At the Trailhead: About My Blog
A summer rain storm –
My journal’s sodden pages
Scatter with the gulls.
On the road: Lugano, Switzerland
JOY, KICKS, DARKNESS
Welcome to TGTW!
I started this blog in early 2011 after returning from a big year of adventuring in the U.S. and Switzerland. I wanted a place to record my little stories from over the years, plus more recent, everyday stuff, and some of the photographs that are taking an increasingly important part in my adventures. But the common thread running though most of the content on TGTW, and through my own life, is walking.
I love walking, be it a stroll to the shops, a 2,000-plus-mile epic, or anything in between.
Limping through the cold, cold heart of Hokkaido, Japan
Walking takes you places, and not all of them are on the map. There’s nature, there’s freedom; there’s exertion and solitude and camaraderie. But what really intrigues me is the internal landscape with all its peaks and valleys and dark and twisted paths.
I like words like ramble, tramp and wander. I’m intrigued by journeys, about nature and environment, and we humans’ place in it. Walking overlaps with everything that interests me, and my walking philosophy has been influenced as much by permaculture, Robert Johnson, Basho, Bob Dylan, Ed Abbey and punk rock as by Ryan Jordan, Ray Jardine or that guy who’s run the whole P.C.T. in a few weeks.
You won’t find many gear reviews, statistics, mileages, directions to the trailhead or compass bearings in TGTW. It’s place that turns me on: the history (human and natural), geography, geology, and the stories that result when humans travel through it.
I walk every day, wherever I’m living (Brisbane at the moment), and do Big Trips whenever I can: so far my two-footed follies have taken me from Australia to the American desert and the High Sierra; from the Deep South through the Long Green Tunnel to the White Mountains and the lonesome lakes of Maine; on journeys through Swiss villages and medieval town centres and among snowy peaks; and on many, many excursions in the wilds of backwoods and inner-city Japan.
It’s about time I jotted some of these rambling reminiscences down, maybe shared a few pictures — I need a hobby, readers, and maybe this is it.
GOAT, Brisbane, Australia
I am just going outside and may be some time ~ Captain Lawrence Oates, Scott’s Antarctic Expedition, 1912
Snack stop on the A.T., PA
Trail dirt, Pacific Crest Trail
Ah, Mt. Kumotori… what fun that was. Remember the “no rocks in the snowballs” rule?
Years ago, I wrote something about our ill-fated trip up Ho-o-sanzan (well, we managed two of the peaks…) but it probably got lost on the old computer.
I might even be able to scan whatever precious few pics I have of those days.
Ah, yeah, I remember the snowball ambush! And I used to have a paper copy of your report; I’ll have to do some hunting. Any pictures you could scan and send would be awesome. One of those rocks in the picture on my last post is from Ho-o-sanzan.
I did a little hunting – no electronic or hard copy of my Mt. Ho-o report to be found. If one turns up in your possession, could you send me a copy? Cheers.
And check your mail inbox for some blasts from the past!!
Thanks for the pictures, keep ‘em coming if you find any more! I used to have that report you typed up, would like to read it again myself.
Just stumbled upon you via The Solitary Walker. Thanks for the blog – I’ll be enjoying spending time reading (although I’m rather unreformed when it comes to carrying weight)
cheers
Andy
Cheers, hope to “see” some more of you – always nice to find a new reader.
Hey Goat, its Paul here from Deagon. I have really enjoyed reading your blog. I wish you many more, long, and happy walks.
Hey Paul, thanks for dropping by, great to have a local reader, and I do indeed have some exciting adventuring planned for the not-too-far-off future…
Hi, Goat!
Google-ing AT blogs to plan for my own trip and yours came up (am also stealing/copying your pic of the Southern trailhead start in Springer Mts., Georgia.
I like your sense of humor, and that you are from another country—and that you have hiked other countries!! Way cool!
I live about 100 miles West of Asheville, NC and have time this year, and am going to probabliy work or something to raise the needed funds.
Will read more about your trek to Katahdin!
