Back

I'm back from my long trip. It was tiring, I really didn't get to see much of anything but the convention centers and the hotel and I still don't have a job. They're going to decide within the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I continue to get calls and requests to be interviewed about the thru-hike. Today's coming from the Auburn Plainsman, the school newspaper. Ugggh. I don't mind doing it, but I wish I actually had work to do when they ask me, "when will you have free time to be interviewed?" Instead all I can answer is the truth: My free time is unlimited at the moment. Sigh.

Headed to Las Vegas

I'm leaving today for Las Vegas for the trade show with MMI. I'm more excited about Thursday when I'll be going to Salt Lake City to the Outdoor Retailer trade show. Pretty much every backpacking/camping type company will be there. When I get home I might just have a job.

Conan Leaving Tonight Show?

Man, it sounds like NBC is in some trouble. They are giving Leno back his old time slot of 11:35. And moving Conan back to 12:05, but I've read that he isn't going to take a later time slot.

So maybe that means he'll move to another network. Maybe start a new show that doesn't have "tradition" that he has to live up to. If you were a fan of his previous show, Late Night, odds are you'll agree that The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is no where near as good. I haven't watched too much of it, but I've seen enough to make these observations. It's pretty obvious. He is always getting on to guests for using bad language. He never does any risque or ridiculous skits or have the hilarious characters for which he became popular. It's no wonder his ratings haven't been as good. He tried to appeal to older viewers when he moved to The Tonight Show and ended up not getting them and also losing his younger viewers.

My only hope is that whatever the outcome (he either stays on NBC @ 12:05 or moves to another network like FOX) he goes back to being funny.

I think this is the first time I've ever talked about football on here...

So I just saw this on a facebook friend's status (who is an Auburn fanatic and is always posting something about Auburn football)

"If the NCAA declares Bush retroactively ineligible for the 2004 season, the Bowl Championship Series has said it will consider stripping the Trojans of their lone BCS title during Carroll’s era." To give to the team that finished 2nd in the polls...maybe we can publicly claim 2004 soon...


Not sure how likely it really is, but I hope this does not happen. I'm proud that Auburn has never claimed awards retroactively and I see no reason for this to change now. In fact, I'd be all in favor of disclaiming the 1957 NC since it was not an undisputed championship win. I feel like this is the only way a team can claim to be the best team of the season (considering the imperfect system college football goes by).

I think I read somewhere that Notre Dame only officially claims undisputed national titles. Why doesn't every school go by this policy?

Because it makes too much sense, I guess.

Say from charms...

...whhaaaat?

bike ridin', job gettin' and decade changin'

After a long 2 month dry spell...wait a second, that's about the same thing I wrote last entry. Man, I need to post more often.

There's just never anything to say really. Lately I've been doing absolutely nothing except sleeping and watching tv. Nothing noteworthy. I mean, it's not like I've ever made a habit of updating anyway.

One thing I've done recently was go on a bike ride with my dad. There's this paved walking/biking path that runs from Anniston to Atlanta. It's built on an old railroad grade so it is pretty flat. The Alabama section is called the Chief Ladiga Trail and that's what we did. Starting at the beginning we rode our crappy bikes 33 miles to the state line, then turned around and came back. It took all day and we did about the last 5 miles in the dark. It was a lot of fun though. Despite the fact that my bike seat is hard as a rock. I can ride for 30 miles tops on that thing before it starts being uncomfortable. But there wasn't much I could do but keep going once I was 33 miles away from the car. There were lots of these guys decked out in tons of really nice gear and super nice road bikes and here we are, out there with regular clothes and these cheap bikes from walmart that we've had forever. The funny thing is we were probably doing more miles than they were.

Also, something big that has happened is I got an interview for a design job! One of the professors from Auburn that knew I had hiked the AT directed me to this company that was looking for a tent designer. I went down to Montgomery where they are located and did the whole interview thing and they seemed impressed enough...but you know, you never can tell in an interview exactly what they are thinking. They left it at, "we'll let you know what we decide by February." So I didn't get my hopes up until they emailed me asking if I would go with them to a trade show in Las Vegas to kind of get an idea what kind of things they are interested in producing and better understand the market. So now I'm like, maybe there's a good chance I'll get this after all. I really hope so. It was not looking too good when I came back home 5 months after graduating and hardly any of my fellow ID graduates had gotten design jobs. But then this happened. And almost all thanks to thru hiking. I knew it would look good for me to have done it, but I didn't think it would happen like this. I guess all the pain and hardship was worth it...if I get this job. More on that once I return from this trade show.

