Sitting in the Mid-Day Sun

I wanted to say something profound or sentimental prior to hitting the trail tomorrow, but my thoughts are lost in the five-month task ahead. With little focus available to blog, I would like to take the opportunity to apologize tonight, my last night before I hit the Appalachian Trail, to anyone I may have missed seeing in Atlanta prior to my departure. I'm also sorry to my Steamboat friends whom I left hanging my last few weeks in town. I want them all to know that despite my lack of goodbyes, they mean a lot to me.

On this last night in a warm bed, I'm sitting here contemplating the adventure I'm about to embark on. I'm no Bear Grylls or Survivorman. I've only slept a few nights in the woods, and I've never dropped a duece there. Some have asked if I'm bringing a gun, while others have asked if I'll be lonely. But what everyone seems to agree upon is that I'm a bit too doughy to be doing this endeavor and that a bear while likely eat me. They are right about the former, and hopefully 100 percent wrong on the latter.

I don't know what to expect to gain from hiking for five months. I doubt I will gain much insight about the foundations of the universe, God or how to pull the country out of the Great Depression we are facing, but I do hope to gain some perspective on priorities. I think this is secondary to my main goal, which is to have a great adventure. I think everyone deserves an adventure, and this one is mine. I may not be climbing Everest, but I'll have a good story to tell my grand kids one day. So, on that note, I invite you all – my friends and family — to join me on this trek at one point or another. Keep up to date on my location through my GPS tracker, which is linked at the top Toolbar menu under "Where am I?" If I'm close enough to you, come meet me an hike the trail for a day or two. You could also just meet me and buy me dinner and put me up in a nice hotel! Ya, there are hotels along the way. I'm not really roughing it like Magellen.

The toughest part of this trip is not what's ahead of me, but what I'm leaving behind. I'm leaving the love of my dog, Brinkley, who can't join me due to the strain it may put on him in his older years. He's due to retire by the fire by now. We've done at least 1,000 miles together already. I'm also leaving behind an amazing girlfriend, good friends, family and Braves games. I'm not leaving behind my sister Kat until Saturday because she's hiking with her big brother the first day to the Len Foote Hikers Inn, where I'll spend my first night, albeit a comfortable one, on my trip. Also, to Kat's Fourth-grade religion class - THANKS FOR THE GOOD LUCK CARDS! Each student made me a card that honestly left me, who has a heard of stone, a little choked up.

Further, I won't be documenting this trip through video like I had planned. Although I have not yet heard back from graduate schools, I remain hopeful that my path leads me to school this fall. With starting a PhD program, I would not have the time to edit the video. I will document my travels through photos, but my documentary plans have fallen to the wayside.

I'm also using this trip as an opportunity to raise money for the Nature Conservancy's "Plant a Billion Trees" campaign. Many of you have already donated to the cause, and for those who haven't, I put no pressure on you to do so. If you would like to make a contribution, click on the donation widget to the right of the Web page. There is also a video to the right of the page that describes the campaign in more detail.

So, I'm off. Take care and drop me an email from time to time to keep me motivated or to keep me up to date with what's going on in the world. If you would like to be included on an e-mail list that updates when a new blog is posted, which I'm aiming for once a week, then e-mail me your address.

Best wishes, Mike McCollum.

Song of the Day:
Sitting In The Midday Sun :
The Kinks

I'm sitting by the side of a river
Underneath the pale blue sky
I've got no need to worry, I'm in no hurry
I'm looking at the world go by.

Just sitting in the midday sun,
Just soaking up that currant bun,
With no particular purpose or reason
Sitting in the midday sun.

Everybody say I'm lazy
They all tell me get a job you slob,
I'd rather be a hobo walking round with nothing
Than a rich man scared of losing all he's got.

So I'm just sitting in the midday sun
Just soaking up that currant bun,
Why should I have to give my reasons
For sitting in the midday sun

Oh look at all the ladies
Looking their best in their summer dresses,
Oh sitting in the sun.
I've got no home,
I've got no money
But who needs a job when it's sunny. Wah Wah.

I haven't got a steady occupation
And I can't afford a telephone.
I haven't got a stereo, radio or video
A mortgage, overdraft, a bank loan.

The only way that I can get my fun
Is by sitting in the midday sun
With no particular purpose or reason
Sitting in the midday sun.

Oh listen to the people,
Say I'm a failure and I've got nothing,
Ah but if they would only see
I've got my pride,
I've got no money,
But who needs a job when it's sunny. Wah Wah.

Everybody thinks I'm crazy,
And everybody says I'm dumb,
But when I see the people shouting at each other
I'd rather be an out of work bum.

So I'm just sitting in the midday sun
Just soaking up that currant bun,
With no particular purpose or reason
Sitting in the midday sun