Category Archives: Appalachian Trail

Some readers write such inspirational letters.

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I received the following from a reader that just finished THREE HUNDRED ZEROES. I was so moved by his comments, I just had to share them. Thanks Ian:

Dennis, I just finished reading your book today. I never do this but felt it necessary to tell you what an influence it has had on me. I am an avid hiker in upstate New York’s Adirondacks, a father of two young childeren (5 and 4) with my third(and last) on the way in April. 


Reading your book and your positive attitude about everything is a true inspiration to me and just went to show me how short and unexpected our lives can be. Reading your book has given me a new outlook on everything and has taught me to take nothing for granted. 

I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart (no pun intended) I hope to hike the A.T. at some point in my life and I will constantly use you as an inspiration.

Thank you,
Ian Smith


Thank you again Ian, you’re the real inspiration.

Dennis, “K1”

Appalachian Trail presentation at the Gulfgate Library, Sarasota, FL on 6 Oct. at 2 PM.

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A Closeup Look at the Appalachian Trail.

 I’ll be giving my Appalachian Trail presentation at the Gulfgate Library in Sarasota, FL. This fun-filled presentation covers the hikers, animals and mountainous terrain that is the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. If you’ve ever dreamed of attempting the trail, know someone that has, or just love the outdoors, come and see this presentation.

Unfortunately, it is at 2 pm and will be difficult for anyone that has to work for a living during normal business hours. I didn’t get to pick the time.

I will have books for sale and signing following the event. If you already have a copy, be sure to bring it along for a signing.

See you there…

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

Great book review of THREE HUNDRED ZEROES in QST magazine, October 2010.

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I was pleasantly surprised to see a review of THREE HUNDRED ZEROES in a national journal, QST magazine, in their October 2010 issue. QST is the official journal of the American Radio Relay League, in Newington, Connecticut. The magazine has a circulation of 170,000 and is available at many magazine news stands.

The review was very favorable to the book and points out that the book is a good read for the general public as well as radio amateurs. Here is what the review said:

Get on the Trail With THREE HUNDRED ZEROES

By: Dennis R. Blanchard, K1YPP

Reviewed by Steve Ewald, WV1X

How would you like to go on a hike? How about a real long hike that is 2176 miles long and covers 14 states in the eastern United States?

Three Hundred Zeroes by Dennis Blanchard, K1YPP, captures the adventure of hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) all the way from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. Because of heart surgery, Blanchard’s excursion took place over a two-year period, even though he had first set out to hike the AT in one extended hiking season.

What challenges and difficulties did he face along the way? What personal goals kept him going forward when circumstances beyond his control seemed to dictate otherwise? These questions about life on (and off) the Appalachian Trail are answered in a very interesting, informative and entertaining manner. Dennis’ writing style takes the reader right along for the hike.

One begins to understand the joys and rigors of living in the wilderness, facing the elements and meeting fellow hikers. The book’s subtitle, “Lessons of the Heart on the Applachian Trail,” is most appropriate.

In addition to his hiking equipment, K1YPP carried and operated his homebrew low power CW transceiver with a wire antenna. The book provides a good general explanation of Amateur Radio for newcomers, and it gives references for further information. (See his “An Appalachian Journey” in the March 2010 issue of QST, pp 67-69 for details about his on-the-trail radio operations.) After reading this enjoyable book you just might be inspired to “hit the trail” in your own personal way.

It has been a while since I have had the time to update this blog. Life has a habit of getting in the way. Hopefully I can post more here soon.

Thanks for reading!

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

Book tours and meeting wonderful people.

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Last night, 30 August, I had the pleasure of presenting my photo essay of hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2007/2008 at the Hampstead, NH Library .

For me, it was a return to my adopted home town, I’d lived there for 26 years. Since moving away the Library has been able to complete their renovation of the new building they had moved into prior to my exit. They couldn’t open the second floor to the public until an elevator had been installed. The building is now complete, and a fantastic library it is. The room used for the presentation was spacious and presented a nice climate for public speaking.

The audience was engaged, had a great sense of humor and as far as I could tell, everyone had a good time. Even though I lived there all those years, I didn’t see anyone that I knew. I suppose that is a sign of the town’s growth.

