It's finally time - I thought this day would never come! This summer I'll be taking extended leave from work and thru hiking the Appalachian Trail. This idea has been floating around my mind for a long time - since I summited Katahdin as a child, spent summers as a camper on Pleasant Lake in Maine, and backpacked for a month out west when I was a teenager. I'm excited to wake up to a different view each day.
Last year was rough I got divorced. Sold my house. Felt more alone than ever, but also found a great deal of emotional support from many people, even where I didn't expect it. Nothing is keeping me from taking a walk in the woods for 5 months. The current state of politics is almost necessitating it.
I've done my research, spent the winter preparing and training, got my eyeballs fixed, and found temporary homes for my fur babies (thank you Meredith and Layla!). I will be flying down to Atlanta, Georgia on April 9th, drive with them to Amicalola Falls State Park, and start the Approach Trail early the morning of the 10th. I'm expected back at work on September 17th.
"Hike your own hike" is a popular thru hiker expression. One of my goals for this thru hike is to learn how to be more flexible. I am a planner - my career is in planning, the word 'planning' is in my job title! But i need to learn patience, how to adapt, and work through the unexpected. As I set out I'm limiting the number of 'rules' to follow, but there are a couple that are important to me and to my definition of a thru hike:
My bag is packed and since I don't have to work next week I'll be getting in as many miles as possible to prepare my legs, hopefully with at least one over-night trip. The trail has gotten a lot of snow over the last few weeks. Hopefully winter is finally over.
I've done my research, spent the winter preparing and training, got my eyeballs fixed, and found temporary homes for my fur babies (thank you Meredith and Layla!). I will be flying down to Atlanta, Georgia on April 9th, drive with them to Amicalola Falls State Park, and start the Approach Trail early the morning of the 10th. I'm expected back at work on September 17th.
"Hike your own hike" is a popular thru hiker expression. One of my goals for this thru hike is to learn how to be more flexible. I am a planner - my career is in planning, the word 'planning' is in my job title! But i need to learn patience, how to adapt, and work through the unexpected. As I set out I'm limiting the number of 'rules' to follow, but there are a couple that are important to me and to my definition of a thru hike:
- Hike every mile - pretty self-explanatory
- Hike every mile carrying my pack - I will not be participating in slack-packing opportunities
- Hike every mile in the NOBO (northbound) direction - this should be pretty easy to accomplish if I don't slack-pack
My bag is packed and since I don't have to work next week I'll be getting in as many miles as possible to prepare my legs, hopefully with at least one over-night trip. The trail has gotten a lot of snow over the last few weeks. Hopefully winter is finally over. 
No comments:
Post a Comment