Date: 2010-01-13
To: Times a ticking
Miles today: 0.0

We had a wonderful time over Christmas break hiking in the Smoky's. Tom and I went up to Tennessee for a week, day hiking some of my favorite trails. We tried out some of our winter gear during the high of "28" degrees. We felt plenty warm enough, except for the gloves. I brought along some fleece gloves that were warm enough for the hike but when we stopped for lunch, my hands were freezing. I know they are not warm enough for the hike in the evening around the camp, so we will be adding a outer gloves, waterproof to also use during rain/snow, etc. For Christmas, Tom got his much needed trekking poles, out with the Walmart brand and in with the Leki's. They are light and perfect! He used them during our hikes and loved them. I had to replace my old insoles with superfeet. I was apprehensive because I originally got the old ones at Neels gap and loved them. They were the ones they heat up and mold to your feet, ahhhhhhh!!! But they have about 500 miles on them and I felt them not being as comfortable. We carried the old ones on the trail just in case but the new ones felt wonderful. Time to bury the old and enjoy the new.Wild Poodle, Cahaoda, Half Left and I ordered some Mountain House packs from Nitro together to get free shipping and a better deal. We will be shipping the extra packs to our drops (11) so far. We also ordered some down jackets that seem to be perfect and inexpensive. Great news about our beginning, one of our best friends, Paula will be bringing us to the trailhead and hiking for a short time with us. She has been wanting to get into hiking and has volunteered to drive us from Florida. We are loaning her some extra gear so she can follow along for as long as she can stand it. I have a Mtn Hardwear 15 degree bag, an extra pack, and clothing so she doesn't really need to purchase much else except for boots and food.We haven't sold the house yet which is somewhat scary but our sons (Josh and Jeffrey) have said they would love to rent it for us instead. Now we just need to scrape together a little extra cash so we are not strapped. It will be a much less comfortable hike without the extra money, but we have stocked up on food and the business will still be paying me while we are gone. Half Left's birthday is today and mine is Sunday. We are having a pot luck party Saturday night to celebrate. The excitement is hard to bear, but it is definitely clouded with stress about the house, money etc. We've been hoping nothing gets in the way of our start, even saying if something comes up, we will start on time and go back to finish minor details, rejoining our group wherever they are, then going back after finishing Katahdin. Hope we don't have to but it is possible. Tom's job is one that he is on his feet all day, carrying a pack to spray weeds that must weigh at least 25 lbs. my job, I pretty much sit on a computer all day so I will start out chunkier than I wanted to. I know from last time, the extra weight falls off quickly, I just know he will be like a deer and me a turtle. After 2 weeks and getting "Trail legs", it will even out. I hope he is as understanding in the beginning. We are ordering the new AT guide from Awol and getting Tom a new thermarest. The guide is very good, Cahoda already got hers, we reviewed it last week at our meeting. The thermarest we are ordering will match the height of my mattress, which is needed because it is awkward having miss matched pads (Big Agnes/Thermarest)while using our New Big Agnes King Solomon double bag.Can't wait to start, can't wait to be on the trail, can't wait, can't wait...See you on the trail...