Date: 2006-01-05
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Miles today: 0.0

Anyone with a backpack at the YMCA carries a change of clothes, a radio, water perhaps, or if they are students, a bag full of school books. Here I am with a Vapor Trail weighing 30 lbs strapped to my back. I really thought I would feel awkward when I started going to the gym with my fully loaded pack. I don't. It's the exact opposite. I feel like a rock star. Yes, I get strange looks from people. People ask me why I have it on. Owen almost fell over laughing at the site of me. However, it doesn't begin to make me feel self-conscious. I'm preparing to walk from Georgia to Maine! Many people haven't driven that far! It's as though I carry an aura of self confidence because I'm proud of what I'm doing. It's a great adventure that most wouldn't imagine embarking upon.      We plan on finishing the trail in early August or late July. That is my answer when people ask me how long it will take. To some, that's my only response. They ask me, "do you really think you'll make it the whole way?" Of course, I answer, "yes". There's no other way to answer. If you don't have the confidence that you can complete the trail, there's no purpose in starting a thru-hike. That same question will face me every hour of every day of every week on the trail. When I'm exhausted, cold, and hungry that same question will be even more menacing . If you even hope to maintain optomism in situations like that, you better well have it while in the comforts of your own home. Yes, I will complete the trail. I completed my cross country bicycle ride without ever doubting it.      Statistically speaking:   20% quit the first week   25% don't make it to the next state, North Carolina   50% don't make it through central Virginia (1/3 the distance)   10% make it all the way to Katahdin   Yes, I know this does not add up to 100%   In reality though, there are many factors that could bring my trip to a screaming halt. Hikers get hit by cars, get struck by lightning, break ankles, and catch some of the many diseases associated with the wilderness. I'm realistic about these potential problems, but they do not reduce my optomistic attitude about the trip. There are an infinite number of life altering and life threatening problems that can face you just by getting out of bed, but I still do each morning.      While riding my bike two summers ago we discussed what it would take to pack the bike up and take a bus home. I decided it wasn't an option. I thought I'd deal with 4,100 miles of torture just to say I didn't give up. Others however, gave a different response. They said they'd give up if it stopped being fun. These are two stark differences in opinion. It was an interesting thought at the time, because it hadn't occurred to me. Why spend even a portion of your life doing something you don't enjoy for the mere sake of perseverence? Should people keep the a job they hate because they refuse to quit? When we finally came to the Maine border on our bike trip, we crossed a man finishing his trip two days hence. His bike weighed 100 lbs (ours were 20) and he said he hated every day of his cross country trip. He kept going out of sheer determination. I pitied the man. The previous two months were the best of my life, but his were wasted. I won't allow myself to turn into that poor fellow.    As long as I appreciate life while I'm hiking, I'll be just fine.