What else is going on...

It's 2010, that's pretty cool. But what do we abbreviate it as? '10? And you can't really say it...it's just one syllable. Ten. You need at least two syllables to abbreviate a year, in my opinion. So I guess we'll be forced to say, "it's two-thousand ten." Which is FOUR syllables! I guess you could also go the "twenty-ten" route, but honestly, who wants to do that?

Really though, it won't be an issue until next year and years to come. We will be referencing something which happened this year and say, "remember back in '10?" But how can you say that? "Remember back in ten?" That just sounds ridiculous. At least we still have a year before it becomes a problem. Enjoy '10 while you can everyone.

Still kickin'

After a long 5 month dry spell I figured it was about time to update this journal. As I'm sure everyone knows, I completed the Appalachian Trail on October 10th. I came home the 12th and since then I've been taking er easy. I can't do that for long though. Sometime this week I'll get on the job search wagon. As far as re-adjusting goes, I think I'm pretty adjusted. It wasn't that hard for me to get back to sleeping in a bed, driving a car, staying indoors when it rained. What was difficult was changing my eating habit. I went from constant physical activity to none. So I didn't have the appetite I use to, but I don't think my body knew what was going on. Basically it just felt like I had a stomach ache for a couple weeks. But now I think my body has adjusted back.

I have been asked by a number of people to come talk to their class/group/what have you about my hike and the AT. I'm getting two of those out of the way this week. Going down to Auburn for a few days on Wednesday. I have to update my resume and portfolio a little. Hoping I can use the computer lab.

I feel like I should have some kind of reflection on the hike, but honestly, nothing comes to mind. It was what it was. I dreamed of hiking from Georgia to Maine, I set out to try it and I succeeded. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Mentally, physically. I wanted to stop, but I thank my own stubborn determination for getting me through. I met some awesome people who, sadly, I'll more than likely never see again. I don't know if it taught me anything about myself or whatever...I suppose it made me realize I can do whatever the hell I put my mind to.

In response to Kevin's inquiries, I still don't know if I have all the answers.

Where was I going? Well, there isn't much philosophical there. I think I was simply trying to hike the Appalachian Trail. I think it has more to do with why I was doing it. Which brings me to the next question.

Why am I doing this? I thought about this a lot. The simple answer is this: When I was in high school, I went on my first backpacking trip on the AT. I enjoyed it so much I decided one day I would try to do the whole thing. It made sense at the time. If it was fun to do for a few days it would be even more fun to do for many months. Simple math. Of course that's not how it works. It is hard work. And very few moments are fun. But there are some. And you can't get to those without some effort. You get out of it what you put in.

That's the simple answer, but I think there was an underlying motive, too. I felt the need to do something after I finished school to set me apart. Experience. I feel that experience is very important. Prior to the AT, I had done absolutely nothing noteworthy. I had gone to school my whole life. Nowadays, that is not a noteworthy accomplishment. What would I have to say in a job interview to set me apart? And besides job interviews...just life in general. The AT was a great way to break up the monotony of school. For all school is good for, it really hinders a person from knowing anything outside of a small bubble. I encountered this on the trail. For instance, some people I met farther north were unaware where Alabama was in the country. To be fair, I bet a lot of people from around here would have a hard time on a puzzle of the northeastern U.S.

I want to have stories and life lessons that may entertain or help someone one day. Unless I look up those stories on Snopes.com, they are gonna have to come from real world experience. Something I couldn't get if I was sitting in a cubical all day. So yeah. That's why I did it.

What is there to find? Good friends are found. You find out what you're made of. Completing the whole trail (especially in the short time I did) isn't easy. You find out what you can live without.

So I guess there was something that came to mind about the hike, but it still feels like there's more to it than this extremely long post. The thru hike is such a big thing, I don't think it has all been processed enough to figure out all the details. Maybe that is it, I don't know. I've never been a very reflective kind of guy. Only time will tell.

One more thing

Just another website to visit.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacobdsutton/


I'm doing well. I stopped in Franklin, NC for the night to resupply and dry out some wet clothes. I'll hopefully update my trail journal as soon as I can.

