Andrew's Shameless AT Hike Fund
Donation protected
OK, so here's the deal. When I planned this AT hike, I had assumed I had everything set up from a financial perspective. I had enough income (and some generous donations from family) to put together all of my equipment, and a large portion of the supplies I would need. I also had a strong cushion for on the trail expenses (such as zero day hotels, hostels, and pizza money). I even thought I had things set with my job, with a nice monthly income in exchange for some consulting work when I had the bandwidth. Yep, I was all set.
Of course, things changed.
Long story short, I had to get off the trail due to hitting a really serious wall. I helped my sister slackpack through large portions of NC, and returned to Illinois to gear up for return to the trail in June.
Unfortunately, for reasons I won't go into because I'm still not sure exactly what happened, that sweet monthly consulting contract never quite materialized. Therefore, my bills were not being covered. Instead of being used to keep me on the trail, I was using my reserves to keep my health insurance and other bills in check.
Thus, I'm homeless (well, I'm living in my parent's basement and/or along the trail), jobless, and effectively broke. Thanks to my parents I was able to get back out here. However, my general lack of knife skills left me with less of my thumb, so AT Hike 2.0 (so far) has been pretty much a farce.
I've come way too far and lost way too much to let it end like this. Since I'm at the end of my resources, I now turn to the last resort: Shameless fundraising with the option of complete and total product placement.
Yes, folks, this is your opportunity to get in on the ground floor of what will be the next great trail story in the vein of A Walk in the Woods or Wild. Just think, when A Notch in the Belt and the Thumb (working title) comes out, you can say "I helped make it happen". Because of you, future web site commenters will be able to say "Yeah, the stories are entertaining, but HE DIDN'T DO THE WHOLE HIKE!", as thy do with Wild and Walk in the Woods. Thanks to you, perhaps some day whole sites will be devoted to explaining why I'm a terrible role model for hikers and how to properly notch belts, unlike that dumbass from the book.
Without your help, I won't be able to slog miserably through the rocks, snakes, and superfund sites of Pennsylvania! I won't be able to be rudely treated by convenience store clerks in New Jersey and New York, and won't get to find out what its like to go through the famed "Lemon Squeezer" (or how it feels to be a coward who takes the cheater way out around it). What a shame it would be for me to miss out on hiking through Connecticut, original home of the ticks that carry the dreaded Lyme disease.
Seriously, though, I do want to continue this hike as long as I can take it, which is to the end of September. I don't expect I'll make it to Katahdin, but I can put a significant dent in the trail, at least getting to Vermont. ~750 miles of hiking is nothing to sneeze at.
If a genuine appeal to your benevolence won't work, then I'll try brib...er, enticing you with the reward levels. Even if you don't care about hiking, you might need (or might know someone who needs) some crackerjack PHP work done. With some of these reward levels I'll be including some coding hours, which will be at a signficant discount. There are other neat goodies stashed in each level, so please take a look. And if you only feel like giving $1.00, that still helpful and I thank you.
Finally, I implore you that if the decision is between helping me or Clever Girl (AKA Erin) and/or her Hike for BECA, please choose her. She's already ~550 miles ahead of me and was here first. There are many other ways to help me along the trail. Every piece of food I get in drops in the mail is one I don't have to buy along the way. Let people you know who might be interested in the rewards to check this out, and share this page on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or whatever kids these days use to waste copius amounts of time. Best of all, share Red Faces, White Blazes and visit it often. If the ads catch your eye, We'd appreciate it if you gave them a click, as the revenue from that will also help keep things going.
Thank you, and see you out on the trail!
Of course, things changed.
Long story short, I had to get off the trail due to hitting a really serious wall. I helped my sister slackpack through large portions of NC, and returned to Illinois to gear up for return to the trail in June.
Unfortunately, for reasons I won't go into because I'm still not sure exactly what happened, that sweet monthly consulting contract never quite materialized. Therefore, my bills were not being covered. Instead of being used to keep me on the trail, I was using my reserves to keep my health insurance and other bills in check.
Thus, I'm homeless (well, I'm living in my parent's basement and/or along the trail), jobless, and effectively broke. Thanks to my parents I was able to get back out here. However, my general lack of knife skills left me with less of my thumb, so AT Hike 2.0 (so far) has been pretty much a farce.
I've come way too far and lost way too much to let it end like this. Since I'm at the end of my resources, I now turn to the last resort: Shameless fundraising with the option of complete and total product placement.
Yes, folks, this is your opportunity to get in on the ground floor of what will be the next great trail story in the vein of A Walk in the Woods or Wild. Just think, when A Notch in the Belt and the Thumb (working title) comes out, you can say "I helped make it happen". Because of you, future web site commenters will be able to say "Yeah, the stories are entertaining, but HE DIDN'T DO THE WHOLE HIKE!", as thy do with Wild and Walk in the Woods. Thanks to you, perhaps some day whole sites will be devoted to explaining why I'm a terrible role model for hikers and how to properly notch belts, unlike that dumbass from the book.
Without your help, I won't be able to slog miserably through the rocks, snakes, and superfund sites of Pennsylvania! I won't be able to be rudely treated by convenience store clerks in New Jersey and New York, and won't get to find out what its like to go through the famed "Lemon Squeezer" (or how it feels to be a coward who takes the cheater way out around it). What a shame it would be for me to miss out on hiking through Connecticut, original home of the ticks that carry the dreaded Lyme disease.
Seriously, though, I do want to continue this hike as long as I can take it, which is to the end of September. I don't expect I'll make it to Katahdin, but I can put a significant dent in the trail, at least getting to Vermont. ~750 miles of hiking is nothing to sneeze at.
If a genuine appeal to your benevolence won't work, then I'll try brib...er, enticing you with the reward levels. Even if you don't care about hiking, you might need (or might know someone who needs) some crackerjack PHP work done. With some of these reward levels I'll be including some coding hours, which will be at a signficant discount. There are other neat goodies stashed in each level, so please take a look. And if you only feel like giving $1.00, that still helpful and I thank you.
Finally, I implore you that if the decision is between helping me or Clever Girl (AKA Erin) and/or her Hike for BECA, please choose her. She's already ~550 miles ahead of me and was here first. There are many other ways to help me along the trail. Every piece of food I get in drops in the mail is one I don't have to buy along the way. Let people you know who might be interested in the rewards to check this out, and share this page on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or whatever kids these days use to waste copius amounts of time. Best of all, share Red Faces, White Blazes and visit it often. If the ads catch your eye, We'd appreciate it if you gave them a click, as the revenue from that will also help keep things going.
Thank you, and see you out on the trail!
Organizer
Andrew C. Tate
Organizer
Schaumburg, IL
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