Date: 2013-02-08
To: Shock and Awe...
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Good morning dear readers,Some people have known for quite a while about my plans since my decision early last year, though I¢ve only been announcing my plans broadly since December-ish. I¢ve had LOTS of wonderful conversations about the trail and my great adventure, and as so many other hikers before me can relate to, here is my list of the top 10 questions/reactions I've gotten so far when telling people about my trek ¢ it¢s usually been a progression down the list: 1. What does your mother think about this? You¢re going with someone, right?2. Are you going to carry a gun? What about bears?3. What do you eat? Do you carry your food for the entire trip with you? Are there water fountains along the trail? 4. Umm, how do you handle going to the bathroom? (From other women): Umm, how do you deal with that time of the month?! 5. You really WANT to live in the woods for 6 months?6. Where do you sleep? Do you carry a tent? 7. Do you ever shower? You really want to be a dirty, unwashed hippie for 6 months?? 8. Does one pair of boots last the entire trip? How much gear do you carry ¢ around 50 lbs? 9. There¢s a ridiculous amount of planning to do this¢¦.what about your stuff here at home? How do you put your real life on hold for half a year? 10. And you REALLY WANT to do this?! I love all the questions, keep them coming! Hiker dictionary of common terms for those completely new to the hiking culture that you may see in my journal:NOBO: northbound thru-hike, from Georgia to Maine (GAME), typically starting in March-April. This will be me! SOBO: southbound thru-hike, from Maine to Georgia (MEGA), typically starting in June-JulyFlip-flopper: hiker who begins the trail somewhere in the middle, hikes to one end, then ¢flips¢ back to where they started and hikes to the other end 2000-miler: what the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) calls someone who has hiked the entire trail, whether that is a thru-hike (all in 1 year) or a section hike (smaller portions spread across a number of years). If you tell the ATC you¢ve completed the trail, you get a nifty certificate from them! Re-supply / Town stop: the process of going into town every 3-5 (or so) days to buy more food, take a shower, do laundry, maybe sleep in a bed overnightZero Day: day off of the trail to rest and do town chores, when zero miles are hiked. Nero: nearly zero miles hiked on the trail, when a hiker hikes 2-3 miles into or out of townMail drops: supply packages a support person (thanks Mom!) sends to post offices via general delivery or places (i.e. outfitters, motels) I¢ll be visiting during town stops. Trail Angel: a non-hiking person who provides something special to a hiker ¢ i.e. a ride into town, a cold beverage, some cookies, etc.   Trail Magic: What trail angels do! Thanks to everyone who has signed my Guest Book ¢ I¢m still figuring out how to respond to you, but I¢ve truly appreciated your messages! Word of the Day: I¢ve had several people tell me recently that I keep using words they¢ve either never heard of or heard only very seldom ¢ I blame being a bookworm for untold number of years.   I¢m thrilled though, because I was looking for a special personal way to finish off my journal entries, and I think I¢ve hit on a winner!   Gotta keep my vocabulary up, ¢Words With Friends¢ practice of course, even without technology on the trail. So, without further ado....Conundrum - a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun OR an intricate and difficult problem. I encountered a recent conundrum with website technology and was discussing it with my dad yesterday. I consider myself intelligent but not really tech-y, certainly not in any way shape or form an advanced user ¢ example of my still trying to figure the guest book here on TJ. This one really has me scratching my head: I¢ve been trying to pay a credit card bill ¢ my statement balance is $1.98 and I need to pay it before next week.   The card¢s website has a technology circle of death I can¢t get out of: 1) I tried to schedule a payment of less than $5. Okay, I thought to myself, that¢s somewhat reasonable, <$5 is really small. My current balance is actually more than $5 (I jumped up to a whopping $8.49 ¢ I only use this card to pay for online music), so I¢ll just pay the entire balance off. Well, then I got hit with: 2) Upon trying to schedule the payment for the current balance, the website informed me blithely that I couldn¢t pay more than my statement balance.   So¢¦.I can¢t pay the statement balance and I can¢t pay the current balance, so does this mean I don¢t have to pay it at all?? Somehow, I don¢t think that will matter to the bank. Guess I need to actually pick up the phone and try to speak with a living human being instead of a piece of equipment.