107 miles down. 2,068 to go.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am taking a trip! An excellent adventure of sorts. I am hiking the Appalachian Trail. Never heard of it? Well, study up on it then!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_trail

...Now that you are an expert, you understand the implications of such a trip. I've never attempted anything of this magnitude, so, admittedly, I don't know what to expect. However, I am going to give it my best effort. So, if you would care to know my whereabouts at some point during the coming months, please feel free to stop by my webjournal at

http://trailjournals.com/jacob

There's all kinds of stuff on the site, such as the gear I'm using, photos I post, my stats, and whatever happens that I feel is worth jotting down when I find a computer.

If you want another good read on the AT, I encourage you to check into the book by Bill Bryson entitled A Walk In The Woods, I re-read it this past weekend and re-realized how awesome it is.

Also, my dad is making me take this GPS along with me. It's got this pretty nifty feature that will link to google maps. I found out how I can create my own map so you can find out where I am pretty much any time during the trip. Just go to google.com, click on the maps and type in "Jacob's AT Hike". There will be quite a few results, but if you go to "show search options" you can limit the search to only user created content and mine should be the first one. If you have a google account you can even save the map and check it that way. Check it out.

So wish me luck. I start Wednesday. Tell me your address, maybe I'll send you a post card

Regards,
Jacob

10 Memorable College Moments

Like after any big milestone in ones life, graduating has put me in a reminiscent mood today. It got my thinking about what things that I will remember from my four years at Auburn. Not necessarily the best, not necessarily the worst, not even really "moments". Just stuff that I think I'll remember forever (or maybe I will forget and therefore I'm writing them down.) Also, I don't think there's a particular order to these...I'm just writing them down as I remember them.



1. That time I thought it was a good idea to walk from my apartment to a party that was in Harmon, found out a quarter of the way there it was a dumb idea, but instead of turning around I passed by an elementary school where two bikes were, a girl's bike and a boy's bike...both way too small for me. Lucky for me the boy's bike was the one of the two not locked up so I took it and rode it to the party. At the end of the night I rode the bike back to the elementary school and to teach the kid a lesson about locking up his bike I chucked it on top of the marquee in front of the school.


2. That one time that I was bed and/or couch ridden for 3 weeks because of my then unknown inflamed colon. I'm still surprised I passed that semester.


3. The one I let get away.


4. The time I had a presentation and a competition deadline that occurred on the same day. Stayed up all night working on both, finished the presentation in the morning, but instead of getting to go to bed afterward I had to stay up trying to meet the midnight deadline to enter the competition. And to make things even worse, my professor had me entering two projects! So I'm sitting there in the computer lab at around 4 pm...it was a Friday so no one else was there...and I am just falling asleep every couple minutes for about 30 seconds. So I'll work for a couple minutes, fall asleep for 3o seconds and so on and so forth. Until finally around 7 pm I finish and get it all submitted, but my friends want to hang out...so what do I do? Go to bed like any sane person would do? No I go out until 1 or 2. So I end up pushing 40 hours with no sleep before I finally get to bed. The funny thing was, I wasn't really that tired.


5. The time I got to see Brian May, Roger Taylor and Paul Rodgers, 3 of my favorite musicians, live. T'wood have been nice to have shared the experience with someone, though.


6. My first football game. It was spent behind a counter at Toomer's Drugs. It was hell. And I kind of miss it.


7. That time we went to New Orleans for the IDSA Conference and I get lost on my way back to the apartment from Bourbon Street. I was on the right street, but I walked the wrong way...or I thought it was the wrong way, so I turned around...one of those situations where your right around the corner from your destination, but you turn around thinking you are no where close. So an hour or two later I come to an interstate. Definitely no interstate near our hotel....I turn around. Eventually I get tired of walking so I start running. Out of nowhere some dude starts running with me. "What's your story, man?" He asks. "I'm just running, man." was all I said. Then he told me I should do the triathelon that was coming up on Sunday. I said no way, I was too out of shape. Then I turned off the street we were on and he kept going straight. I never saw him again. I eventually made it back to the hotel and we later determined that the interstate was over 2 miles away from where we were staying.


8. When I finally became myself...or rather, who I want to be. It happened way too late unfortuantely. Perhaps that's a good thing, though. I might not have made it in 4 years had it happened differently. I don't regret how everything went.


9. One of the two football games I went to in my first two years. I was a sophomore and we were playing Florida. We didn't stand much of a chance, but somehow we actually beat them. Pretty convincingly too. I've never experienced the stadium that loud before or since that game. It felt like it was about to fall down.


10. My last night in Auburn (graduation night). Saying goodbye to all the friends I had made, knowing full well I would hardly, if ever, see them again. Quite the bittersweet moment.