How did we get our name? Scroll down for that but first, a special announcement!
I hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT) in 2021
2021 was “My Year” to hike the AT. I put my 2020 ATC reservation number on my 2020 tag AND added my 2021 ATC reservation number on my tag as well. Hike on!
Here is a link to my 2021 AT Hike Playlist on YouTube. You can follow the days I hiked on the AT there.
After getting on trail at Amicalola Falls State Park, I proceeded to hike several days. At some point, something told me to go home. It’s a good thing I did. Two months later, I had to have a quadruple bypass with open heart surgery. I went through three months of recovery and then four months of cardiac rehab. At the end of rehab, I had improved 134%!!! The average improvement is 40% so I think my heart was in great shape because of all the hiking and backpacking I had done in the last two years.
Update! I’m hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2022!
The AT is drawing me back. In 2022, I’m heading back to Harpers Ferry, WV to begin a long Section Hike NOBO. I would like to get to CT (that means completing the following states: WV, MD, PA, NJ, NY, CT) so we’ll see how my heart does. You can follow my AT hike on my YouTube Channel JLDRDOTCOM. HERE is a direct link to my 2022 Appalachian Trail videos.
A full on thru hike in one year is not going to work for me any longer due to my age and commitments. I’m also planning on doing some shorter backpacking trips closer to home with friends and family and I’ll be vlogging those trails when it happens. In the meantime, here is a stat you can think about: Of all the people who begin a thru hike, only about 19% actually complete their hike (2020 data). That percentage has been going down during the last 15 years.
The Appalachian Trail is HARD!!! Most of the time, it seems like you are going up and a lot of the time, it is a steep up. I found that I enjoyed going down much more simply because I could get my breath. Yes, the knees would hurt but at least I could breath normally. The trail also tears up shoes. In the few days I hiked, the toe flap in the front of both shoes was coming unglued and other areas of the shoes were showing signs of wear. You are constantly getting your shoes caught on rocks and roots. So for anyone out there who is contemplating hiking the Appalachian Trail, be aware that it will probably be harder than anything you have ever done before right out of the gate. I hope you enjoy my Vlog of my AT hike.
What kind of backpacking gear do you need to make a long distance hike? HERE is a link to my backpacking gear video that I took on my 2021 Appalachian Trail “Thru hike”. Here is a link to my Backpacking Gear with links to the actual equipment. In 2022, I’ve made a few minor gear changes but did not make a new gear video.
A long time ago, a friend and I were driving home from a week at the Oshkosh Airventure. We started talking about various business ideas and we decided that when people needed to learn or find out about a topic, we could do the research for them, formulate it into some kind of report and then give it to them. The term for the person who provides that service is an “Information Broker”. I got to thinking and all the data we would be researching was “loose data” kind of floating around out there on the web so that is why I formed the company, Loose Data Research LLC. I will still do research for those who need it. Just use the Contact menu drop down above to request our service.
My background is electrical engineering, business and technology management. I have been working with personal computers since they came out. I specialize in PC’s and not Mac’s.
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