# ALC's Epic Quest For....



## ALC Rail Writer (May 10, 2011)

AU,

I am going to spend a lot of time on this travel log. Some of this first bit will be by me but after I leave my mom will post updates from me as she hears them by postcard or online.

You can follow me on Twitter for whatever those checkins are worth when and if I make them... @railwriter

Enjoy, and may you all take away something...

-Micah


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## ALC Rail Writer (May 10, 2011)

Thoughts at T Minus 24 Hours

In Defense of Shirking Responsibility

My fellow Kind. We share this hump of rock swirling about the Sun together, and we are truly becoming a connected race. Recent events in Egypt and the Middle East have shown the power of that connectedness, where a war costs merely thousands of lives, not millions. We saw how John Smith in Virginia can help bring down our economy by defaulting on his mortgage. This shift in the human race seems a natural evolution, but every evolution has it's consequences.

In order for one to survive in this world, we must have a balance of, and I must use these words loosely, a balance of liberal and conservative. There is the innate human instinct to play safe and trust in what has worked, and then there is the nerve to fight for the future, even die in the pursuit of it. During the course of our lives we balance our own internal forces.

In between it stands something everybody universally pursues. It has been called many things... Zen, Heaven, paradise, ect. I think I have, after intensive search found the outer walls of that bit of Yaweh, Krishna, Allah, ect that is inside me.

But my search has come at a cost to my body, my abilities to cope... It focused attention where it needent go. I have become absorbed into this world and need to take a break, a vacation from all things man has made. I plan to get on a train twenty four hours from now and head to the heart of the old land, Harpers Ferry, WV. When I get off the train in the morning I shall take a left turn down the platform, a right turn, and walk into the mountains on the Appalachian Trail.   I do not plan to emerge from the wilds for 60 days.

I have given myself the very basic needs of survival for sixty days, and a few cheats (like a fishing rod) and rations. In this time I will explore the bounty of this land, and become one of it...  This will not be a peaceful camping trip. I will be pushed to my 325.4 pound limit. It will thunderstorm and rain for days, with minimal shelter and no electricity or heating. It will not be a vacation, I don't even know where or when it will really end... There is no set plan for my return only a general idea.

I know that there are more practical uses of my time, and that the people in my life would most directly see the benefits of me staying and getting a job. I know this, and I agree. However I must put forth this defense: the self is always first. If I am incomplete, my relationships with people will be incomplete.

I am ungrateful, I am selfish, spoiled. I will deprive myself of the ability to be so and will go another step forward-- I will be taught gratitude, I will be humbled, and I will be as close to deprived as my sanity allows me. I will laugh and cry in the same day, then pack up and walk to the next waypoint.

In the end you and I both shall benefit. The world will benefit. One mans inner peace can change the world, even if it only ripples those around him.

To the world I temporarily leave behind, I bid you the best of tidings. I know you won't tear yourself into pieces.

To my friends, old and new, young and ripe, thank you. Pray for me, for us.

To my family, as much love as I can provide.

And to myself-- good luck.

Yours,

M


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## Ryan (May 10, 2011)

Have a great trip.

Like I mentioned before, I'm only about an hour from HFY so if you find yourself in a bind, don't hesitate to seek help.


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## Shanghai (May 11, 2011)

Good Luck, Micah. I hope you enjoy your hike.


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## pennyk (May 12, 2011)

Micah, have a great trip and be safe. I have always wanted to hike the AT (and have only managed 3 days and 2 nights). You are much more courageous than I am. I will hike with you vicariously. :lol:

Penny


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## Devil's Advocate (May 12, 2011)

ALC_Rail_Writer said:


> Recent events in Egypt and the Middle East have shown the power of that connectedness, where a war costs merely thousands of lives, not millions.


I assume by "connectedness" your referring to social media. In my view Egypt was more a lesson in transparency than in the "twitter revolution" myth. So far as I can tell social media didn't save Egypt anymore than it saved Iran. Egypt's social networks were censored prior to the revolution and largely disconnected during the time the revolution actually took place. According to what I understand the primary catalyst that brought about change in Egypt was a dismal economy that couldn't even employ well educated students begging for jobs combined with the leaking of US diplomatic cables detailing the routine excesses and abuses of our friends in the corrupt and vengeful Mubarak government. Apparently that's not a story that fits well into the democratic ideals we claim to represent and so the role of our assistance to Mubarak and the role of the cables that were leaked were largely downplayed and in their place the greatly exaggerated role of social media was inserted.



