Date: 2008-03-02
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Miles today: 0.0

Well, here goes, my first entry on Trailjournals.com. I am still not sure how comfortable I am going to be sharing my thoughts and experiences this year on the AT. I have kept many handwritten journals before, but they have been just for me. So this is something new. To start, I guess a short introduction is in order. I am 51 years of age, and just recently left the employ of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after 28 years of service. I know, I know, I am kind of young to be retired. I hear it all the time. But I was working in an enforcement role and they were systematically downsizing our case load and staffing levels (Translation: The Bush Administration did not want us to prosecute anybody for hurting the environment). In short, they made me an offer I could not refuse. So here I am with the opportunity to fulfill a dream that I have had for the past 30 years, hike the AT end to end. Hence, my trail name of Rewind. My opportunity to fulfill a promise I made to myself back in my early 20s. Going back in time. My goal this year is to do half the trail, from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Harpers Ferry, WV, then complete the rest next year in 2009. I believe in taking your time and smelling the flowers. I will start at Springer on May 1st, and hopefully reach Harpers Ferry around mid-July. The distance of this years hike is a little over 1000 miles. I have been a dedicated hiker since my early teenage years. When I was in high school, I went to one of those summer camps and failed the swim test. Consequently, I was not allowed to go on the camp canoe trip. I was very disappointed at the time. Learning how to swim was very important to me because I almost drowned when I was a toddler. My mother found me in a pool unconscious (Yes, family and friends, that does explain a lot). Anyway, I did learn how to swim by the end of camp. And, me and the rest of the swim flunkies who weren't allowed to go on the canoe trip went instead on an AT hike near Sunfish Pond in New Jersey. Turned out to be the beginning of a long love affair with backpacking. Since then I have hiked many sections of the AT, sections in each state it passes through with the exception of Georgia and Maine. I have also hiked 450 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington. So, I am not exactly a novice at this, but really my success will depend on adjusting physically to the rigors of the trail during the first few weeks, and then to cope with the mental challenge of hiking up and over mountains day after day after day.My conditioning is pretty good. I am a runner, and plan on upping and tailoring the workouts in preparation for my hike. I am currently agonizing over every last ounce of weight in my backpack. The current status is 21.5 pounds without the food and water. Not bad, considering I carried 45 to 50 pounds of weight on the PCT (Then again, I was 22 years old at the time).So, I am anxiously making the final arrangements for this trip of a lifetime. And to those who think I am crazy, I close with a quote from Mark Twain.... "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."