Date: 2013-06-09
To: Day Before Part 1
Miles today: 0.0

Today is the day my Dad and I leave for Baxter State Park in Maine to begin our trip! Today is really just traveling and setting up at the camp grounds. We left this morning at 6:30am but we probably won't get to the campgrounds until around 4pm. Then we will stay over night at Katahdin Stream Campgrounds and begin the real hiking tomorrow early in the morning! The site we are staying at is actually 5 miles down the trail already. Because of the way the park is set up, this is really the only place for us to stay overnight, so to make sure we start at the beginning of the trail we will hike the 5 miles up to Mt. Katahdin going NoBo, and then back down to the campgrounds finally beginning my thru-hike going SoBo. It's a little annoying but it's the way most SoBo's do it! Tomorrow at least we will hike with lighter day packs. Due to the fact that we are going into the 100-mile wilderness, we had to pack about 10 days worth of food so my pack is probably the heaviest it will ever be (with food and water at 38lbs). Will be tough for the first few days but as we eat it will get lighter! Weather is looking good for tomorrow so maybe hiking knifes edge will be a possibility!! Ill start posting pictures soon!As far as posting journal entries and photos, I can only post them when I have Internet so bare with me! I will always label them Day 1, Day 2, etc. so even though it could be a week before I post them, you can still follow them in order. Since I'm finally at the beginning (crazy to say), ill give you a little background on why I am doing it! About 5 years ago, I hiked the Tuckerman Ravine Trail on Mt. Washington with my family. At the top a dirty, smelly, but ripped couple came up next to us looking out at the view and we started talking to them. They said they were hiking the Appalachian Trail and that was the first time I had ever heard of it. I had heard of the Appalachian Trail, yes, but didn't really know anything about it or that people hiked its entire length! I had no idea that it was about 2,200 miles long, running through 14 states, and that about 2,000 people attempted to hike it every year in one shot (thru-hike) with about 25% completing it. After this couple told me they were doing it I began researching and became infatuated with it. To put my finger on a specific reason why I want to do it? I couldn't tell you. Why does anyone do anything?! But there are so many good reasons to do it and so much that I am 100% sure I will get out of it.First off many people have asked why I am going the direction I'm going. The traditional way to hike the trail is NoBo (Georgia to Maine), but I will be hiking it SoBo (Maine to Georgia), which only 10% of people do. I chose to do it this way because I will miss a lot of crowds on the trail and at shelters (yes, crowds believe it or not) and because this will mean more time to myself and the woods. It is harder right off the bat starting in this direction since you head straight into the 100-mile wilderness and into the White Mountains. Not a lot of time to get my hiking legs under me but also meaning hopefully smoother sailing towards the later half.I wanted to do the trail because It's a way to see the country I live in in a completely different way than most people will ever get to see it! Some people drive cross-country, fly across country, but I'm going to attempt to walk the east coast. This also ensures that I won't miss an ounce of its beauty which you lose when traveling so fast. It's a way to connect with nature on a whole different level. It's probably closest to one of the most primal things you can do and to be able to know that I can rely on just myself is an amazing skill to have that we just don't learn anymore. The realization that all you need to live and be happy is just the things on your back will give me a new apreciation for the little things in life. With near no distractions ill be able to think about myself, who I am, what I really want out of life. And I think that's beautiful. It's an immense physical and mental challenge, and for anyone knows me, I don't like to turn down challenges. These are just a few reasons I want to do it, but there are so many more. And no matter what, it's an experience that will change me as a person for the better and something ill remember and look back on fondly for the rest of my life.Ill stop blabbing on, and most of my entries won't ever be this long, but this is the last post ill make for probably 10 or more days since we're going into the 100-mile wilderness and I think it's good to reflect on why you're doing something, an I want everyone reading to know why too. Here begins Day 1 of an awesome adventure that hopefully I will be strong enough to complete in Georgia! Thanks for following me and hope you enjoy the adventure as much as I do! Cheers!!