tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48654943506128550202024-02-20T10:26:16.999-05:00Going ErrantA bit of Chivalry here and there never hurt anyone.Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-2985719503090466432012-01-23T14:09:00.000-05:002012-01-23T14:09:26.264-05:00How am I going to do this?So it seems that word is spreading about my little walk, which is AWESOME! It's also starting to put the pressure on me to get planning which is also AWESOME! The truth is though, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I'm not a long haul backpacker, I'm not a through hiker, hell I'm not even much of a camper! So I'm stuck at ground zero of my planning stage trying to figure out what to do.<br />
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Part of me wants to just make the "how I'm supposed to do this" thing part of the journey and learn as I go. But then there is the other part of me that definitely wants to come out the other end of this thing whole and intact. I actually think it would be the most genuine of an effort if I just started walking and allowed destiny to take its course. I think that method is the most "true" way to accomplish my goal. My goal is (just in case you missed it) to walk from my house (or a Summer Camp I used to work at...see details) to Pennsic and along the way to try to help as many people as I can. Of course the other part of my brain (the sane part) has some concerns:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. How am I going to get there?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This question is the hardest and easiest at the same time</span></span>. As far as transportation goes, I'm walking. Problem solved. I've pretty much resolved not to take any rides. I feel like the whole route needs to be covered by foot to keep in the spirit of a "pilgrimage." That and I have trust issues. The hard part is figuring out what route to take. I want to take a route that could potentially put me in contact with those who would need and accept my help but not put myself in too much danger. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't want to end up somewhere where they wouldn't take kindly to a nutter dressed like a knight poking about. I've considered walking the Appalachian trail for a piece of the journey but fitting with the theme of this post, I'm undecided.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. What should I carry?</span><br />
I don't have a ton of experience with Trekking (hiking for days at a time.) There's no way I'm going to get a ton of experience in trekking by the time I go out on my Trek. I have come to terms with this. Luckily I have a father who has had more than his fair share of experience taking long hikes and he has passed down all of his old gear to me. I mean ALL of his old gear.<br />
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I'm talking stuff from the late 70's and early 80's. All of it is in perfect working condition so that doesn't help me figure out what not to take. Obviously I wouldn't want to take a broken stove but he gave me around 5 working ones. All of various sizes, shapes, btu's etc. Doing the research to figure out which one to take has been almost enough to write Master's thesis on camping stoves. Basically, I've decided to take the little Olympus 8R because it has the most btu's for the smallest size.<br />
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But that is only the tip of the iceberg. What pots and pans do I take? How many pairs of socks should I roll out with? Do I need a toothbrush? These are the problems I'm currently grappling with.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. How do I help people without freaking them out?</span><br />
So you're minding your own business and all of a sudden a hobo dressed like a knight asks you if there is anything he could help you with. How do you react to that? Naturally you throw your coffee at him and run as fast as you can in the opposite direction.<br />
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So what do I do to keep myself from getting drenched in coffee on a semi-regular basis? I'm a pretty personable guy in normal situations. I think I am above average when it comes to having positive social interactions with people I don't know but what about when I haven't changed clothes in a while and I smell like I've had a face full of coffee everyday for the past week?<br />
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I've thought about making some business cards that describe what I'm doing and why. The card could also direct the people I help to this blog so they can keep track of me after I leave them. <br />
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That's a pretty incomplete list of all the stuff I'm worried about with this trip. Obviously, I've got a lot of thinking to do.Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-28497243232992145612011-05-12T14:47:00.000-04:002011-05-13T16:43:39.374-04:00On Adventure.Lately I've started to question myself as to why I want to take this walk. Mind you, I'm not wondering whether or not I'm going to do it, because I most definitely am. I have just wondered to myself why? Why?<br />
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What would compel an otherwise sane man to decide to walk from his very comfortable home, spend countless days and nights walking across America (actually I think I just answered my own question.)<br />
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There is no adventure left in the modern world, not for ordinary people. No more dragons to slay, damsels to rescue, lands to conquer. At least none that are within my reach. This walk will be my adventure and the people I meet will be my (metaphorical) damsels. I'll probably meet a few dragons on the way as well. I've always felt like I was apart from the modern world, as if I were born out of my intended time. That's one of the reasons I love the SCA so much. It gives me that fix that I need to keep going another week or month in the mundane world I was planted in.<br />
