I’m almost done and let me tell you, it is no easy thing to pack for a trip like this. You can only carry so much and you’ll want to pack everything you can think of. I might be able to pack more if I rearrainge and buy something to compartmentalize a little better. I’ll look into that tomorrow.
In the meantime, I’ve got almost everything ready and it’s starting to feel real. Imagine how real it will feel when I leave for camping tomorrow with all of my things!
Here we go!
The Heathen Nomad. :D
After being internet deprived for the last two weeks or so, I’m back.. but only to leave again on Friday.
I’m hardly prepared for any of this, and this is largely due to the fact that my last paycheck hasn’t gotten here yet. I moved with my Brother to a new house, so I thought maybe that would slow down the process, but no. I called into work today and spoke with lady in charge. She allegedly sent my paycheck out last Wednesday. I leave on Friday afternoon and I still don’t have my paycheck? WTF. She tried to tell me that if I needed a new paycheck I had to get a notorized letter and sign an affidavit.. Huh?
Last time I checked, all I should need to do is say, “hey, I need a new check.” They call payrole, cancel the previous check and issue a new one. I’ve had to do it before, but that was because I lost a check not because I never got one. So yeah, little freaked out, but I’m going anyway. I don’t really have a choice. Mostly self-imposed.
I went through a few days of serious thought. Maybe I should just backpack it. In truth, I’m still considering it. It’ll really cut down on the amount of water and food I can carry with me, which means I’ll have to stop and shop more frequently, but its smaller and more compact. My brother pointed out that I can reach the AT easily from his place in Pa or even from Gettysburg. Taking the AT down south will be easier in a lot of ways. I’ll be able to camp more openly, build fires and such, which would save my Esbit Fuel. If I were to choose the AT trail, then a stroller is really not such a good idea, ya know.
As I get closer to my departure date, I get more and more nervous about leaving. About the whole thing in general. I’m actually kinda terrified. Alas, alas, I will face my fears and all that! 
I spoke with Diane (Bills Wife) about my plans a few days ago. She wasn’t as gracious as Bill (Shock.) but she took the news fairly well. I know that she definitely thinks it’s a stupid idea and that I won’t actually go… on top of the fact that she thinks I’m gonna be killed.. yeah. But I really don’t care what she thinks, she just needed to know.
So, on Friday my friend is picking me up and we are heading out to Allaire State Park. We’ll be camping there, with a bunch of friends (well, 7 of us anyway), through Sunday. Sunday morning is the official departure date.
Four days! Four Days!!
Ta Ta!
The Heathen Nomad
So my sleeping bag arrived on Monday, but I was unable to really check it out until last night. It’s kinda awesome. A mummy bag that compresses down into an insanely small bag. How can I not love it? I slept in it last night just to try it out and it was… very nice.
On another, less happy note, Bill wants me to push back my departure until the family is done moving. I really, really don’t want to. If I leave much later, I’ll end up missing the good weather when I’m further down south. For all he recevived the news well enough, I think he thinks if he holds me back, I’ll give up.
He should know better. So I might have to delay my departure, but I wont let it be for more than a week. If I have to work my ass off next week to make it happen, I will. It would have been perfect to leave on the 1st for more reasons than one. I’m spending a few days at my friends to house sit and it would have been so much easier to just leave from her place than to go all the way back home for another week.
Sigh.
we shall see.
The consignment shop has two jogging strollers for sale. The first is a single and the second is a double. The double would be easier to convert, but it’s wider, which means less easy to push on roads that don’t have sidewalks. They’re both pretty cheap, under a hundred bucks, so I’ll have to consider them.
Yup. Sitting at home waiting is driving me crazy.
Two days left at work. This is the longest week ever. But I’m starting to miss the kids already. Sigh.
Off to have dinner.
Ta!
The Heathen Nomad
Today I finally talked to Bill about my plans. Bill is the gentleman I swore my hold oath to and is one of my best friends. I know he really wanted to tell me I was nucking futs, but he was supportive aside from the one “stay here and build a better foundation for your adult life.” He also said it was a waste of time, which pissed me off, but we don’t have to see things in the same light.
