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Hi! I wanted to write a brief introduction about
myself so you can get to know and understand me some, so here goes.
My name is Mark A. Huckeba. I am 26 years old living in Atlanta,
Georgia and I am the youngest in my family. My father is David; my
mother is Karen; and I have an older brother, Scott. We also have
a family dog named Kody who is very famous! Dad served in the Navy
for 20 years, so we moved frequently up and down the east coast.
In fact, Atlanta is the longest place that we have ever lived—11
going on 12 years now! I graduated of The University of Georgia in
2003 with a Risk Management degree. And after working in the insurance
business for a year, the opportunity to fulfill my dream of walking
the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is finally upon me.
As far as I can remember, I have always loved the
woods. Growing up, the woods is where I liked and wanted to play.
My friends and I would follow a small river/creek through the woods
near our neighborhood. For hours we would explore the woods and the
creek. We would dig in the mud to find shark’s teeth (we have
always lived near the ocean; I still have a few teeth), look for
snakes, turtles, squirrels, or any wild life, make-up games, build
forts (more than one) and tree houses, skip rocks, fish (very little),
swim, bike, play Army, Ninja, and more.
Surprisingly, I never was a boy scout or did much
formal camping. My first experience camping was with my cousins and
Uncle. My Uncle decided he was going to take us kid’s car camping
at one of those pay-for-your-spot type campgrounds with a bath and
toilet house, and such. It was going to be a great weekend of fun!
That first day, we were all having a great time eating, cooking,
playing games, joking, exploring the campground, telling stories,
setting camp, and roasting marsh mellows. Later, after we had retired
for the evening, it began to rain hard. We had two fully-packed 4
or 5 person generic dome tents, which are not the most reliable shelters
in a rain storm. After about 45 minutes of solid hard rain, wind,
and lightning, the tents were soaked, the sleeping bags were sopping,
our clothes were drenched, and my fun time had washed away with the
stream of water that ran under my back. We tried to tolerate the
situation as best we could, but then someone folded, broke, and went
to the car. One by one the car filled up. It was hot and muggy and
steamy in the car with all of us cramped in. We remained there in
misery for several hours and until daylight finally came, the storm
never did let up. That morning, after assessing our gear, we all
voted to salvage what we could, pack up and drive home.
My father retired from the military in ‘88,
and as my family moved further from the beach, we began experimenting
with day hikes in the mountains. We hiked in Maryland and Pennsylvania
mostly. We always took water and lunch in daypacks and started early
and ended late; sometimes friends would come along, too. Over the
several years we lived up north, we took many day hikes.
Now, living in North Georgia, the nearby Appalachian
Mountains have afforded me many opportunities to get out more and
do what I love. Several weekends each year, friends and I would find
a fun-sounding trail using a guidebook, follow the directions to
the trail head, hike 8 or 12 miles in, and then hike out Sunday to
be back in school Monday morning. Over this period of time, my passion
for backpacking and hiking really developed. I began to read and
learn and experiment with different pieces of gear, and hiking techniques
and styles. After many weekenders, I began to want to be out longer,
do more miles. So, that’s what I did. I have completed several
5 to 7 day treks covering at most 80 miles. Now, my desire has grown
to 5 to 6 months and 2,170 miles. Scary!
I remember one year we went to Arizona to visit
my Grandparents in Phoenix. We traveled all around sight-seeing and
on the itinerary, of course, were a few days at the Grand Canyon!
Again, we did a long day hike with a lot of water and a lunch. We
watched the sunrise and the sunset. It was incredible! To this day,
I still have a small pin I picked up at the gift shop near the trailhead
that reads, “I hiked the Grand Canyon!” Perhaps if I
finish the A.T., I will buy a similar pin.
Well, Could go on, but I won’t. I just wanted
to share a few memories from my past that shaped my passion for hiking
and backpacking today. It is my hope that you all will follow my
progress over these next 6 months. This site is as much for you as
it is for me. Thanks and enjoy!
~Happy Trails,
Mark Huckeba
The Varsity Challenge, how shall I shall I say…The
Varsity Challenge will seem very normal to most of you reading this,
but for me, The Varsity Challenge is very uncharacteristic. Why?
Well, over several years I have progressed to eating an advanced
diet solely of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. As a result, my
co-workers—jokingly, I think—decided it would be fun
to send me off by making me eat at The Varsity. Seriously, I surprised
them by accepting THE VARSITY CHALLENGE!
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The
day was Thursday, April 1st, the 2nd to last day for me at
work. By now, everybody
in the office
knew what I was doing—the V-Challenge, that is. The office
broke for lunch at 11:30 like always for an hour. Promptly
at 11:40, I was sitting down at a Varsity table with three
friends nervously looking over what people call real food—food
that I was about to eat! On my tray, The Varsity Challenge
menu waited—two chili cheese hotdogs, one chili cheese
hamburger, one side of onions rings, and a peach cobbler pie!
I could not, however, bring myself to drink a soda; so instead,
I completed my meal with water.
On my last bite I sighed, “Ahhhh,
it’s done! I ate it!” “Well?” they
asked. “Yeah, it tasted good, but, only tasted good.
I’m going to need to use the restroom soon; I can feel
it already!” The Varsity Challenge wasn’t over
the next day either... The overall experience reminded me
deep inside why I love living a lifestyle of conscience eating.
Often in life, the most difficult commitments are the ones
that yield the greatest reward. So, to the Challengers, I
met your challenge, and challenge you back. |
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Continue to week one
on the trail
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