Play the Game: My Appalachian Trail Origin Story

“Life is a game. Play the game.”

 

I’ve had that mantra rolling around in my head for decades. It was told to me when I was younger, and turned out to be really on the nose advice. Later, when I joined the Army, my basic training battalion’s motto was “Play the Game.” But I’m getting ahead of myself.

 

Right now I’m a video game reviewer. Mostly. I mean, that’s what I’ve been doing for the better part of the last eight years. I’ve written for a few publications. I even ended up starting a new one with a group of colleagues, who also happen to be my friends. It makes covering entertainment and culture a lot more fun. (You can check it out at CultureCombine.com). 

 

I am also an avid retro video game collector. I collect every era of video game, console, and I’ve even started to collect arcade cabinets. You know things are getting bad when every room in the house starts to fill up with video game stuff. I mean, where the hell are we going to keep our Star Trek stuff if we have too much video game stuff? It’s a conundrum. While I’ve been collecting video game console stuff for the last few years, I’ve really gone hard on big box PC collecting recently. 

 

I’m so deep into video games that I even have a repair business called Save Scum Restore, where I fix video game consoles. 

via Marielle Bokor

While I still love video games, and they’re a huge part of my life,  I’m definitely burnt out on the news cycle. It’s exhausting keeping up with what the latest game news is and trying to get my say in on it before the next thing arrives. There is always something new to fix. Something new to play. Something new to pine for, or something that’s going to be hard to get on release, etc etc. 

 

I have to admit: it’s a pretty cushy life. I don’t have much to complain about. I own my house, and I have a passive income that allows me to do as much or as little as I’d like. 

 

So why the heck do I want to leave it to go live a decidedly less cushy life? There are a million reasons. But I can primarily thank three people for this crazy notion:

 

  • The first is my father. He put the notion of backpacking into my head. It probably had to do with the renewed interest the Appalachian Trail was getting in the mid 90’s. He convinced me that stuffing everything I needed to live into a pack and walking around with that pack on would make me more fulfilled. I mean, he was the dude that showed me nature. It wasn’t unusual for my brother, dad, and I to go out to forest preserves (yeah, that’s what they call them in Illinois) and walk around for a few hours. He would tell me what trees were what, and even more about glaciation and why it was the reason a lot of the terrain and environments were the way they were. Dude loved talking about glaciers. Which is weird, because he was a lifelong Soldier.

 

  • The second is Earl Shaffer. The OG. I had it in mind that I wanted to use the Appalachian Trail as a way to reclaim the outdoors for myself. To walk off my war, so to speak. It turns out, I’m definitely not alone, and that’s exactly why the first Appalachian Trail thru hiker accomplished such an amazing feat: to walk off his war. I’ve been out of combat for over 15 years now, but combat hasn’t really left me. I was an Army infantryman in Iraq from Jan to Dec 2005 where I at different points served in a heavy weapons squad, a sniper team, and in a few other combat roles. 

 

  • The third person I have to thank for driving me out into the wilderness is my childhood psychiatrist. I got in some trouble as a kid, and I was mandated to talk to a bunch of well meaning old guys. The best advice I got from my psychiatrist–who I saw the least, but always gave out the best nuggets–told me something that always stuck with me: “Life is a game. Play the game.”  

 

 

And holy shit, he was right. Life is a game. It’s definitely more often “pay to win” than not. Microtransactions everywhere. But the graphics are photorealistic, and the stakes are as real as they get. 

 

I knew I couldn’t just go out and do it. I mean, I probably could have. But I knew that planning, and preparation, and getting myself in shape would be the best way to approach this problem.

 

I spent a huge chunk of last year preparing for my adventure. That means lots of camping, trying out gear, and fighting off a surprising amount of raccoons. 

 

So, if you want, follow along with me on my journey from Georgia to Maine when I leave in 34 days. In the meantime I’m going to write about my previous year’s adventures and what I’m doing right now to get ready for the trail. 

 

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Comments 4

  • chris : Jan 24th

    You better tell us about those raccoons!

    Reply
    • Shrek06 : Jan 24th

      Yo good luck on your adventure, physical shape will naturally come by doing miles, more importantly is to mind your mind. Thru hiking, especially solo ( no guarantee when you will meet a fellow traveller you mesh with) Is more emotionally and psychologically stressful than the physicality especially as the days add up.

      Reply
  • Jess : Jan 27th

    Antal! Loved this. Super cool that you’re going from video games to the great game that is the AT! It’s the Oregon Trail, except IRL 🤪 Can’t wait for you to hit the trail.

    Reply
  • Fun Size : Jan 27th

    Great post! And so true that life is a game. I hope to see you on the trail!

    Reply

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