Date: 2008-03-09
To: Prep #3
Miles today: 0.0

So before I start my hike, I need to come clean on my prior hiking/camping experiences - which aren't pretty. I was a Campfire Girl in Scituate, MA as a kid. When I was about 8 years old, our group (which included my mother, who was one of our leaders) went on an overnight camping trip to some campsite in the area. I remember cabins with bunks and I remember that the name of the place started with an 'N' (or maybe it was a 'W') and was some Indian name. I lasted about three hours before I started crying and asked my mother to take me home. Campfire Girls really didn't 'camp'. We sang a bunch of camp-themed songs and learned how to build fires. I did go to day camp in Pembroke, MA for several summers but no hard core stuff. Fast forward to my early 20's and my boyfriend at the time and I drove from Boston to some park outside of Montreal. We camped in Vermont and again in the park in Montreal. Not much fun - very cold, very uncomfortable but cheap since we had very little money. But Quebec City was nice!I did several stints at some campground in central Pennsylvania with "college Gayl" (not to be confused with "high school Gail") and her husband. We attended the Philadelphia Folk Festival and instead of staying in a hotel (also living on the cheap at the time) we would drive to the campground after each night's concert. All I remember is loudness from adjacent campers, and dampness from the tent. Not much sleep. I also went on a day hike in Bear Mountain State Park in NY - early 1980's - with some friends and their dog. Poor dog - couldn't walk again for a week. I don't understand how dogs can handle the Trail.My last experience was somewhat better. I decided I needed a break from work so in 1995 I bought a one-week spa package in California - just south of San Francisco. The spa package included two hikes each day, followed by massages and other spa services. It was wonderful! Nothing like hiking in a park for 5 hours and then getting a one hour deep tissue massage each day. I guess I won't be getting that on the Trail, but I can hope.So - based on these past experiences - high school Gail has started a pool. Each participant can place a bet as to how long I will last on the Trail. It's been interesting so far - my friends are much more confident of my abilities than my former work colleagues are. My college friends being much more confident than my high school friends. I am guessing that my family is somewhere in-between. $5 a bet - they need to guess how many days I will last. One former work colleague said to me "you won't last two days" (but this is the same person that was concerned about mountain lions eating me). Another work colleague asked me when my first 'out' point was (day three when I hit the Hiker's Hostel) so he could bet on that. Another former work colleague said he was surprised about the pool - and thought that there would have been a pool already in place that required participants to guess how long I would stay out of the workforce (almost nine months, thank you).   My husband will be driving me to Springer at the end of March. College Gayl and her kids are driving over from South Carolina to see me off. This is my last posting until I start.'Til later