
- We are going to backpack the Maryland part of the Appalachian Trail over 3 days to see where we are skill wise. Will we make it the whole MD AT in 3 days? Probably not, but we will use it as a training gage.
- We will be have camping trips on the book for summer and winter to test equipment and our “all weather” needs.
Confidence levels vary from day to day, as I am sure they will for everyone with a resolution for 2024. Some days, I feel like we are a well oiled team that has each others backs and is willing to learn, grow, and work toward our goals. Other times I get lost in the woods on a simple hike, look at days of unanswered texts, stare at a daunting stack of to-dos, or hear about the logistics of paid time off and think to myself- we are so screwed. Now here is the nugget of wisdom in all of this: it isn’t going to be pretty all the time, but we are going to do it. The best part for you all, I guess, is that whether it goes well or horribly wrong- you will have something entertaining to read about.
UnBEARable Adventures 
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