I happened to look at the page for Three Hundred Zeroes tonight and was pleasantly surprised to see that it is ranked #2 in Walking and Camping books on Amazon.com and #3 in Excursion Guides today. The Kindle versions are ahead of the print versions at this moment. I thought perhaps last month the Kindle version would win out, but it lost by only two copies. Maybe this will be the month!

• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #19,879 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  
  • #2 in  Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Sports > Outdoors & Nature > Hiking & Camping > Walking
  • #2 in  Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Sports > Outdoors & Nature > Hiking & Camping > Camping
  • #3 in  Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Sports > Outdoors & Nature > Hiking & Camping > Excursion Guides

The above rankings change by the hour based on sales and sales related to all books on amazon.com, so they’re only relative numbers, but great to see nonetheless.

Thanks to all for reading Three Hundred Zeroes. I hope it inspires you to do something just as crazy, or convinces you that maybe you really don’t want to.

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

The following is another reader’s comments. Don did my heart so much good with his enthusiasm and compliments. Since many of my readers are not ham radio operators, I’ll offer some “translation” of what he says. A “QRP CW operator” is a radio amateur that uses very low power (QRP is usually 5 watts or less) and CW is more commonly known as the Morse code. The “rig” he mentions, the KX-1 is a very nice radio that a number of hiking hams like to use. It is light, small and very gently on the batteries. It sounds like Don is having a different type of hiking fun, hiking to fire towers.
Thanks Don!

I’m still anxious to hear from heart surgery patients. The book deals with that topic as well and I’d be curious to hear about what they think of Three Hundred Zeroes ?

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

If you’ve ever wondered about the feasibility of building a fire by rubbing sticks, here’s your answer. Check it out here, or on my previous entry on the YouTube version.

It’s been two years to the day since I completed the summit at Mt. Katahdin with “New York Minute.” It was a celebration of not only completing the Appalachian Trail, but of restarting my life. The heart surgery was a life-changing experience and made me much more aware of the important things in life, the things I love, the people I love, and the thrill of just enjoying all that life brings.

Even the difficult and trying situations that life throws at us can be enjoyed. Often, a gray cloud does have a silver lining, although it may not be that obvious at first. Just like the trail itself, when water can be in short supply, the weather frigid, the winds biting and hunger overpowering, the challenges can always teach something.

I like to sit back once in a while and just think about how fortunate I am to still be here. Life is a gift to enjoy, and I’m doing all I can to wring out all the enjoyment I can. I recently returned from a book signing tour up and down the east coast of this great country and I was thrilled to meet so many wonderful and interesting people. It was so enjoyable to hear their many stories, especially concerning the Appalachian Trail and other hikes. It is a community that I am proud to be a member of.

Thanks to all. Thanks for making this the best two years of my life. Hopefully, there will be many more.

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

The cool morning mist had not yet lifted. The heavy fog of morning gave one the sensation of floating, rather than walking. As I ambled through it, there was a sensation of a time warp. The surrounding forest approached surreal; something out of a sci-fi script. My mind wandered and I imagined this stretch of the Appalachian Trail as it was almost a hundred and fifty years previously during the Civil War.

A rebel unit was hiding in the underbrush, just off to the right. One young lad was lying very still, frozen with both fear and the sense that any movement might announce his position. Mosquitoes busily worked his skin but he dared not flick them away. The moss near his nostrils had that moist, yet distinctive odor that confirmed he was on some very damp ground. He tried to ignore all around him and just focus on the trail in front of him.

Approaching on the trail a small unit of Union soldiers worked their way up the hill. They had set out before dawn, not certain of their objective, but very aware that this was enemy territory. In spite of that awareness, they had not encountered any resistance in some days and they were hopeful that this day would play out the same way. They were warriors, but warriors by no means look forward to sudden death.

One soldier pondered his canteen. As he gazed at the cap he imagined it a tankard of his favorite brew. True, it was very early in the day, but with the miles already covered, his thirst for a savory brew was compelling. As if the unit leader sensed his desire, the order came down to break for a few minutes. As mosquitoes circled he removed the cover from the canteen and started to drink with gusto and imagined it to be that brew.

At that very moment there was a distant flash, and then a fusillade of light and thunder let loose and in that moment the soldier’s short life came to an end. The remaining Union soldiers replied in a rage of fire. Two opposing armies, strangers to each other, now committed their very existence to killing each other.

In the ensuing moments young lives were snuffed out. The body where once mosquitoes feasted would no longer respond to their sting. The forest fell silent and I descended into that forest alone with my thoughts and the ghosts that still haunt the trail.

I really thought that by now I would have had some comments about the black-ops helicopter incidents that I discussed in the book, THREE HUNDRED ZEROES. Even though I don’t convey my sense of fear that I experienced in the book, I do admit being somewhat concerned during those events.

Oddly, I haven’t seen any discussion of the events that I described. I wasn’t the only hiker that had these experiences, and I did have them over a two-year period. I’m not a conspiracy nut and I try to rationally explain what happened in the book, but was I right? Could there have been some other explanation? Did I miss something? It certainly was an unusual experience. What are your thoughts readers?

Dennis “K1” Blanchard