An Exciting (Blog-Related) Announcement

Dear readers,

Some of you will care less about this announcement, and that’s okay. But I’m really excited about it, and I think some of you will be too!

After some agonizing (and looking at my schedule to see if I could commit to this), I’ve decided that, starting tomorrow, I’m going to start posting my journal entries about the PCT. They will be almost entirely uncut and unedited (with the exception of changing people’s names and taking out sensitive personal details). They will be rough. You will catch lots of typos and sentences that don’t make sense. That’s going to drive me a little crazy, but I’ve decided that getting the story out there is more important to me than doing it in a polished way. I want to share what being on the trail was actually like (unlike the chopped-up, disjointed letters that those of you on the email list got). And I’m excited to think that some of you want to take part in reliving this journey with me.

Some quick notes:

1. The mileage references at the beginning of each entry correspond with Halfmile’s maps.

2. Some of the writing is written like a narrative; other parts are more stream-of-consciousness. I’ll try to make them semi-coherent before posting them, but no promises. 

3. My description of Zach in these entries is appallingly bad. He sounds mostly like a stoic, somewhat jerky silent person who doesn’t contribute much to the action. Zach is absolutely not a jerk, and he was nothing but kind and helpful when we were on trail. For some reason, I have a really hard time writing about him in a way that makes him sound anything like my warm, caring husband. It’s kind of weird.

4. Hitherto, I haven’t used any strong language on my blog. But I can’t properly record what most people sounded like without throwing in some swear words, including frequent use of the F-bomb. Same goes for sexual references. I try not to be crude about it, but I am describing real life, and real life is not G-rated.

5. I’m planning to post one day’s entry on each weekday. I’ll reserve Saturdays for any miscellaneous blog posts I want to put up, and Sunday will still be photo day.

I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with you all— my family, my friends, and my readers whom I’ve never met. Look for my first entry tomorrow.

Cheers!

~The Mandolin