3/5 UPDATES!!!

Hey Y’all!

I know its been a while since my last update, (so many things, so little time left!!!) but here we go! So to update you on my progress, I have been finalizing details, prepping mail drops and deciding on WHERE to send them, highlighting my AWOL guide like crazy for dog friendly places and so on, and getting all the last minute gear together. I will be posting a ‘gear guide’ here in the next week or so, so stay tuned for a video and update on the gear page on this site! One thing that I’ve noticed the internet is severely lacking in that would have been more helpful for my choosing the gear that I have would be more before vs after thru hiking gear comparisons. There are a few out there on youtube that showcase specific individuals and their before/after choices, and I def have watched those again and again for reference to see if maybe I’m packing too much or the wrong thing. So I am def going to  be creating a before and after video post-trail to hopefully help future thru-hikers make decisions. Hopefully someone will find it useful or at least learn something from my failures in years to come. 

Anyways, UPDATE!!! I have a trail name! In ref to my love for ponies, my wild child streak, and my accident I have taken the trail name “Rodeo”. You can look forward to the adventures of Rodeo and Scout the Adventure Beagle not ONLY through this blog and other social media forms, but also through APPALACHIAN TRIALS! I got an email from Zach last week inviting me to be one of his 2014 bloggers and I’m beside myself with excitement to start writing! If you have anything you’d like to see or article topics you want to suggest, LMK!!!

Gear talk time. So I had ordered a super comfy therm a rest pad, which I LOVED and slept on for a week straight. Then Jesse’s darn puppy Ranger ate it. Like literally. Rolled up in its stuff sack, the damn dog ate my sleeping pad. Then, after I had it re-rolled and ready for disposal, he FREAKING ATE IT AGAIN….-_- so now my gear shelf is way high up and out of the reach of evil puppies. At least I’d gotten it on  sale. So anyways, I’m still searching for a replacement sleeping pad, but the majority of my gear has been collected. I got an amazing deal from Osprey and ordered a pack from them, when it gets here later this week I’ll go into more detail, and was accepted for a program with Ruffwear who is going to allow me to get great deals on gear for the little man as well. I got my t shirt from Team Reeve, which is a pretty light blue athletic shirt that matches 90% of my gear (how did they know??? <3) Things are coming along well and I’m getting ready for the biggest adventure of my life, I just wish someone would fast forward time a few weeks! 

Until next time, happy trails! 

-“Rodeo”