Either way, it’s a huge relief to have finally told him and I was surprised and quite pleased that he is generally supportive of the plan he doesn’t agree with. Now I have to tell Diane (his wife)…
Maybe I should have dreaded this more from the beginning!
Cheers!
The Heathen Nomad :O)
There have been a few changes to my route. I won’t be heading to Louisiana. Since my sister is MIA, I’m going to assume that she is not coming with me. My route doesn’t change much, but I will end up traveling a little farther away from the Mexican border now. I’ve also added a stop in Yorba Linda, California, which was, surprisingly, only four miles off course. I want to pass by the house I grew up in, and explore the town a little. I might also have an old friend in the area who might let me rest with them for a day or two, which would be cool.
www.maps.google.com
Add these destinations (I’ve memorized the start and end addresses from typing them so frequently. Sigh. 
)
A. 200 East Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ
B. Gettysburg, PA
C. Atlanta, GA
D. 5156 Lupine Street, Yorba Linda, CA
C: 100 A St. Newport Beach, CA.
There are four icons on the top. One is a walking man symbol. Choose that one as the walking directions are definitely different from the driving directions. Obviously there will be differences in the route that I actually take, but this is it, more or less.
Get directions. The Satellite option on the map shows everything the best. Well, I like it that way best, anyway.
I refuse to make plans to my Route beyond this. The whole point is to do it without planning too much. Just walk.
Yup. This really is it for tonight!
Buenos Noches!
The Heathen Nomad <._.>
First post about Theodism.
Heathen: A term that loosely applies to any pagan who worships, primarily, the Germanic Gods (Norse Gods). IE: Germanic Neo-paganism.
Asatru: refers to Heathens with specific practices and beliefs. It is an orginized religion with actively practicing Kindreds. Three of the largest Asatru Kindreds on the East Coast (Vingolf Fellowship, Gladsheim Kindred, and Raven Kindred North) host an annual Heathen gathering in the poconos every year. It’s called East Coast Thing. It’s a great way for Heathens in the area to meet, hang out, and share in the community! (Kinda like a shameless plug, I know. But I really like it. East Coast Thing, that is.)
*Note: Thing is, in essence, a Gathering.*
Theodism: Heathens that practice their faith through the reconstruction of our ancestors beliefs and culture (specifically that of the Germanic/ Scandinavian peoples. Think Vikings..:P)
Asatru/ Theodism pull the basis of their beliefs from scholarly research. We use Lore(the Poetic Edda, The Prose Edda, and The Saga’s) (any and all existing stories and references to the culture and religion of the ancient people. ) and archaeological finds to draw conclusions as to how things were done. As with any thing based on something so old, a good deal of information is missing. We fill in the blanks as best we can.
Theodism: heathens that practice their faith through the reconstruction of our ancestors beliefs and culture through scholarly research. As stated above, Asatru and Theodism aren’t so different in this respect. However, Theodsmen try to recreate the culture as well as the religion, incorporating these concepts into their day to day life.
I, myself, an Theodish. I believe in and worship the Germanic Gods, as well as the Alfar and idisir (male and Female ancestors), and the wights (land spirits). In many ways, Theodsmen tend to believe that our connection with our ancestors and the land wights are strongest, since we are both related to them, and live with/off of them. The Gods, while certainly the most important, are a little more removed from our every day lives.
We believe that Luck is a tangible thing, good and bad, and is directly affected by our actions. Our gerfrain, or reputaion, is also important because it also directly affects our luck. The better ones luck, the better the things that happen, etc. Kinda like karma…
We also believe in arrung, or rank. You must earn your rank through hard work, etc, thus proving your worth. Worth is the measure of a man. A great man has great worth- for example, Beowulf. A man with little or no worth, while not necessarily a bad man (even bad men have worth in their own right), he is probably a man who has made poor decisions. That homeless guy or the one who neglects his own children so he can get his next fix, they are the worthless ones, as proven by their deeds, or actions.
