Date: 2013-11-10
To: Is this real life??
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Where to begin? I guess a little background on myself would be the best place to start!The name is Chelsea, est. 1990, dreamt of a thru hike on the AT since 2008. Hiking experience is limited but my love for nature and adventure is the center of me. Hippie tendencies and a great love for rock n roll. Was born and rasied in good ole INDIANA!! I have wonderful parents, an awesome brother (who thinks I am crazy for doing this), a beautiful niece who is about to turn 5 years old and an amazing group of friends that I love dearly! When I graduated high school I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up so instead of going to college and collecting a heaping pile of debt I decided to move to Florida to live at a place called HEART Missionary Training. Living there is like living off the grid. I learned about agriculture, sustainabilty and cross culture communication. I had some of the best times of my life there and will never forget what I learned. It just so happened that one of my mothers dearest friends lived right down the road and they took me in as their own. David the husband began telling me about stories of his section hikes on the AT. I immediatley became interested since I had never heard of it before. He gave me books to read about it one of them being the story of the Barefoot Sisters. As I read through their memoir I laughed, cried and eventually felt a fire in me that I knew I was only going to extinguish by actually completing the 2,180 miles of the Trail. So, here I am six years later and my dream is starting to form! I decided to do it in 2014 because I did aquire a bit of debt in past few years from medical bills and stupid decisions! BUT, I will have all of these things paid off in FEBRUARY, this may not be exciting for most, for me though it's the best thing since sliced bread! I have decided to write a trail journal so that way I can remember all the amazing times I have and so that my mother knows whats going on with me while on the trail. Excuse the mispells, incorrect grammer and terrible punctuation! Enough about the backstory...to the training!I know that one of the most important things in completing the AT is to BE PREPARED!!! So, I have began training my body, gear, financially, mind and spirit for this adventure.BODY: I have started walking to work 2 days a week. 6.5 miles one way or 13 round trip with 15-20 lbs of weight in my pack. The days I dont walk to work I do strength training which includes: push-ups, bicycle crunches, lunges, and some yoga moves to get all stretched out. Also, I am going to start running a couple of miles one day a week to get my lungs back. (Another part of my training is quitting cigarettes..please don't judge me I know it is an awful habit and I hate myself for even starting but the quitting is going VERY well!!!) Fridays is my 1 zero day that I give myself so I dont get burnt out(which is my one day off of work a week.) I am also reading alot on fording rivers and will start training on that in early spring!!GEAR: I bought my pack which is an REI Crestrail 48 Pack which was my first big purchase, so far I love it! Fits "Like a glove!" (Ace Ventura voice) As I add more gear I'll give updates on how I like everything!! I have also have been on REI.com almost everyday since I decided to do this trip researching products, reading reviews, looking for sales, I think my REI wishlist has changed about 6 times so far. When I find something better from the first thing I found!FINANCIALLY: My job right now is great and I love it! I have all of my financial things written out to the very cent so I know how nuch I will have saved and such. BUT I have been looking for a second job so that I can make sure I will be set and also so if I decide I want to go on another adventure after GA I will have some moolah leftover!!MIND: Well, for this portion it's mostly RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH! I read trail journals everyday and I ask questions on trailforums.com. This is one of the best ways to prepare I think. You talk to real life people that have done it. The journals give great advice on hostels to stay at, good AYCE deals in different towns and awesome people that I cant wait to meet on the Trail. I have a 2010 AT Guide book that I have been reading through trying to figure out milege and such. SPIRIT: One thing I know is that this is a spirtual journey for me. I was born and raised in the Church of God. 3 years ago I gave up on faith completely for reasons I have dealt with and moved on from. I am a different soul. Same person. Many people don't look at it that way and that's okay with me. I know who I am now. On this grand adventure I plan on learning even more about myself, I can only imagine the things I will see and feel. I dont know if that makes alot of sense but it does to me!Anywho, if you are crazy enough to have finished this entire post I SALUTE YOU!! Be prepared for more long posts!!ChelseaSOBO-MEGA in training!!!¢Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.¢ ? Jack Kerouac, On the Road