[at-l] AT Thru-hiker Study up and running

[John Pugh]

In 2000, I spent six months thru-hiking the 2.000+ miles of the Appalachian
Trail from Maine to Georgia. That was a life-changing experience for me, and
from the time I finished, I knew things just were not going to be the same
from that point on. I made a promise to myself that every five years, I was
going to do "something cool." In 2005, that "something cool" was paddling
down the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers with my partner, and now wife,
Jessica.

Following my thru-hike, I went to graduate school at Ohio University. After
two years of living in a home-built yurt, going to classes, and leading
trips, I wrote my thesis under the direction of Dr. Matt Zuefle on
"Motivations of Long-Distance Hikers on the Appalachian Trail." In 2004, I
entered the PhD program at North Carolina State University to study under
Dr. Roger Moore. I am currently "on hiatus" with the program, but intend to
go back once "life things" settle down more.

I am conducting this study<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=516733293312> of
thru-hikers as part of my continuing interest and research on the
Appalachian Trail. It is adapted from Roland Mueser's 1989 study, my own
thesis, and other related literature. As you well know, much has changed
over the last 18 years, and it is my hope that this study will be helpful in
contributing to the body of knowledge related to the Appalachian Trail and
its users.

If you have attempted a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, regardless of
the mileage completed, please take a few moments to complete this
survey<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=516733293312>.
Responses will be completely confidential. The survey is composed of eight
pages, and pre-testers have indicated that takes about 30-45 minutes to
complete. Feel free to "guess-timate" when you are prompted for numerical
figures.

I anticipate that data collection will continue until August 2007. If you
would like to receive results of the study, fill out the email address
prompt on the last page of the survey. If you have any questions, concerns,
or comments, please feel free to contact me at johnny.swank at gmail.com.

Thank you in advance,

-John Pugh ("Johnny Swank", ME-GA 2000)
-- 
Visit www.SourcetoSea.net for more information about our 2,150 mile
expedition down the Mississippi River to benefit the Audubon Society.