When one joins a Theodish tribe, they enter into a period called Skalkdom/ Thralldom. No, it does not mean slave, not literally. Skalkdom is a journey by which you enter the tribe with no luck and no worth. While in Skalkdom, you can choose to leave without any negative consequences to anyone involved. You learn, you grow, you create a gerfrain (reputation) for yourself, and thus, earn worth. Before cheaping your abraidedness, or being “freed” from skalk, you must make sure you absolutely want it, and one should have a basic understanding of the cultural aspects that they will be expected to live by. If you are “freed” from skalk, and thus given worth within the tribe, it’ll be time to make a very important decision.
Once you are “freed” you will need to choose someone of a higher Arrung, or Rank, to swear a Hold Oath to. This is, probably, one of the sigularly most important decisions in Theodism. Oaths are one of the most important things to Theodsmen and breaking an oath is really, really bad. It affects personal luck, as well as the luck of everyone connected to you. Essentially, the whole tribe will suffer (perhaps to varying degrees) from said broken oath. Lets just leave it at that, for now.
A freedman, free from skalk, but without a hold oath, will swear his hold oath to a Thane (roughly: a kight, duke, etc. Lower nobility.), a Lord, an Aethling (think High Priest), or a King (as far as I know, there is no such person in all of Theodism, but I could totally be wrong…)
Rank Order (lowest to highest):
Skalk
Freeman
Churl (three levels)
Thane
Lord
Aethling
King
It is generally a little more involved than that, but this is 101, remember. In theodism, we believe that our luck is combined, collectively, through the Web of Oaths. Each oath creates a strand that connects each person to someone else. A Oath Tree is the collection of any group of Theodsmen that are connected, directly, through the Web of Oaths.
Here’s a little diagram to what I don’t want to butcher with words:
I left out the King, more as a force of Habit. Everyone together is the Tribe. Else wise, they are split up into Oath Trees. More or less. There is also the Inanguard, insiders, and the Utguard, outsiders. Anyone who is a member of the tribe is a member of the inanguard. Anyone who is not a member of the tribe, a skalk, a family member of someone in the tribe, or a special friend of the tribe is considered Utguard.
Ach. There is SO much more, but I’m kinda sick of typing, so Theodism 101. 1 is over.
Got questions, ask ‘em. Else wise, I will continue this in a different post on a different day!
Adios!
The Heathen Nomad
The tent has arrived. It’s awesome and pretty light too. The camping stove is here too, and oh, how I love it! It’s so tiny and who doesn’t like little chibi things?
I bought the Esbit Pocket Stove and some extra fuel packs. It really is small enough to fit in my pocket. Let’s hope it lives up to its reputation!
The Teva Sports Sandals I ordered have, likewise, arrived. The only thing I’m waiting on is my sleeping bag, which I expect to be here by tomorrow, Saturday at the very latest.
I’ve been considering buying a referb. laptop to bring with my on the trip, so I can upload any pictures I take. It would also make keeping in contact a whole lot easier than using my touch screen ipod. I don’t know much about laptops though… or any non-mac products for that matter. A friend of mine, a member of my oath tree, is rather more tech. savvy than me, so I’ll be harassing her for information. I realized recently that I’m getting a paycheck more than I was planning.. stupid mistake on my part, but it made me happy when I realized it. Who doesn’t like knowing they get more money then they thought?
I’m not sure if Dru, the internet buddy who was planning on leaving with me, is actually gonna make. She hasn’t made a decision yet, one way or the other, and I’m getting a wishy-washy vibe from her. Just as well. Perhaps the biggest lesson I can learn from this experience is how to rely on myself.
A friend of mine pointed out to me the other night: It’s no offense to your Mom, but she never learned how to live without a support system and she’s passed that on to you. You were and still are unprepared for the real world because you don’t know how to do it without someone helping you, holding your hand.
Well, I may have elaborated on his actual comment, but that’s the jist of it. And it was absolutely true. Which bugs me, cause I don’t want to be that person who depends on others to live my life.
Thus, I shall walk across the country, listen to the spirit of the land, the inner voice I’ve been ignoring for so long, and discover something new in myself.
