Date: 2010-01-28
From: Home

To: Troutville, Virginia (Spring 2010)
Miles today: 0.0

Fraser FirSection HikerAppalachian TrailGeorgia to MaineSpring 2010Starting Point: Poor Mountain RoadFinal Destination: Troutville, VirginiaI started hiking on the Appalachian Trail in 2001 or so. I suppose that I started to consider myself a ¢section hiker¢ in 2004. Steve Sears, one of my roommates at the University of Georgia introduced me to the trail back in 1997. We drove from Athens to the Chattahoochee National Forest and parked our car somewhere near Neals Gap. I remember being a heavy drinker and being terribly out of shape. We climbed straight up hill for what seemed like forever and then we turned around and headed back. He drove very fast and it is one of the only times in my life that I was so car sick that my legs ¢tingled¢. Hwy 19 is one crazy winding road!Steve and I were roommates and roommates sometimes tend to share things. I may have grabbed a shirt from him if all of my laundry was dirty. He may have grabbed a sandwich from me if he was broke and out of food. Well, I ended up with a book of his that I still have to this day, ¢Hiking in Georgia¢. I think he knows that I still have his book!What happened is that after Stephanie and I got established in Gainesville, Georgia, I realized that we really did not live all too far from the mountains. One day, I grabbed Steve¢s book and started to thumb through it and I started doing hikes all over Northwest and Northeast Georgia. I will never forget my first climb up Blood Mountain with Winzer! Talk about excitement!Unintentionally, I started day hiking the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. This unconsciously took years. A tremendous amount of in and out hikes, etc..I bought the AT strip maps for Georgia and the lower portion of North Carolina. As I polished off Georgia, I started to delve into North Carolina. I was in awe when I went to Siler Bald and Wayah Bald for the first time.I was in tears the first time that I went to Roan Mountain and Grassy Ridge.Section hiking the trail became this big secret. When I looked at it as a 2,200 mile trek, it was really big. "David, you aren't really going to try and hike this whole thing?" They would say or "You have kids and a job, when do you plan on doing this?" Slowly but surely, I have been blessed with the opportunity to hike the first almost six hundred miles of the trail with a few small pockets of less than thirty miles to cover.It is my intention and desire to finish. I plan to continue north ward and attempt to do as many miles in one trip as possible with the work thing going on in the background. My family has been totally one hundred percent supportive of my endeavor.Especially this year- since I will go in May instead of February!!Last year was a huge disappointment because I allowed myself to get terribly out of shape. In addition, I went out there in February and the weather kicked my butt. I am continuing my work out regiment on a weekly basis and I will start to plan/pack meals here very soon.When I first started journaling (thanks to Andy Brown aka "Rowboat", I talked the big talk of doing the whole Triple Crown and all that good stuff.I guess with age, I realize that I want to focus on the here and now. The AT is the here and now. Those others may just have to wait.As I mentioned yesterday, I hope and pray to make it to Pennsylvania by 2012 or so. That is kinda the hear and now is it not? That would put Bryson, my oldest son at six to seven years of age. That would be the first time that we would ¢hook up¢ and go north together. If he so desires, we will always go back and do the southern half in entirety.I am so excited! I can hardly wait!