ALC_Rail_Writer said:


> We saw how John Smith in Virginia can help bring down our economy by defaulting on his mortgage.


I saw how the guilt of a few commercial lenders who could knowingly enter into _thousands_ of bogus loans because they were were "too big to fail" was so easily transferred onto individual homeowners who could only enter into a single risky loan because they were too small to expect anything better than a rigged deal. I also saw how America's corrupt financial systems were so tightly integrated with the rest of the world that they were able to bring the entire world's economy to its knees.



ALC_Rail_Writer said:


> In order for one to survive in this world, we must have a balance of, and I must use these words loosely, a balance of liberal and conservative.


I would advise that when you place your two poles you ensure you're not limiting yourself to the domestic view of liberal and conservative, but are instead freeing your mind to the point that the whole world's scale is included. Think about which societies are to the right of us and which are to the left of us. Only then can you see where true balance lies.


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## ALC Mobile (May 14, 2011)

Three nights day four here check twitter @Railwriter for pics and vids feel free to repost RT or put them on this thread


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## Alc_mobile (May 18, 2011)

Day eight: deep into Maryland now passing Boonsboro... It is like a rainforest here! Having trouble keeping dry but spirits are high. Follow me on twitter @railwriter for pics and vids, as well as gps updates


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## ALC Rail Writer (May 19, 2011)

I'm not at all certain what i did wrong vis a vis my previous postings re: Micah's Appalachian adventure. they seem to have disappeared. as he will attest to, i am hampered when it comes to all things technological. i have heard from him twice by mail in over a week, which pleases me to no end. he seems to be enjoying his soggy hike, far more than i would... to be sure. it is a mental, physical and spiritual quest, and each day i think he touches on something far more special than he would have found in his home environs of Ohio this summer. i am truly missing him, but champion his latest challenge. i am following his trip via face book and twitter. if you are a "friend" or "follower" there, you can follow his epic quest first hand. he's had truly troublesome weather since he started out nine days ago. lots of thunderstorms. he befriended a chap named rick early on, who was a more experienced camper, who showed him the ropes a bit. had to drop gear at the start of his trip as he over packed. i thought that might be the case, as i couldn't budge his duffel bag. he's warmed the cockles of his soul by a nice campfire, though how they managed it, I'll never know. it was like a rain forest. the picture he sent on from his phone showed a spectacular vista with a lovely mist in the air. just heavenly. i can well imagine, it's a place where one could unwind and regroup. he even made the ramen noodle tuna casserole w/ a hot chocolate chaser sound like haute cuisine! the picture of the trail shelters he's come upon seem more than adequate. he's gone into a bathroom near reno monument (a civil war battle) to hunker down from the wash of thunderstorms, grab water and charge his phone. the following day he ended up at Washington monument state park. day 8 he hiked to pine knob and holed in to dry out.he left the post today stating he'd taken a three hour nap to recoup his strength. i can't even fathom what it must be like. i am sad that he is unable to bring his good camera with him to document this journey. i imagine he's journaling somehow, and i look forward to his own recounting upon his return. will check in periodically at this venue to keep all rail fan buddies updated on his journey.


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## GG-1 (May 20, 2011)

ALC_Rail_Writer said:


> i am sad that he is unable to bring his good camera with him to document this journey. i imagine he's journaling somehow, and i look forward to his own recounting upon his return. will check in periodically at this venue to keep all rail fan buddies updated on his journey.


Aloha

We thank you for keeping/helping us to share his adventure.

Mahalo


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## Ryan (May 20, 2011)

He now has a trail name, and it looks like he's managing just fine:



> Last night I gave a couple some convo and they gave me rice, I gave them a campfire and ghost stories and they gave me s'mores I c my value


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## Alc_mobile (May 26, 2011)

Lots of New vids posted on twitter @railwriter anybody know how to save them so I can delete them off my phOne?


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## Alc_mobile (May 31, 2011)

Day 21: eating pizza in Mont Alto, PA


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## Alc_mobile (Jun 16, 2011)

Day 36: turned around and am now heading Southbound back to HFY having reached Harrisburg ahead of schedule. Currently at the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon, PA


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## ALC_mobile (Jun 23, 2011)

And 43 days is it, heading back to ALC via HAR today


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## Ryan (Jun 23, 2011)

Sounds like it was a pretty good trip!


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## ALC Rail Writer (Nov 27, 2011)

It was indeed... a lot has changed.


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