A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

hike

Focusing on life and getting out more

“It comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living. Or get busy dying.”

Those words echo toward the end of the Shawshank Redemption. Words spoken by Tim Robbins’ character as he sits in prison for a murder he did not commit as he talked with Morgan Freeman’s character.

Not too much longer, Freeman’s character, free on parole echoes the words.

“Get busy living. Or get busy dying. That’s goddamn right.”

Over the past year and change, I’ve worked to get myself into better health. I’m not where I need or fully want to be yet – lots more weight to lose and still needing to control the diabetes much better, but I’m on the right path.

Now it’s time to work on other things to go with that.

The area in which I live – central New York – has so much to offer. There are amazing things to see and do and places to get outdoors and explore.

If you expand a bit – into Northeast Pennsylvania, for example, the activities and opportunities become even more.

I love the outdoors. I love the indoors as well, don’t get me wrong. I mean a night of television or messing on the computer is a good time, but being outdoors is a lot of fun and it doesn’t require going through the middle of woods, bushwhacking, and things like that.

Get out and explore!

Instead, there are wonderful trails to wander and see; nature to enjoy and photograph; and plenty of wildlife to see and admire. There are man made and natural made areas that are amazing to the eyes. And though my interest in the bulk of geocaching has waned recently, there are plenty of them to find out in the woods. I’d like to explore some bike trails, too, and just wander along and enjoy the atmosphere. I’m looking to eventually invest in a bike rack/kayak rack for my car, as well as a kayak. That would be something I’d like to do more in the warmer months.

And I never will forget about baseball in the summer!

There are urban developments with some fantastic museums and activities not far away. There are ways to broaden your horizons and see different things within a semi-quick car ride. Breweries and great places to eat are everywhere now. There’s definitely things to do.

So maybe it’s time to start doing things like this.

One thing I really want to get back into is more photography. Because I do it so much during my professional day, I tend not to take my main camera when out and about. I mean, the iPhone is a wonderful tool – it really is. But I miss using the camera and different lenses… or pushing things to see what I can create. Especially when it comes to things like waterfalls and covered bridges, and other items that really interest me.

In the grand scheme of things, life is short. Even if you are one of the lucky ones who lives to 100 or a bit more, that’s just a speck of time when considering how long some form of life has been on Earth. So while you are here, see things. Do things. Live things.

I can’t say I’m always going to follow this mantra. I’m just as guilty of plopping down on the couch for some television or hours online. But if I’m going to do that – I need to make sure I’m balanced and I get out and see some wonderful things as well.

My DayZero list is a start.

On January 1, 2019, I started my third round with the DayZero Project. I have on it more than the 101 goals because I need to trim. I’ve looked to see what is something that can be done – be it hard or not – as compared to dreams. This is a starting point as some of it gets me outdoors.

I have life goals and life plans and hopes – all of which intermingle with one another. But as the two characters in the Shawshank Redemption noted – get busy living, or get busy dying.

In the past couple of months or so, I think I’ve gotten busy living – at least in some aspects. And my mental being seems to be doing much better. But there’s still a lot to grow from and I look forward to trying to do more (to be fair, it’s much easier to do in warmer weather).

The world is a wonderful place if you find the right angle. Now get out and find it. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Book review: AWOL on the Appalachian Trail

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail

After the last book I read, I had been looking for a book that really grabbed me and made me want to keep reading. Though I don’t ever intend on hiking the Appalachian Trail, I do like reading about it through trail journals and books. That led me to AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, a wonderful account of one man’s mid-life hike of the historic trail.

It’s the second book I read on hiking the trail and it gave a very good account of the hike and what you encounter during such a long thru-hike.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was well done and you could tell that the writer kept good details in his journal during the hike. It also probably didn’t hurt that he wrote a newspaper article every week or two during his hike.

As for the book…

The good

Details! The best way I can describe this book is that it’s almost a play-by-play of his hike. The details are many and really capture the essence of a thru-hike like this. Remember, the Appalachian Trail is more than 2,000 miles long, so there are a lot of things to journal and encounter. Items such as animals, other wildlife, people, stopping in towns, injuries and everything else you can consider. Author David Miller really gives you the feel of what it’s like to be on the trail. From not shaving, to days without a shower — you can almost smell (ewww!) what it’s like to be a hiker. His tribulations with hiking shoes or dealing with hikers who seem to uppity to talk to other hikers, he gives you ever piece of what his trip was like.

That makes it hard to put the book down.

It took me about 10 days to finish the book. There were a few days in there that I didn’t read, but the book flowed well and it went quick. I looked forward to reading it each time I picked up my Kindle.

Another positive to the book was it wasn’t all cake and candy. By that I mean, everything wasn’t “Oh yay! The Appalachian Trail rules and this was so easy!”

Miller gets into the negatives of his hike. Such as being away from his wife and three kids for so many months. He takes us into the mind of a thru-hiker with the urge (though with Miller, it never seemed too big of an urge as he knew what he did to be able to hike and didn’t want to leave the trail). But it’s not an easy thing to do, mentally and physically. The amount of food he goes through and the constant, nagging injuries are things that he dealt with.

He also shows what hikers have to go through each day. From hiking anywhere from 10-30 miles in a day, to the terrain, to having to hitchhike into towns or trying to get food and water while on the trail, Miller’s account of the hike is something anyone considering this hike should read.

The bad

As much of a positive as the play-by play is, it can also be a negative, though not in a major way. There were times that I wondered how much fun he actually had. If I’m on a trail for 4-6 months and am meeting so many people and staying in different spots, I’m going to have to have some fun. At times, Miller starts to talk about the good times, but then abruptly moves on to hiking the next day. I think a few more details and some good humor in parts would have given the book a little extra oomph.

Outside of that, there’s not many negatives with this book. He offered a few opinions in the book that I think could have been left out and there were parts that I would have liked expanded with explanations, but overall there weren’t many bad things about the book.

Overall thoughts

Not many books could get me to be interested in hiking 2,000-plus miles. The reality is, this is a hike I’ll likely never try to attempt as being on the trail for six months just isn’t something I’m interested in doing. That being said, his account of the hike really could get someone interested in thinking about this hike. From the amount of bears he saw to the nature and people he encountered, it’s a writer’s dream to be on that trail.

But every batch of goods had bads, including weather, rough people to deal with or running out of key items (such as water). The physical and mental toll it takes on a person is something that everyone should consider.

Still, as Miller shows in the book, it’s something that people from all walks of life have done and it’s something many people could do, if they put their mind to it. His account isn’t sugar-coated and he gives a real feel of what it would be like to take this thru-hike.

Rating

I gave it 4 out of 5 stars and would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys hiking, outdoors or just a good read about a real-life adventure.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com.