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However I need something bigger. A quest, a dream to follow. Something to prove my worth and manhood to the world and to myself. I have no idea what I am to carry away from the experience but I know that it is going to change me. It excites me to wonder what will be waiting for me and until then I will work my mind and body until they are equal to the challenge.Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-64274467201366447542011-03-03T21:54:00.000-05:002011-03-03T21:54:01.146-05:00New RouteThere it is. This is just a Google Map suggestion. I may start in Boone and follow the Appalachian trail as far North as I can.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFQ-px8eZdn3qxCCl2JhRxCeej5kNUT1Nmc0v5shkg2kvi4Pr6PR_hs-h5KJbbR6Qa54gHcvaVUBaDow16Dox7e8ebuDDTt473606pmeomFIPG9xyKHoJOck_ZOsNXdbysJtlZg88GdMt/s1600/New+route.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFQ-px8eZdn3qxCCl2JhRxCeej5kNUT1Nmc0v5shkg2kvi4Pr6PR_hs-h5KJbbR6Qa54gHcvaVUBaDow16Dox7e8ebuDDTt473606pmeomFIPG9xyKHoJOck_ZOsNXdbysJtlZg88GdMt/s1600/New+route.png" /></a></div>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-18347937544283010602011-03-03T21:46:00.000-05:002011-03-03T21:46:19.807-05:00Changing my Route.I'm changing where I'm headed. It's my pilgrimage, I can do that. Instead of heading to Colorado, I'm going to walk myself to Pennsic. For those of you who don't know (who am I kidding, no one reads this) Pennsic is the biggest event of the year for most SCAdians. Don't know what a SCAdian is...look here: <a href="http://www.sca.org/">www.sca.org</a>.<br />
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The distance is more manageable, the audience is by far closer to my demographic, and when I'm done I'll be at Pennsic baby. Oh yeah! <br />
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I still haven't heard anything out of Rachel's Challenge. Of course that doesn't mean much. They have much better things to do than worry about one crackpot wannabe hiker is doing with his Summer. I guess I was just hoping that they would see how what I want to lined up with Rachel's vision. I'm not sour, they are doing great things in her name without my help, I should find someone else who isn't as well known. For those of you who don't know about Rachel's Challenge (again why do I bother, no one is reading this) check out the website here: <a href="http://www.rachelschallenge.org/">www.rachelschallenge.org.</a><br />
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But anyway back to Pennsic. I'm walking there, and along the way I am going to help as many people as possible. Knight Errant style. So if you are part of the SCA community, start talking me up to your friends (i.e. "Have you heard of that wack job that's walking to Pennsic, doing good deeds along the road? How period is that?)! Make it impossible for me to back out of this commitment. I hope to see you there at the finish line when I arrive. Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-48841646357112389342011-03-02T13:13:00.000-05:002011-03-02T13:13:46.644-05:00Change in PlansSo it's been just about a month and I haven't heard anything out of Rachel's Challenge. They sent me a "we're relaying your message to the right people" form letter after I sent the e-mail but other than that, nada. They could still be passing around my e-mail thinking "what is this fool getting on about?"...but I doubt it.<br />
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I'm starting to think that Rachel has enough people telling her story and carrying on her work and that I would just be getting in their way. So I'm starting to research some other people that I could invoke. People who lived their lives for good, kindness, and virtue. I am open to suggestions.Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-59269581640255782142011-02-08T14:53:00.001-05:002011-02-08T14:55:00.332-05:00Letter to Rachel's Challenge.I'm eagerly awaiting a response to this. <br />
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<blockquote>Dear RC,<br />
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I am a teacher at MCMS in Moorehead City, North Carolina. You fine folks came to see us a few months ago.<br />
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For the last few years I have been tossing around the idea of a "pilgrimage" to one place or another. I never knew where I would go, I just knew that I would head West. I always planned to take my "pilgrimage" in the fashion of a "knight errant." Knight errants were men who would travel about seeking out challenges, adventuring, righting wrongs, and doing good deeds. Knight errants would also typically invoke the name of a lady before they committed a deed of daring do.<br />
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Experiencing Rachel's Challenge helped solidify a few things for me. First of which was a destination. I would like my long walk to take me to Rachel's hometown in Colorado. Secondly, in keeping with the style of the knight errant I would like my good deeds to be done in Rachel's name.<br />
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Basically I am asking for your permission to use Rachel's name and make her hometown my destination. I understand that the idea of a man hiking about the American countryside like a modern day Don Quixote may seem very much out of the ordinary, and that you may hesitate to acquiesce. I look forward to hearing a response from you and perhaps discussing my long walk with you further.<br />
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Thank you for your time,<br />
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Rodney Woods</blockquote>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-70222266609107213882011-02-07T13:49:00.000-05:002011-02-07T13:49:08.165-05:00Life is in the details.So I've been doing some thinking about my walk and I've come up with some concerns.<br />
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Here's some examples:<br />
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1. How am I going to do it?<br />
2. Is Columbine/Littleton too far?<br />
3. What if I don't finish?<br />
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#1 I can tackle right now. How am I going to do it? The simple answer is "I don't know." I have no idea how I'm going to accomplish this task. I figure putting my right foot in front of my left foot is a good start and I plan on repeating that step as many times as necessary.<br />
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#2 is easy as well. The answer there being..."probably. Well actually more like: "It probably is too far but that's where you're headed by golly so quit your belly aching."<br />
