Welcome. You're about to hop on the Appalachian Trail and become part of the 2009 thru-hike of Chris Hennig, whose trail name was "Feed Bag." While Feed Bag took in all the personal benefits of spending hours alone in the woods (getting in better shape, crying, pondering the meaning of life), there is a purpose greater than that for which he hiked: to make the world a better place for children. And you can be a part of this journey starting now...and help make a difference!
Filed under: Blog Posts — chrishennig @ 7:41 am August 1, 2009
In honor of having around 600 miles left I thought I would create a few Top 6 lists about all things hiking, adventure, the trail, etc. Feel free to leave your own Top 6 anything in the comments, just as long as they aren’t funnier than mine! 😉
Top 6 Reasons to Hike the Appalachian Trail 6. You meet a lot of interesting people.
5. Sometimes it’s pretty.
4. Visit states you’ve previously never been to (VT, NH, and ME for me).
3. You can decide where you never want to live or settle down.
2. The same reason anyone likes running: there comes a point when you get to stop.
1. You get to eat whatever you want and still lose weight.
Top 6 Reasons NOT To Hike the Appalachian Trail 6. You must walk in the rain.
5. The bugs are terrible.
4. Mountains are more pretty to look at than climb.
3. Dirt gets everywhere. EVERYWHERE…
2. When it rains on dirt it turns into mud. EVERYWHERE…
1. Because cars can go faster than 3 mph.
Top 6 Things I Would Have Done Differently In Preparing For My Hike
6. Go backpacking at least once to see if I really enjoy it.
5. Experiment with different recipes.
4. Save more money and plan for more time.
3. Determine the best fitting shoes and buy several pair, including one size bigger than normal.
2. Get in the best shape possible before leaving.
1. Have a hiking partner the whole way 🙁
Top 6 Things I Miss About Everyday Life
6. Everything in Franklin, TN.
5. Being in church.
4. I miss driving. I love driving (4 or 2 wheels…)
3. Playing music.
2. STARBUCKS.
1. Seeing my friends/family.
Top 6 Reasons to Sponsor A Child
6. The need still exists…today. 26,000 kids died today and will tomorrow.
5. You’re allowed to feel good about sponsoring. Not boast, but feel good!
4. You get to have an international pen-pal and learn about a different culture.
3. Your sponsored child will draw you pictures!
2. I’m asking you too, please 🙂
1. $1 day has a large impact! World Vision’s work affects tens-of-millions of people every year.
Top 6 Reasons NOT To Sponsor A Child
6. You already sponsor more than you can keep up with.
5. You’re adopting a child from a developing country.
4. You don’t agree with World Vision’s practices (please tell me, if so).
3. You’d rather make large one-time donations and build things like wells!
2. You are in unavoidable debt and can’t get out.
1. You and your family already go to bed hungry every night.
Filed under: Blog Posts — chrishennig @ 8:28 pm July 29, 2009
Good afternoon. Thank you. Please take your seats.
It’s that time again to let you know how things are going. But before we begin with the address this afternoon, a word from a friend of mine. Scott will get the honorary trail name “Orange Blazer” because he lead the way; I actually sponsored my first child through Scott way back when!
Scott with sponsored child Mantoto
As a fellow World Vision representative, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand the work they are doing around the world and in our own country. Sponsorship is perhaps the best way for us to connect to that work if we are not able to devote ourselves to full time missions. It connects us to a real person with real needs, and helps keep our country’s current “economic crisis” in humbling perspective. I’ve seen my small sacrifice of about a dollar a day make ripples that benefit more than just the children I sponsor. It blesses their entire communities as well. Talk about making every penny count!
Thank you, Scott.
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I have so many thoughts and things to say about everything that has gone on the past several days. I thought I would organize my thoughts into the following categories as they relate to my hike: 1.) Hydration, 2.) Nutrition, 3.) Health/Hygiene, 4.) Education/Inspiration, and 5.) Finances
1.) Hydration: I had a big scare the other day. My water filter all but quit working. Like I’ve mentioned before, it’s a pump-mechanism: easy to use, normally quick too. But all of a sudden, it would hardly pump, and not much was coming out. I cleaned the filter as best I could in a gas station bathroom, but I wasn’t optimistic. I wanted to quit hiking because of a broken filter. That and it was raining really hard and unusually cold. Thankfully I got through a few more days, including one stop at a person’s house who lets hikers fill up from their spigot. When I got to the next major town the outfitter was out of replacement cartridges, so I had to buy an entire new filter. He gave me a 10% discount which was nice. Total cost: $70
Filed under: Blog Posts — chrishennig @ 9:15 am July 20, 2009
Well…here’s where I am at the moment:
One more thing…while I’ve never run a marathon, and though I’m only at the 2/3rds mark of this trail, I do feel like I’m hitting “the wall”; physically, mentally, spiritually. Most of my creative ideas surrounding the hike and turning it into an “awareness” campaign were all formed before I even set foot on the trail. Now that I’m out here, I’m realizing how hard it is to sustain creativity and enthusiasm while constantly battling fatigue and exhaustion!
