Date: 2004-03-13
To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I seem to be entering the final stages of the prep for my little trip up the mountains. Last week, I visited my Indiana family and had a great time as always. When I go back to my hometown and family, it seems like everyone is always the same, with only minor changes. People get older, married, grow up, and some leave, but there is comfort knowing that there is a stability out there and that you are always welcome back. Much of the discussion over the 5 days was about the AT and all the preparations that I was making for it. We went over the maps and put together a general time schedule and probable mail drops. Some of the family may even meet me on the trail and so we have some tentative plans for that. Below is listed what we thought was most likely places and dates where I'll be going into towns that have post offices. The arrival dates are subject to change of course due to weather, injuries, and how ambitious I become.I thought it was appropriate to me to start on April Fools Day since fool may be one of the best descriptions used for those who start this journey. Here then are the tentative dates of the towns I plan to go into to pick up mail and packages. >Town  Estimated Arrival Date  Miles from Springer<Springer   April 1        0Fontana Dam, N.C. 28733                April 12                        161.7Hot Springs, N.C. 28743                April 19                        270.2Roan Mountain, Tn. 37687        April 26                        384.9Damascus, Va.        24236                May 1                                455.1Pearisburg, Va. 24134                May 12                              617.4Waynesboro, Va. 22980                May 28                              841.2Harpers Ferry, W. Va. 25425        June 10                              1004Duncannon, Pa. 17020                June 15                              1127.5Delaware Water Gap, Pa. 17020        June 28                              1273.9Bear Mountain, N.Y. 10911        July 6                                1383.1Kent, Conn. 06757                July 9                                1447.4Dalton, Mass. 01226                July 18                              1540.7Hanover, N.H.        03755                July 30                              1726.2Gorham, N.H. 03581                August 10                        1870.2Monson, Maine 04464                August 22                        2050.3Mt. Katahdin, Maine                 September 4                        2172So if anyone wants to send me a note along the way as to how things are going these are the addresses and best guess dates for my passing thru. You would mail it to me and then marked General Delivery, Town, State, ZIP Code and put "Please hold for A.T. hiker" in a corner. They recommend that you allow 10 to 14 days for the mail to get there because that would allow some the natural delays that happen and if I should get there before planned. These dates are based on a total average of 15 or 16 miles per day and there is no way of knowing the real time it will take.I hope to hitch a ride to Springer Mountain with good friends Skip and Carol Mountain. We'll spend the night of Monday March 29th at their cabin just below Atlanta and go to Dahlonega for the night of the 30th. I plan to get to the falls by late morning, sign in at the welcome center, and hike to the top of the mountain to start at the first 2x6 inch white blaze at the hiker's monument on April 1st. Those white blazes are on trees, signs, and rocks that mark the trail in both directions from Georgia to Maine. You're in trouble if you miss one of the blazes and go in the wrong direction and run the risk of getting lost. So you backtrack until you again find the trail and start watching more carefully. The real problem comes when you hike at night or during a snowstorm and everything becomes white. Those are problems yet to come. I still have a lot to do to get ready.Quest