Date: 2005-11-15
To: Going public!
Miles today: 0.0

Well I'm finally going public and putting up the journal for my thru hike. I'm planning to start out at the Amicalola approach trail around March 15. Might need to delay that a bit as my annual ski vacation with the guys is the week before. I'll need to get things set at home so my wife, Carol, can handle the minimum needed pick up my mowing and other maintenance duties. Plus, I might not be too popular a guy if I run off to Springer just a two days after the ski trip! Well, who am I anyway? I'm 60 and just retired this past July after nearly 40 years in information technology---starting out as a programmer and working as a tech manager for years. We've been raising our 3 girls, and I've been dealing with the "career" thing for the last 30 years. I've kept active and have had hiking the AT as a vague goal for years.The backpacking bug bit me early. Carol and I spent 5 days in the backcountry of Glacier National Park (Belly River loop) on our honeymoon some 35 years ago. What we carried then would shock the ultra-lighters today: a canvas pup tent, very heavy rectangular bag (only needed one, we were on our honeymoon after all), backpacks that didn't have waist belts, a hatchet (yep!), and, worst of all, a cast iron fry pan. No stove: we cooked on campfires. Well we were young and about all I knew was gleaned from Boy Scouts manuals and family car-camping experience. It was an amazing trip!The bug lay dormant for years and bit again in the late 80's. What a difference there was in the gear. My first purchase was a new external frame backpack with a waist belt. What a difference. First trips were on Laurel Highlands hiking trail in south central PA. On the LHT, one reserves lean-to's which are spaced at a day hike's distance.In the early 90s, I geared up the whole family and we backpacked in the Canadian Rockies---the Berg Lake Trail in Mt. Robsen Provincial Park. Most of the gear was what we'd now call heavy, but still much lighter than in 1970---(no more cast iron fry pans). I did, however, have food enough for probably 3 weeks and we were only planning to be out for 5 days. My knees were really hurting on that one as my pack must have been 60 lbs. I was carrying almost all of the food and common gear as our three girls were young teenagers. After the first night half the food went up the air in a bear bucket to be retrieved on the way back down (it's an in-out). Second day in we hiked in the rain, but the reward was the following day was crystal clear with stunning views of Robson and the glacier calving into Berg Lake. Had to punt on the day hikes planned from base camp and cut the trip short as even ibuprofen didn't fix my overstressed knees. Live and learn!Several other major outings followed: a loop to Mt Assiniboine; a 10 day backpack loop along the Moose River in Alberta and British Columbia culminating in a descent through Mt Robson and a chance to take the day trips missed on the first trip to Snowbird pass overlooking the huge ice field (again with perfect weather); the Rockwall in B.C.; and a two week backpack in 2000 in Gates of the Arctic N.P. All this along with several weekend trips with Carol or one or the other of our daughters.All the while the AT was in my mind---the seed having been sown back in Boy Scout days.