July 31, 2011 Update: Building Financial Sustainability

SH T -915 days / PCT mile 0 / Training miles 1251 / Smokes (last 24 hrs) 23

Total pledge value $2810

The challenge, as issued by Pledging Unit 1, Eric Stromquist, is to hike the Pacific Crest Trail Southbound from the Canadian border, beginning March 15 2014.

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The most immediate challenge to doing this fund-raising hike is building Chalkboarder to a level of sustainability that will allow me to take 5 months off from full-time as CEO. This is my main focus for the next 18 to 24 months, in preparing to undertake this endeavor.

Chalkboarder has some exciting activities being planned with current and likely-new partners. It’s a matter, as CEO, of putting one foot in front of the other, every day, in business, to reach this objective of sustainability.

 

Modified Mini Bic Lighter

A great tip from Ultralight Backpacking… one of the attitudes in long distance hiking is to remove as much weight as possible – this can become an obsession.

“Tip # 125: The Mini Bic Lighter

This is a cute bit of design perfection that is 2 scant inches tall and weighs only 0.4 ounce. Not to be confused with the standard (porky) 3-inch version. They are easy to find for less than a buck at any gas station. Get a bright color (yellow or orange) so you don’t lose it in a campsite kitchen.

Some folks will say don’t take a lighter, because it won’t work if it gets wet. The solution is easy: Don’t let it get wet! (see Tip 26: Care of Equipment) Actually, it will work if it gets wet, it just needs to dry out first. Just put a wet lighter in an inside pocket that is mostly dry (if you are soaked on a rainy day, this…”

Read the whole article here.

As part of logistically planning a long distance hike, I’ll be preparing boxes to have shipped to me at strategic drop points. Every drop point box will have one of these Modified Mini Bic Lighters. And I’ll choose yellow please.. yellow is easier to see at night.

 

July 17, 2011 : Research

SH T -929 days / PCT mile 0 / Training miles 1233 / Smokes (last 24 hrs) 20

Total pledge value $2810

The challenge, as issued by Pledging Unit 1, Eric Stromquist, is to hike Southbound from the Canadian border, beginning March 15 2014.

This presents hefty challenge, as most of the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington and Oregon will still have significant snow cover. Consequent, I’m researching backcountry winter expedition skiing, navigation and survival training. Today, I put a half hour into this research.

 

 

Pledge Number Two

SH T -930 days / PCT mile 0 / Training miles 1231 / Smokes (last 24 hrs) 25

Total pledge value $2810

A BIG SHOUTOUT Joni Doolin, CEO of People Report, for becoming Pledging Unit 2 today, purely by social media happenstance.

Joni leads an awesome organization and influences many, many people on a daily basis. I’m thrilled to have learned from, conversed with and hung out with her and her community. By the way, if you haven’t been to People Report Summer Camp – you are definitely missing out.

Planning Update:

I’m currently executing Phase Two of my Five Year Plan, written in May 2009. Phase Two is to take my life bi-coastal, living and working from both coasts of the USA. There’s a number of beachheads, objectives and milestones to accomplish in creating the life-space to spend nearly six months thru-hiking in 2014.

 

1/11/2011

SH T -1176 d / PCT mile 0 / Training miles 15 / Smokes (last 24 hrs) 19

Total pledge value $1405

Perfect day to resume this. In 1998, my (then girlfriend) former wife trained daily for six months prior to us starting a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail. I did a few training hikes, mostly to break in the boots and equipment.

Within three weeks, after a first week of making 6 miles a day, we were pumping out 15+ mile days.

 

GeekFest at Gnomedex in Seattle

SH T -1318 d / PCT mile 0 / Training miles 15 / Smokes (last 24 hrs) 20

Total pledge value $1405

Training has been muted the last week. A week ago, from Thursday to Saturday, I’d caught some kind of bug that totally wiped me out. From Sund to Thursday of this past week, I’ve been very focused on Chalkboarder.