I showed about a hundred photos and explained just a few of the more memorable moments of my hike. How does one cover a six-month walk in the woods (plus major heart surgery) in just over an hour? The librarian (sorry, was it Janet, or Janice?) that worked with me was very professional and I was concerned that perhaps I was keeping her beyond the scheduled time for the event. She encouraged me to continue answering questions until everyone was satisfied and the Q&A session continued for 45 minutes; almost as long as the presentation.

Thanks to all that attended, and the Hampstead Public Library for presenting such a spectacular meeting environment.

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

Signed books and Amazon.com statistics.

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I’m curious. I don’t have a PayPal account set up on the web site, or here, for book orders. If I did, I might be able to arrange to ship signed copies of the book. I’m not certain why, but readers really do seem to like author signed books. Should I look into this; anyone feel strongly about such things? Please do send me a message, or you can leave a comment here.

A PayPal account would add to my personal workload since I would have to sign each book and ship it, but I really don’t mind if readers relish such things. I can currently ship anyone that wants a book and sign it. I haven’t formally set anything up, at least not yet, but if someone sends a check or money order for $20.00 to cover the book price (taxes, in Florida) and shipping, I’ll gladly do it. If there is a specific message you would like me to write in the book (maybe it is a gift for someone?), then explicitly tell me what to write, otherwise, it will just be my author’s signature. The $20.00 rate covers shipping at book rate, which so far seems to be about as fast as Priority USPS shipping. I suspect in the busier holiday seasons that may not be the case. If there is interest in USPS Priority Shipping, then the total price will be $22.00. See the sidebar on the right for address information.

There are about 300 copies in print now, maybe more, I’m not certain. If you’ve read the book, please do leave a comment here. I really do appreciate knowing how the book is being received, as any author would.

If you’re an Amazon.com customer (purchased from them in the last 18 months) it is really helpful if you leave an honest book review on their site for the book. We authors live and die by the rankings the book receives on Amazon .

If you scroll down the page for a book on amazon.com , there are some interesting statics there. One is the Amazon.com sales rank: # x,xxx. This figure compares how well a book is doing compared to all other book titles on Amazon , which is something like a formidable 3.5 million titles! They arrive at this number with a fancy mathematical algorithm,  but it is primarily based on daily sales and reviews given to the book.

Another area of interest is the, “Tags Customers Associate with this Product.” The first 15 “Tags” are generated by the author (unless they chose to do fewer) and the rest are created by you the customer. You can add tags to any book. Tags are merely subjects and topics that relate to what the book is about. Some readers have added tags such as “Inspirational” and “endurance,” they felt this applied to this book.

You can also “vote” on the tags that already exist. You can click an empty box and add a vote OR if you have already clicked a tag, you can click it again and subtract your vote. If you click on the tag description link itself, it will take you to a page dedicated to that tag topic and you can see other books or products related to that tag. This is a feature that just doesn’t exist in walking around a book store.

Feel free to comment on some of the topics I’ve raised here. That is what blogs are about and if I can answer questions, fire away.

Dennis, “K1” Blanchard

Welcome to the Blog for the Book: Three Hundred Zeroes

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THREE HUNDRED ZEROES

Lessons of the Heart on the Appalachian Trail


I suspect many are unfamiliar with hiking or hiking on the Appalachian Trail and may wonder about the title. First, let me define a Zero Day.

On the Appalachian Trail, whenever hikers take a day off from hiking, they hike “zero” miles. This has evolved into defining that day off from hiking as a “Zero Day”; hence the title: THREE HUNDRED ZEROES.

The book went on sale today, 21 February, 2010. This is my first adventure in the world of self-publishing. Please bear with me as I feel my way and make all the mistakes a newbie to this world makes.

Check out the web site for the book at: ThreeHundredZeroes.com, If it entices you, you can order the book on a secure site at the eStore:

https://www.createspace.com/3428889

At some point along the way I’ll discuss what it takes to self-publish a book, I think you’ll find it interesting.

Feel free to comment on things. I do listen to well-placed suggestions. Comments show up in the right-sidebar.

Thanks

Dennis R. Blanchard