Date: 2015-03-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

This will count as my first official journal entry at the Trail Journals website. The purpose of the journal entries will be to compile a bit of a record of the planned hike, and provide a location where any interested parties can monitor my progress. I am not very good at maintaining a journal, so will have to see how I do at keeping it active and up to date. The majority of my journal entries will be created on an iPhone 6, which seems to work, but will be a little tedious for me. I will do my best, but no promises.The hike mentioned above is something I have been thinking about for years, and the stars have finally aligned to make it possible. My plan is to attempt a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. Or, as it is called, the AT. Or the National Scenic Appalachian Trail. The Southern terminus of the AT is at Springer Mountain, Georgia. The Northern terminus of the trail is at Mount Katahdin in Northern Maine. Completing a thru hike of the trail means hiking the entire length of the trail in less than one year. The trail crosses fourteen states, and is just a bit shy of 2,200 miles in length. I will be starting in GA in early April, 2015, and hopefully finishing in Maine by the middle of October, 2015. I use the word hopefully, because the completion rate for attempted thru hikes is very poor. The numbers I have seen indicate a success rate of between 10% and 20%, depending on the year, weather, trail conditions, etc. And I realize that at 66 years old, the odds of me being one of the 10 - 20% that succeed are not good. But I am optimistic, and will give it my all.When I first mentioned the plans for my upcoming journey to family, friends, coworkers it generated a lot of questions. Why would I want to do this? Am I crazy, ignorant of what I'm doing, selfish? While I don't deny possessing any of those characteristics, they have nothing to do with why I want to hike the trail. The desire comes from my love of the outdoors. I love the forests, the trees, the mountains, boulders, rocks, the rivers, streams, creeks, the wildlife. I love the night sky, filled with the moon and stars, and not polluted by city lights. I love the sun on my arms, and the breeze at my back. I love the scent of the evergreens, and the sound of the wind in their branches. Add to that the significant fact that the AT passes through National Parks, National Forests, State Parks, Historical Sites, and many more interesting areas. And I will be passing through some US States that I have never visited, and certainly not visited in such close proximity as experienced with a hike. Of course, all is not sunshine and blue skies. Having outed many of the things that I like about the outdoors, I freely admit that there are also things that I don't like in the outdoors. I don't like being cold and wet. I don't like mosquitoes, rattle snakes, deep mud, and many other things that I don't particularly want to think about, so will label as too numerous to mention. So, since it is nearly assured that I will encounter all of these things that I don't like, and some will be encountered often, it is completely logical to believe that I will not complete the hike. But, not being one to let logic and common sense clear my clouded thinking, I am giving it a go. After trying to answer the "Why" question many times, I realize that most people don't seem to understand.They don't share my love of the outdoors, so it does not compute. So my new answer to the "Why" question is simply:Hiking the AT is the only somewhat socially acceptable way that an unemployed, homeless person can be a hobo, bum, vagabond. Can you think of another way? It's the truth!Anyway, this is my first journal entry, and likely the longest I will have. I am creating it on a laptop computer so it is much easier than the iPhone. If you have read this far, thanks, and I congratulate you on your perseverance. Please take another short moment and visit and sign the Guest Book before you leave the site.O'RYAN