Date: 2017-06-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

From the previous page to now eleven months have passed and I am getting ready to pick up where I left off last year. My return hasn't been certain at all.  Last July my wife Yvonne suffered through a pulmonary embolism, a dangerous blood clotting in the lungs. She is a very strong person however and recovered well.  On March 21, she underwent a total knee replacement and I was her total caregiver for a month. I have new respect for anyone who cares for the sick.  Again, she seemed to progress very fast. I did not make the decision to resume my hike until mid April, but as of now, it's a go. This year will be my fourth of four sections to hike the entire 2189.8 miles of the AT. I've already covered 1700.8 miles in 2014, '15, and '16 in roughly equal quarters. This year will be the capstone of my hike as I start in Rutland Vermont and aim for the grand prize at Mt. Katahdin in Maine.  In each of the past three years I didn't think the trail was overly difficult.  However I am apprehensive about the terrain in New Hampshire and Maine. I've heard this will be the most difficult section of the trail.  The steepness of the mountains typically cuts daily mileage for hikers to a third. I've had to rethink my clothing for the White Mountains with potentially the worst weather in the world. I looked up the temperature records for Mt. Washington for July and August for the last three years, and the temperature never rose above 64 degrees and winds averaged 40 mph during the day.  I've thought more of the threat of Lyme Disease that ticks carry, and now they carry an additional threat with the Powassen Virus, which has no known cure.  I've changed the amount of food I carry by increasing the number of food resupply drops.  Dealing with all these concerns supposedly reduces my apprehension, but I suppose that is part of the allure.  Many other hikers successfully hike this trail, and I believe I will as well. This year I've put more effort into pre-hike training.  I drive daily to the Sandusky Perkins High School stadium, which has a very high set of bleachers, 54 steps to the top. I have a large backpack (not the one I carry on the trail) loaded with several books, a concrete block, and a large 24" iron pipe wrench, a total of 38 pounds. With this pack, I walk the steps repeatedly, working the leg muscles as well as cardio workout.  I go up the 54 steps, right foot up, feet together, all the way up, then back down sequentially.  Then left foot up, feet together, all the way up then down again sequentially.  Going up twice, once on the right foot and once on the left, I count as one complete set.  My goal each day is to add one set.  I am now at 14 sets.  Hopefully I'll have some ready trail legs. For two months now I've prepared my food boxes, twelve in all, sending out the last one this morning.  Some drops are only two days apart.  Most hikers buy food on the trail, but I can eat better by preparing my own meals, which are more hearty than store meals, and a whole lot less sodium/preservatives.  I believe I'm as ready as I can get.  Ive bought my Amtrak ticket for June 21st, for the 4:12am train to Rutland VT.   I don't do these hikes just to check off a bucket list, nor to take part in a hobby.  They are, rather, a means that allows me to thoroughly examine myself without the usual daily influences, routines, distractions, and the normal supports such as a roof over head.  It is more a retreat, drawing closer to God, and when that happens, I become more aware of my own failings. My main daily concern is where will I lay my head tonight and where can I find water.  That said it is all very joyful an am looking forward to sharing it with everyone.