Seattle is a great town for walking in – very hilly. I’ve put a few miles in the last two days, walking from the International District to Belltown and back.

So this blog not only covers the physical training for thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, it also will cover these topics:

• Equipment
• Trail Research
• Planning the hike by segments
• Networking and spreading the word to gather pledges
• And lightly, the effort to build my business over the next 3.5 years so that I can do this hike and meet my personal financial obligations.

Here at Gnomedex, a gathering of geeks, tech-heads, futurists and social web theorists in Seattle, I’ve been networking for a variety of reasons – for new clients, to gather what leading theorists think the social web will be over the next couple years and to build villages.

Back home tomorrow.. and back to physical training.

 

Working Backward

SH T -1326 d / PCT mile 0 / Training miles 3.5 / Smokes (last 24 hrs) 13

Total pledge value $1405

Big recovery day yesterday from the last two days of work. I tweaked my left shoulder and all the muscles got out of whack, which led to a tooth that gives me trouble when I’m that tired. Completely took yesterday off.

Working backwards…

1. Set your ultimate goal
2. Create a small set of difficult sub goals
3. Work on the sub goals

The ultimate goal here is the thru hike in 2014.

Two sub goals in chronological order…

2012 – The Hard Rock 100

2013 – The Boston Marathon

The Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run is an ultramarathon of 100.5 miles in length, plus 33,992 feet of climb and 33,992 feet of descent for a total elevation change of 67,984 feet, at an average elevation of over 11,000 feet. The race is held on a loop course on 4WD roads, dirt trails, and cross country in Southern Colorado’s San Juan Range, USA.

The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics,^[1] the Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world’s best-known road racing events. It is one of five World Marathon Majors.

If you are reading this, understand that all the ideation and strategic planning for Strength Hike 2014 was mentally mapped out over the past year.

 

A Challenge, a Pledge & Business Mileage

SH T -1327 d / PCT mile 0 / Training miles 3 / Smokes (last 24 hrs) 22

Total pledge value $1405

I received a challenge yesterday from a co-founder of Oregon Culinary Institute.. to do the hike from North to South, starting March 31st. This is a significant throw-down, as the weather becomes much more significant of a factor. I accepted the challenge.

Yesterday was a focus on building Chalkboarder. My friend and mentor Paul Barron was in town and I guided him all over Portland networking and assisting him in creating a three part documentary on the use of social web in the hospitality industry – from farm to plate. We covered a lot of ground yesterday and it wiped me out.

I was tired from only 5 hours sleep the night before and in that state, reducing/eliminating tobacco is a huge challenge. I failed on that portion yesterday.

The day was all about building my village.. sustainably. To do this hike will require that Chalkboarder is quite healthy.. providing me with financial sustenance in 2014 so I can take six months off.

Onward – one foot in front of the other. I’m still lagged out this morning.

 

Sore

Stretch and recover.

SH T -1328 d / PCT mile 0 / Training miles 2 / Smokes (last 24 hrs) 12

Total pledge value $0

I’m sore today. Partly it’s from yesterday’s jog with the dog. It’s also partly my old bed setup and holding my laptop in my left arm. And – it’s one of those weather days where the low pressure gets in my bones.

I fixed the bed, removing a mattress so that it’s a lot harder. I also began training myself to type (with full punctuation) with my left hand. I don’t think I’ll get up to 40+ wpm like I can typing just right-handed, but it should alleviate the stress on the left shoulder.

Today and tomorrow are recovery days. Tomorrow is totally consumed with business so its out anyway. Stretching.. lots of stretching for the next 48 hours.

I’m at Oak Grove Coffee discussing my training program with Jason Twombley, a friend and the owner of the coffee shop. He and I are intent to sweet talk a local MMA gym into letting us start training and us blogging it.

Studying MMA is a critical part of training for the PCT. It will round out my fitness and endurance. It also should give me an ability to prevent or deal with most injuries that could happen while hiking.

 

The Map

Here’s the map.