To: Snoopy's Adventures
Miles today: 0.0

So I have all of my gear together and calculated everything down to the last gram and decided "It's Time to Post." So here I am   %)My name is Mary Faith Hope Phillips. I live by myself with my pups in Ocala, Florida, just down the road from John Travolta and I am MOST excited about hiking the AT. Like many, many others I have dreamed about this experience for many years before having the chance to put the dream into reality. And everything fell into place this March of 2010 with the passing of my last family member, my father, Frederick.For the first time since I was 19, I no longer have anyone that I have to care for. Various husbands have fallen to the wayside, my two wonderful daughters are grown and on their own, both of my parents are deceased, my father this past March and my only brother, Stephen, bless his heart, is also in the Lord's hands.And so, I am here with just my chihuahua's and it came to me in the middle of the night, not long after my fathers funeral as I pondered my life and wondered what grievous mistake to do next when it came to me that I now have the blessed opportunity to take the next six months and hike this trail. You know how it is; you either have the time or the money but never both. Well, I have a wee bit left of money and all the time in the world. Other than my house, I am debt free, I am in pretty good health and I have no connections here at home that will pull me from the trail. Nope, won't miss no one.I live in a small community just north of Ocala, Florida in the heart of horse country. I have dreamed, planned and read about the AT for more than 20 years. Sometimes things just come together, such as now, and I have this wonderful opportunity to fulfill something for myself. How lucky is that !Having lived the past 15 years through a series of blunders, extremely poor choices, and just bad judgement, I am off for my next adventure ~~~ solo.   Oh, I have actually hiked the AT numerous times; through all the books, the journals, the dvd's. Of course, I've also won more than 40 cars on the Price is Right over the years, but nary a one sits in my pasture. So, this AT will be both brand new and like an old friend.I fly out of Orlando June 13th to Reagan National Airport to take the Metro over to Union Station to take the Amtrak over to Harper's Ferry to begin a flip flop. June 13th is also the feast day of St Anthony of Padua, patrol saint of lost articles, oppressed people, against starvation and amputees. I'm hoping to be covered for at least the first three and praying never for the last.Why a flip flop? Well let me begin that a flip flop is harder, logistically speaking. It would be much easier for me to just start at one end and work my way up or down but because I came to the decision to hike so late in the season, this seemed to be the more logical choice. I have read enough about southbound hikes to know that I would be in way over my head as far as expertise and ability. I know myself well enough to understand that starting in Maine would be a quick end to all of my dreams. So, Harper's Ferry it is for me. Easy transportation to get there, have booked a bunk at a local hostel and the trail starts " Ta Da " right there in town. So, north I go, summit Katahdin, come back down to Harper's Ferry and begin the trip south. For those who think that my summit will be blah because I'm only half done, for me, it is the daily adventure more than the completion. I refuse to have the "hiker ego" that makes the milage the most important thing. I have carefully planned a slow but saucy jaunt to Maine that will keep me from blowing out my knees and help me to appreciate all that surrounds me. I am trying to follow the Nimblewill Nomad way of the trail ~ to love, learn, ask and accept.This seems to be a fairly good start to the journal. I am quite excited over all of this. I have read so many fascinating entry's on this wonderful website, always hoping that one day I would be a part of the thousands. And here I am ~~~