A Walk In The Woods

I just have to comment about how this book has changed my life.

I first read "A Walk In The Woods" early during my employment for Radford University, McConnell Library.
 After laughing through most of the entire text, I found that the AT was very near where I worked, played and lived.

Thus began our first mis-adventure with overloaded backs and packs, on our way to witness the spectacle called McAfee Knob.
All of the gear was borrowed and we carried 3 days worth of water for I did not own a filter and we had no clue if there would be water when we arrived in camp.  Oh the memories.

We had a great time and the bug had bit us.

Now that the book is a movie, the book affects me differently.
I too desired to film my adventure (and I still may) but now there are more hoops to jump though because of Mr. Redford, National Geographic and the recent Hollywood style of movie making on the AT.  The independents (like myself) just now have to get more signatures, permissions and paperwork.

I'm not bothered by that but rather on the contrary, I'm elated that the recent films of the AT were made.  I just know that now, I have to cover a few more bases if I'm to film my adventures.  I'll get to that bridge when it arrives.  That will make my phone and iPad hiking necessities.  :)
 
As for the new Sundance film, I would like to view it on the big screen and hopefully it will still be in theaters when I have some play money.
If not, I know I will own the DVD to share with family.

Here is a link to the films web page in case you need it:
http://www.walkinthewoodsmovie.com/

~ Kindle

Hiking takes a seat when injured

What can I say?
Life has been extremely interesting since I last posted.
Gist of the lapse:

• I lost use of my right arm and hand for several weeks due to an injury. 
• I am in the process of being declared disabled.

I am still very blessed and grateful with my life.

The MRI's, x-rays, physical therapy and other treatments that I've endured has me re-thinking both my time line for our hike and my new equipment needs. 

As for my efforts to get "To The Trail", here are a few goals that have been achieved in the process of making my hike become a reality:

•  A Singer "Golden Edition", Touch & Sew Model 750 was given to me in excellent condition.  I have the most perfect machine to use for making our equipment!
• Our son built a machine shop in the space that once was our basement bedroom (that was overtaken by a leaking wall and black mold).  In the rip out, re-purposing the space was essential.  I now have access to a lathe and other tools to create my line of titanium and carbon fiber devices & equipment.
• And a major funding point was achieved when I recently have developed an FX trading bot that will soon be creating regular weekly paychecks to fund our adventure.

It was 38 years ago when I (age 17 at the time) dreamed that one day a computer would make money for me.  I did not know how it was to happen and I've searched and tried A LOT of things along the way these past 38 years but everything I did along the way was worth it.  With out the street education I received, I honestly can say I would not be where I am and wearing a smile.
Thanks also in part to Courtney Smith and the training from WealthBuilders LLC, I now own my golden goose.  I shall continue to see steady account growth.

Back in 1978, it was a HeathKit H-8 computer and the programming we each performed was for playing 21, wagering on horse racing and random probability of rolling dice, but the dream was created.   I can laugh now for back then, data was stored on Radio Shack cassette tapes.  Times sure have changed.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathkit_H8)



As for the equipment I desire to create:

• Clothing and rain gear
• Custom tarps made from cuben fiber material
• Ditty bags
• Carbon fiber rod backpack
• Titanium stoves

I do not doubt many other devices will be created along the way after the 3-D printer is procured.

As for these past several months, I know that physical setbacks will and do happen.  In fact, both my wife and I are dealing with healing and recovery right now.  It is encouraging to me when I hear my hiking partner say: "Well, this is another reminder that hiking is not going to be easy and that my mental preparedness will serve me well when we do hike the trail."   I do love her. :)

Life is still about livin the dream. 

~ Kindle

Time flies when life gets exciting!

I sit here at my writing / trading desk,
analyzing all that has transpired since August.

Our life continues to create itself directly before my eyes.

Update to our adventure:

• Unemployment is coming to a close.  I do not see myself ever working for any other company but my own.....well, I will serve on the board of directors for family corporations. :)
• I've gotten over two E.R. visits with poison oak.  I'm thankful we have had a few good frosts to kill our border weeds.  I will soon be walking the woods after the holidays.
• I've been to Vegas three times this year learning how to become the casino vs. being the gambler.  I am very pleased with how we are going to fund our future adventures.

I am very blessed and grateful with my life.

The Universe does conspire to do us good.

Keeping it simple, keeping it positive and still moving forward, always forward!

~ Kindle

This is good......

I'm amazed at how life is beginning to flow like I am no longer paddling upstream but instead, going with the flow of life.  Peaceful and with ease.

Items and events in our life are creating themselves before our eyes, in some cases instantly, like magic!

Since the co-creation has been so rapid as of late, we have really been paying attention to what we are placing in our minds eye & thoughts.

