Date: 2018-02-08
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Miles today: 0.0

In 2011 I was able to fulfill one of my lifelong dreams of completing a thru-hike of the AT. I was able to accomplish the hike in no small part thanks to my wife. She was at home supporting me, caring for our youngest son who was still at home, and generally keeping the home front running. When I finished, the more we talked about the hike and what a life changing adventure it was, the more she thought she would like to attempt one when the time was right.Fast forward seven years, we are both retired, our two sons aren't living at home, and the time is right. Well let's just say it's about as right as it will ever be. We thought we would hike two years ago but that was squashed when we bought a piece of land and undertook the task of building a new house. That project has taken us over two years and we still aren't totally finished. We are settled in enough though, so this is going to be the year. Our plane tickets are purchased, we registered with the ATC, we have a shuttle lined up to take us to Amicalola Park, and we should be on our way on the 6th of March. We will start our hike on the 7th from the fallsOur gear is mostly set, but I'm sure we will continue to tweak some small things right up until we leave. The hard part has been getting out to do a lot of training as the weather has been kind of nasty of late and we have been trying to get the house all buttoned up. Of course, as our departure date nears every little ache and pain is magnified. My wife has hip and back pain that she is constantly stretching. I'm dealing with hamstring pain and a pain on the outside of my foot. The hamstring pain is mostly brought on by my running, and I've dealt with it since before my last thru-hike seven years ago. It didn't bother me once I got started hiking so I'm hoping all the little ailments will get better once we get going and get the kinks out. My wife reminds me that when we first started discussing this adventure, I promised we would take our time and start out slow with no big miles. Well the other day I started mentioning where we would be on our first couple of days, when I was reminded again that I was being too ambitious. She is right of course. I tend to be to very competitive. But, I'm seven years older and dealt with knee pain and shin splints on my first hike because I pushed it too much early on. Hopefully she will rein me in, and if not, I'm sure I'll be reminded in the guestbook if she starts complaining about the mileage in our journalMuch like my last hike we plan to make a journal entry everyday as we hike. Keeping a journal about who I was with, what I saw, and how I felt, was one of the best things I did on my last hike. My brother took my journal and made it into a hard-covered book which I often refer to to remind myself where I was, or who I was with at certain times. Truth be told, many times I pick it up and start reading, and the memories come flooding back and I relive the hike all over again. My wife also made a hard-covered book of many of the photos I took on the trailI guess it is time to go. We'll add a few more entries before we head out, maybe cover some of our gear, or our hike of the foothills trail this past spring. I'll get my wife Mary to make some entries as she is a much better writer.Feel free to sign the guestbook or look over my journal from 2011.Thanks for reading Alan "Earl Grey" and Mary