Best,
Sundance (already test-driving a trail name!!)
Hey, Sundance, glad you found the blog and enjoyed those entries. I have a lot of catching up to do on my A.T. stories — I’m now in South Korea and the hiking here is keeping me busy, but will be revisiting the A.T. saga when I run out of Korea stories!
Those A.T. pictures are all scanned film images, but there are some good ones. I loved the A.T. though it cost me a lot in injuries and suffering! Will definitely be returning to do it again, this time hopefully much lighter and more comfortably.
Good luck with your planng — you live in a beautiful part of America, by the way.
Hi Goat,
I’ve just discovered your blog and am enjoying reading your posts. Oh, to be young and unburdened again! I’ve always had a yearning for travel, and manage it whenever I can. I did do some hiking in Thailand in 1999 when my daughter was teaching there. What an adventure!
These days our travel is done by motorcycle and motor home, but we still find lots of interesting people and places.
Enjoy your vacation!
Thank you so much. Glad you’re enjoying the blog. But…young?! Nobody’s said that to me in a while, cheers!
Looking around on a cold Sunday morning for a new blog to read, I happily came across yours. I love to walk. A recent back injury means I can only do it virtually for a while. So your blog, aside from being enjoyable, will be therapy too!
Hey, thanks! Sorry to hear about the back — mine can be problematic as well but it’s been behaving itself lately. Get well soon and I hope you keep reading.
PS super haiku.
Ha! Thanks. Just a dabbler, but I do love reading them and I suppose you could call Basho a hero of mine.
I may have discovered the Goat’s Korean roots!!
In Japanese, yagi (山羊) or occasionally (野羊), thought to be derived from (野牛)
The Korean word for sheep is “jang”, which may have been corrupted in Japanese as “yangu” and then “yagi”
Thanks for the detective work! What a noble lineage!
Hi. I just came across your blog through a recommendation from the almighty wordpress itself. Great writing and great style. I’m a lover of walking also, but it hadn’t occurred to me how far walking can take you. Your meandering is inspiring! I’ll be “following” along.
Hey, thank you, Bridgett! Great start to my day. I’m glad a few people are reading. It’s another sweltering summer day here in southern Korea, but a nice break from the rain and I’m hoping to do a good walk and an overnight camp tomorrow (Saturday). But meanwhile I should really get another post out!
Hey Goat, I love reading about your adventures, and I have nominated you for the Reader’s Appreciation Award. Check it out at my site. http://hikingnorthwest.wordpress.com/ Cheers!
Thanks, Josh, but…do I have to do anything?
The procedure seems to require passing it along to those you deem as worthy. I wasn’t sure what to do at first, but I just used Kyred’s post as a template and thought of ten blogs I liked, etc. I realize it is time consuming. The rules are in my post. Do whatever feels right.
Thanks, mate.
Hi Goat,
I arrived to your blog from the comment you left in “The Solitary Walker”´s one. I did some walking in Spain last year and discovered a whole new world in long distance walking (pilgrimage). I certainly will enjoy reading your adventures. Many hugs, Cris M
Hey Cris, thanks and welcome! That Solitary Walker bloke has led many a pilgrim astray, but there are worse places to land than here.
Spain is (high) on my list. Just diligently saving up and dreaming to fill the gap…
You have a lot of patience to do a ton of walking! Since I bike as part of my lifestyle, there are times I get impatient just walking for 20 min. to the store.
Still it’s all better than whizzing by stuff in a car.
I think my psychology has evolved (deteriorated?) over time, Jean. I have a bike back home and enjoy it for getting to a few more distant places when I don’t want to spend half the day getting there. But in truth I never feel completely comfortable on wheels. I haven’t even owned a car since very early 2000! I’m so used to walking a relatively long way (by most westerners’ standards) to do simple things like getting a coffee, going to work or doing some shopping, it really does seem like nothing to me. I think it’s ’cause I’m usually alone — if someone else was accompanying me I might wake up and think, “Damn, this is really quite a long way!”