As for an update to our adventure:

• I'm still unemployed and waiting on direction to move forward, job or no job - while in the meantime, I'm setting up my trading desk w/ dual monitors at this time.
  (8 monitors will be my dream system).
• I'm also paying close attention to smoothly installing the special software platforms that are needed to place my trades.
• Coupled in this, I'm also figuring out useful hacks to retrieve my social data feeds with my trading friends without burning up the whole allotment of bandwidth for the month in one week.  Living on a mountainside allows for few choices on how to stay connected with the internet.....satellite is the only option right now.
  
  You see, trading the world financial markets are going to fund our future life, its exploits and adventures.  I am becoming my dream.
  The 19 year old I was had a great plan for how I've wanted my life to be in my 50's.  :)
• We've been killing the poison ivy and poison oak around the property as I continue to be physically affected by it.  Seems all I have to do is look at it and I start getting bumps on my flesh.   Dealing with these physical effects will be paramount for my future in the woods and on trails.
• Soon our training trail will be laid out for daily excursions up the mountainside behind the home.  Just in time for fall viewing of the foliage! See the view in the video linked in my last post :)
• New healthy recipes are being incorporated in our normal diet and as we continue to try new things, first and foremost, our conversation about these meals always includes the question: "Can we dry this for the trail?"

Thanks for following along!
I'm tickled each day on how our dreams continue to become reality.

P.S.  Annette has settled on a trail name after trying on several over the years.
Penny W. Docktor, April-Rainy-days, Anita B. Tokensom and a few others have come and gone as she has matured as both a hiker and a team mate.
Accepting a bad trail name could be reason for divorce from me I'm told, for she will have to endure hearing it each day, several times a day, while on the trail.  I'll admit, I am quite brutal with songs that include her name, sound effects that I toy with in character voices proclaiming her name with those different voice inflections and the such.  It is annoying, I'll admit, but I practice my art to perfect it. :)

Through this process; spanning several years, I do not desire to drive her crazy, I just DO drive her crazy with my antics.
So, all silliness aside, she has settled on a trail name......
Penny Gr8ful.

Penny Gr8ful is very fitting.
We move forward as a team! 
Kindle McGuinness & Penny Gr8ful.

Keep it simple, keep it positive and keep moving forward, always forward!

The latest chapter

This week began with me being unemployed.

A few days into the week, my wife too became unemployed.

What better thing to do than go hiking with my hiking partner.

Here is a short video showing the view we uncovered from the top of the land that our son owns.

(We have our own mountain to train on to get ready to hike the Appalachian Trail!)

When you come to a fork in the road....take it! :)

I presently stand at a fork in the road and once again need to choose:

• Continue with the vocation I'm presently engaged in

• Choose a new direction with unknown outcomes and challenges

The past has allowed for me to do both but each time I face this fork, I wrestle with the choice.
All in all, each has unknown outcomes.  The one with the challenges has always served me the best of outcomes....I am leaning heavily in that direction.

My decision, as always, keeps this thought in mind: "Which will lead me to the trail quicker?"

Other than that conundrum, I am moving forward with compiling my use of the data from the latest 2014 version of the Appalachian Trail thru-hikers Companion.  I've begun the arduous task of making myself an expert of its knowledge, nuggets and holdings.  At least that is what I've understood to be amassing as I read and transcribe each dot, "i" and "t" within its pages.
I believe I have a unique reason to be undertaking this task for it will benefit myself in how I am deciding to use that data for my hike but also for the bigger picture of helping others in their future need of this data in a friendly use, programed format.  Odd thing though, I do not plan on selling this idea but to freely give of my efforts to ease the planning burden many seem to face as they quickly realize it is not available to them as they plan an undertaking of this type of hike.  
To others, I already realize that my efforts could be considered pointless and a waste of time.  Either way, I'm doing what I am lead to do through dreams of completing the entire trail via three individual 700+ mile sections. There are no tools available for this type of hike planned so I must create the tool I need.  For others (mainly seasonal section hikers) this tool will be held in high regard and invaluable to their planning.....at least I hope it to help them and all for free.  Open source thinking.

This year the A.T. has grown to 2185 miles and the Companion now includes Elevation Profiles of each described section along the way.  A very welcome addition I might add.  Having the elevation profiles has opened my eyes to the many trail journal & documented "PUD's" along the way. 
(PUD's: Pointless UP's and Down's as some hikers refer to them).

Enough ramblings for now, I have need to enact my next move.....   to be continued:

Thoughts DO become reality!

Six months have passed and in the whirlwind called life (or is it a fast dance?), either way, I now reside in the state of Kentucky and am in the second week of a new job that is preparing us for the trail.
There is no way I could have ever planned the recent events that fell into place to allow me to be sitting in an actual home on the sunny side of a mountain to write from while working a job that is GUARANTEED to force us to loose the pounds we desire to loose in preparation for through hiking the Appalachian Trail.
I am blessed and I'll be sharing the "To The Trail"'stories here soon.

As always.......to be continued.  :)