I’m “All In.” That’s my trail name, for a number of reasons. Mostly because I rarely do anything with any kind of moderation. Hiking. Coaching. Drinking. Man was I ever “All In” with Alcohol. Not proud of that. Not even proud of being 24+ years sober. I’m rarely proud of anything, anymore.

Pride. Pride is what football programs and the military use as a bonding attitude. It’s a good thing for football. Individual pride, for me now, is dangerous. The more I take credit for an accomplishment, especially with character issues, the easier it is to slide backward. As I get older, the more I realize that all my accomplishments came with the aid of others and now I add my HP to that list of mentors.

Like a nun said to me one time on a airplane, “I’m sure you got sober with the help of many others and God, but you had to cooperate, Doug.”

Ok. I’ll take credit for cooperation. Maybe even a little credit necessary for the humility needed to become teachable.

That is why pride is gone from my vocabulary.

Oops. As usual, this writing is an Art. That is, that I start and am not sure where it is going. I want to get back to”All In.”

The chip in that photo is one of the ones I give away when I am on the AT. When I pass a thru hiker, I sometimes give them a chip and tell them that this will help them finish. That they now are “All In” on this thru hike. I also tell them that they are sure to finish now. They have met me “All In!” There’s that huge ego of mine!!!:)

It’s the coach me. It’s also the winner in me. I BELIEVE that I will be successful at most things I start. I also believe that a positive attitude is infectious. I’m going to stop using that word. Infectious.

Anyway. The original “All In” chip came from a church in Delaware. The sermon was about being “All In” for Christ. They handed them out at the door as we were leaving. Kelly was with me. Or rather, I was with Kelly. I have my original chip and Kelly gave me hers. I don’t give them away. They mean a lot to me and besides I am crazy superstitious!

The originals look like the one on the right.

I got a few more from the church.

I wish I had more. Maybe I will try again to locate some more of the originals. The church must have gotten them somewhere.

Well, that’s it.

All In

Some shots from today’s hike:

I hiked South from Culver Gap in NJ. It was a great day. I’ve had a string of those… 😊

PS. I got more chips from the church. Then I got a chip company to make these!!!

All-In on the top, the AT logo on the bottom. Way cool!!!