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#3 is a bit more difficult. I'm starting as soon as school lets out for the Summer (I'm a teacher if you hadn't surmised) so I will have most of June, all of July, and a healthy chunk of August to complete the trip. A rough estimate would put me at about 72 days to finish the trip. So, 72 goes into 1,700 how many times? 23.611 repeating. So I would have to walk an average of 23.6 miles per day to reach my destination. That doesn't sound like much does it? However I'm not an uber-hiker <b>and</b> I have to have time to do good deeds on the way or what is the point of being a knight errant?<br />
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I'm considering starting my walk in Boone, NC, home of my Alma Mater ASU. Of course this would only take down my MPD (miles per day) to 20.5 and considering most hikers consider 15 mpd a good sane pace, I might be biting off more than I can chew. What's a knight errant to do?Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-59530055843565825742011-01-14T10:26:00.000-05:002011-01-14T10:26:40.958-05:00Why?Besides passively and discretely posting this blog on my facebook and Armour Archive profile, I haven't actually came out and told many people that I have decided to undertake this journey.<br />
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I don't think many people would understand why I am choosing to attempt this feat. It sounds crazy whenever I think about it to myself and when my wife and I discuss it. I know it must sound insane to the rest of the world. I haven't told anyone close to me about this because I don't want anyone to try to talk me out of it.<br />
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It's hard to articulate my reasoning for taking my long walk. Ever since I was a young man (11-12) I have felt like I should do something like this. My walk has always been one of those things I felt like I wanted to do, but there was no way to actually go after it. <br />
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I'm not doing this for fame, or money, or attention. This is one of those things that you feel in your bones. It is something that I have to try and if I don't I will regret not trying for the rest of my life.Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-34379202523198740212010-12-23T16:10:00.001-05:002010-12-23T16:22:06.427-05:00It's only 1,700 miles right?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRrpJjkkJR4mvwVlN7U_oFrw4SFDqYuU-P1mHsEUAgEOyflLEbzEnl0QIs2u3KQH2VQJQsDEHvaDevJdyOGDK_OxWFynSrPkvBPGLwzsX3OTYKVhR7fyJNrSmGuBX73MVqoBiJwY6S7Hi/s1600/Trip.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRrpJjkkJR4mvwVlN7U_oFrw4SFDqYuU-P1mHsEUAgEOyflLEbzEnl0QIs2u3KQH2VQJQsDEHvaDevJdyOGDK_OxWFynSrPkvBPGLwzsX3OTYKVhR7fyJNrSmGuBX73MVqoBiJwY6S7Hi/s640/Trip.png" width="640" /></a></div>Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-11466092076664849822010-12-23T13:17:00.000-05:002010-12-23T13:17:54.922-05:00The GoalSo this is what I'm planning to do:<br />
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1. Walk from Havelock NC to Columbine CO.<br />
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2. Do good deeds along the way.<br />
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3. Do it all in the Summer of 2012. <br />
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Those are pretty much all of the details I have hammered out so far. Oh, that and I will be wearing chainmail. Heck, if I'm going to be a Knight Errant, I might as well dress the part shouldn't I?Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-39035854764887701272010-12-20T01:53:00.000-05:002010-12-20T01:53:35.333-05:00Red Tailed Hawks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Red-tailed_Hawk_KSC00pp0245.jpg/406px-Red-tailed_Hawk_KSC00pp0245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Red-tailed_Hawk_KSC00pp0245.jpg/406px-Red-tailed_Hawk_KSC00pp0245.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />
Lately I've been seeing quite a few Red Tailed Hawks out and about. It seems like I've seen one just about everyday for the past few weeks.<br />
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When I was younger my father would always point them out to me when he saw them. He would always make it a point to tell me to look at the tail which is of course a rusty shade of red. It was always special seeing one with him.<br />
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I can't help but wonder if there is a reason I've been seeing so many of these birds lately. It could just be the time of year or the area I have moved to (Coastal NC,) however I can't help but think I'm seeing them for a reason.<br />
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My wife (who knows a lot more about these things than I) has told me that the Native Americans believed that birds once communicated openly with people and still try from time to time. We have, unfortunately, lost the ability to understand them which I am sure is a frustrating for them. So what kind of sign could it be that I keep seeing these noble birds?Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865494350612855020.post-28448435357039303562010-12-20T01:25:00.000-05:002010-12-20T01:25:52.663-05:00Doing the right thing.How much time would it take from your day to do one good thing? Nothing big or involved, just something good. For example, you see a piece of trash in a parking lot. How much time from your day would it take to pick it up and put it in a trashcan? No time at all, you were walking toward the door anyway weren't you?<br />
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How about randomly putting a shopping cart that is loose in the parking lot into the corral? That could take maybe two minutes tops. There you've done something small that will help someone out. They didn't ask you to, you just did it because it was the right thing to do.<br />
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How much better do you think your community would be if people took the time to do one good thing each day? A random good deed here, an act of unsolicited kindness there. We are not too busy to do these things. Just do it because you know it's the right thing to do.Rodneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390869341043308998noreply@blogger.com1