Meet Ted

"A soft, easy life is not worth living, if it impairs the fiber of brain and heart and muscle. ...For us is the life of action, of strenuous performance of duty; let us live in the harness, striving mightily; let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out." - Teddy Roosevelt on courage

Words are only a passing breeze when the subsequent action is absent. Teddy Roosevelt is my favorite president and possibly my favorite historical figure. I find myself connecting deeply with his words and actions. I admire his model for conservation, political policies, and agricultural background. I revere his vigor, energy, and drive. I have empathize with his struggle with mental stability. I desire for these words, actions, and thoughts to surface during my hike and everyday life.

Pondering how to evoke these thoughts into reality on my hike I was at a loss. A good friend soon after mentioned to me how important it would be to have a walking stick on my trek. "Even the best mountaineer is lost without his stick" Jim explained. I am in no sense a mountaineer and I will probably never become one, but I could definitely see the advantages a sturdy stick could offer during my journeys. Most folks that attempt thru-hikes have a pair of trekking poles in their gear list, but would a young Teddy R. carry a couple of yuppy titanium poles through the wilderness? I'd like to tell myself no, but my knowledge of Teddy's privileged childhood and family wealth would probably say otherwise. Don't get my wrong. I'm not bashing other folks's use of trekking poles. You do you, but if I want the reality of this adventure to match the scene in my mind a pair of poles will definitely not cut the mustard.

From these thoughts, Ted the big walking stick was born. It just so happens that Teddy Roosevelt's most infamous quote fit perfectly into my plans. Luckily, I have been blessed with the people and resources in my life to accomplish just about anything. Jim was happy to provide the wood, hand tools and guidance needed for the creation of a high quality walking stick.

Tree encroachment is a overwhelming threat to many of the worlds native grasslands. Fittingly, a restoration project within the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie of eastern Kansas provided me with an Osage Orange stave that would soon be shaped into likely what will be my best friend on the trail. Not only did the walking stick take energy, vigor and good hard work to create, but it was a product of conservation efforts within a landscape I strive to preserve. Not to mention the benefits a rancher receives in eliminating these invaders from his/her working grasslands.

In all, Ted is about 76 inches long and about 3 lbs. It is much heavier than a lightweight trekking pole, but the benefits will be greater. Perhaps I'm putting too much stake on imitating Gandalf walking through Middle Earth! TSA may have an issue with Ted as a carry on item, but I will tackle that challenge when it presents itself. For now, Ted has been present for all my training and the status of his purpose and future is evolving. There are bigger things ahead for Ted.

In other news, my visa was approved! I now have a 12 month working holiday visa for admittance and possible employment while I'm in New Zealand.

If you have tried to send me an email through this blogger website I'm afraid I'm not getting them. It seems that several folks have attempted to send me messages, but I have received none. If you have comments you want to express please feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an email at jkraft1@g.emporia.edu.

Training went well for the first week. I'm down from 215.5 lbs to 210.3. Unfortunately, I succumbed to the temptation of Mountain Dew and a fermented beverage or two.  This week will not see me fail.