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Alright I know it's been a while... Well almost a month to be exact. However i have been updating Facebook on the regular. In fact i am outsourcing some amazing talent to help me redesign the flow of the website in order be more reader friendly. Luckily for you I have decided to get back on the hoarse and bring you updates in various aspects of our adventure... Piece by piece. Today's topic: Trail Days and Technology!
What happens when 15,000 hikers enter a small town of nearly 1000 people for a weekend? Trail Days.
For those of you that don't know Trail Days is a weekend festival for hikers and the community of Damascus. Throughout the town, church groups, vendors and the local vendors provide (cheap to free)'services for hikers. All the while, the hikers invade this small town and enjoy all the pleasures of a town (restaurants, bars and grocery stores) while wearing loud thrift shift clothes as their own clothes are being washed 2x in hopes to get the 2 month hiker funk smell out.
Unfortunately a tragic event occurred this weekend as well. During the hiker parade (current and previous hikers walk in succession of the years they hiked) a gentlemen in his car parked on a side road, had a heart attack and ran over 5-6 people. In the end no one was severally injured ( just a couple broken bones and scrapes) but you can imagine at that point in time everyone was going crazy - even from 100ft away (where we were walking).
On a lighter note... BackpackingAT had a huge presence at this festival mostly due to our very own Bo Comfy. He was able to secure a 40x40 ft tent near tent village, where 75% of the hikers hang for the weekend. Underneath our tent we were able to provide free wifi (Thanks to Verizon Wireless), entertain hikers with a folk band ( again thanks to Bo), and provide a safe heaven for those sweet enough to melt in the rain. In fact we even held a wedding underneath our tent on Saturday - who would have thought! During the evening hours next to our tent, an uber large fire was built in which hundreds of hikers would dance around the fire and engage in a drum circle. This would last late into the night, far past my time.
Technology
America's most reliable 4G network is my backbone for our BackpackingAT adventure. From pictures to video to uploading to blogging to responding to logistics to talking to loved ones, Verizon Wireless makes all this possible. I am fortunate enough to have been chosen to be an official Verizon Wireless Blogger throughout my 6 months on the Appalachian Trail. My area, of course, is fitness centric. Hiking 2184 miles is no easy task. Nearly hiking up and down a marathon of trail each day is a very physical demanding activity.
Sure it helps that I have spent the last 4 years of my life helping to develop and market for Verizon Wireless. Using this technology and array of devices, this is nothing foreign to me. So when it comes to incorporating the newest technology into an otherwise minimalistic environment I am able to share so much of my everyday experiences with the rest of the world. Who knows, this may encourage those on the edge to fall off their seats and strap on some boots - I could only hope!
Not to be tutting the horn more than I should, but I really enjoy ( for whatever reason ) love when people as to use my phone at shelters. I always ask, "What service do you have ? Ohhhh I see, well I have Verizon and I have service....". Granted there are some dead zones, but more often than not, I am able to continue walking a quarter mile and get at least 3G signal. 
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