That’s the theory anyway!
Toodles, folks.
The Heathen Nomad
Note: For those of you who aren’t Heathen, Asatru, Theodish, etc. you probably don’t know what a hold oath is. When you join a tribe (Theodish) you swear an oath to another member of the tribe of higher arrung (rank). This oath ties you into the web of wyrd, connecting your luck to the tribes. It’s all very complicated and simple at the same time. I’ll write more about it later.
So, after some thought, I decided that I would get a backpacking stove after all. My biggest concern had been fuel= I didn’t want to have to buy a bunch of heavy tanks in advance and I didn’t know if I would be able to find fuel cheap along the road.
I’ve settled for an Esbit pocket stove and about 5 packs of extra fuel tablets. I figured, with any luck, I’d be starting small fires as frequantly as possibly, instead of using the stove, which will be used as little as possible.
I’m also planning on eating as much no-cook food as possible. This should, in theory, save me my camp fuel.
I may also have a traveling companion as well. I haven’t heard for sure, one way or the other, but the girl I spoke of before.. with the bad spelling.. seems like she’s really interested. The idea is that if I have someone coming with me 1> I have no choice but to go since someone else is relying on my. 2> It’ll be at least a little safer to travel with someone as opposed to solo.
I think I might almost prefer solo to traveling with someone I don’t know, though.
*shrug*
Time is flying past me!
Peace!
The Heathen Nomad
…mean that things get done.
Well, I purchased my tent and a sleeping bag. I also purchased some TEVA sport sandals, which will be a nice change over my boots while I’m walking through summer heat in, say Georgia or Louisiana.
I’ve also found several decent looking jogging strollers for sale on craigslist. Cheap, which is KEY!
I’ve been doing research on long term cooking on the trail. I’m starting to think that it might be best to avoid cooking anything and force myself to live with peanut butter, crackers, and trail mix for a while. Well, there would be more than that, to be sure. I understand that packing in the calories is a necessity when walking so much.
I’m starting to worry, which always happens when I approach my deadline. Will I really be able to do this with so little cash? Can I really do it alone? I should have all kinds of things with me- an emergency gps, a solar panel to charge my phone, etc. But it isn’t something I’m gonna be able to do. Hell, I doubt I can pay the phone bill while I’m away, thus no phone. And I’m okay with that. I hate phones…..
Deep Breath.
I can do this. I will do this.
Okay. I’ve signed up for couchsurfers.com. I know that I’ll be passing through philli at some point. Since it’s a city and will probably take a good two days to walk out of it, a place to crash is optimal! I’m sure it’ll come in handy!
I really need to get to sleep now.
Tomorrow I should be getting to work on finding camping and hiking spots along my route. Before long I’ll have a whole map to share with everyone! Woot!
Sweet Dreams, World!
The Heathen Nomad X}
So, Google maps has a new option (still in beta) that maps out walking routes to wherever you want to go. I’ve used this to map out a general route.
My biggest dilema, this far, has been whether I want to stop in Gettysburg or not, before swinging down south. A friend of mine said she would accompany me for the first leg of the trip, if I did decide to head to Gettysburg. She’d bring her car and drive ahead every day. I’m not sure how well this will work out just yet, but I’ve got three weeks to finalize my plans.
Right now, I need to work on finding any campsites (preferably the free kind) that are on or near my route. I also need to see if there are any hiking trails that I can substiute for roads. I know that the appalachian trial could work for a good ways down south, but Gettysburg would be out of the question then.
As far as supplies go, I need to actually purchase my 2 person backpacking tent and a jogging stroller, which I plan on modifying so that I can use it to haul my stuffs. I think this would make the whole trip a little easier. We shall see.
Still haven’t heard back from my sister, but I have been emailed by a girl with atrocheous spelling (worse even than mine!) who wants to come with me, so long as she can bring her cat….
Yeah.
The clock is ticking.
Just three weeks.
Oh how fun it will be to finally be truely free!
Cheers! :}
The Heathen Nomad
