Date: 2023-05-10
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Miles today: 0.0

Sunday, May 21, I¢m starting my hike of the 2,198 mile Appalachian Trail. This site will act as on my online journal. I can tell you where I am and what I¢ve been doing and upload photos along the way.I purposely did not tell many people about my plans. I didn¢t want to make this big thing of it, then decide not to go. Then, as departure day approached, I didn¢t want to detract from Phil¢s illness and funeral service. I didn¢t want the girls distracted from their studies and I didn¢t want to deflect attention from the softball team and toward myself. I¢m sorry if anyone feels let down by that.Hiking the AT really captivated my imagination ever since I first read about the existence of the Trail as a teenager, probably in a Reader¢s Digest. I was amazed by this hiking path that ran the length of the Appalachians, often right through or next to, towns. It seemed exotic and far away and something I¢d probably never see.I also recalled vividly the story of the guy who did a ¢Walk Across America¢, a fair portion of which turned out to be along the AT. His trip was featured twice in National Geographic in the mid-70s. It was a very compelling story that turned into a book and a franchise (¢Walk Across Europe¢) even though I¢m pretty sure this guy was not only the world¢s worst writer; he might also be the world¢s biggest liar. NG apparently never bothered to do much fact-checking on that tall tale.Still, the idea never left me and I¢ve since read a number of better books about hiking the AT in the last decade or so. I finally decided I need to do this, but as you can imagine, a 6-month hike is a bit hard to schedule what with a job, softball (girls and me), a divorce, nobody to watch the girls (or the dogs), a lawn that needs mowing, etc., etc. All the usual daily stuff that keeps us saying ¢yeah, someday...¢ So, I kept putting it off even though I knew if I waited too long, I might not be able to physically manage it. At the least, I¢d have to wait for Paige and Amy to graduate high school. And now they have.It still seemed like a long shot, then I lost my job in September and I knew this was it, now or never. I retired from softball coaching, clearing out my spring and summer. All that was left was the actual, conscious decision to really do it, which still took a couple of months to make. In fact, I didn¢t really, finally commit until about a month ago.  There are a number of ways to make the hike. The traditional method, and what I¢d prefer, is to depart from Springer Mountain, GA in late March or April and walk north to Mt. Katahdin, ME over the course of five months or so. Most hikers do it that way, moving north as the weather warms, hopefully reaching Maine before the north end of the trail closes for the winter. A big problem, and one reason I decided not to do it this way, is tons of hikers start north over a couple of short weeks in the spring. They call it the ¢bubble¢. The pack eventually thins out, but until then, you are competing for shelter space and sometimes walking in a crowd.A few hardy types start in Maine and head south. That¢s really tough due to terrain, weather and black flies and, although I admit to being intrigued by the novelty of a reverse hike, I know my limitations.Section hikers complete stretches of the trail over time, eventually hiking the whole thing over a period of years. One guy took 21 years to finish the AT, basically a week at a time. I considered doing this, trying out a week or two just to see if I was really cut out for it, maybe giving myself the option to just keep going if it all went well. But not completing the trail in a single calendar year is less than a true thru-hike.Since I had decided to wait for the kids to come home from college anyway, I ended up unretiring to coach a spring softball team with the idea that I could head to Georgia at the end of April, but business obligations and Phil¢s funeral ruled that out. Eventually pushed back to a mid-May start, I¢ve opted for a flip-flop hike, starting at the traditional midpoint of Harper¢s Ferry, WV, then hiking north to Maine, where I¢ll flip-flop back to Harper¢s Ferry and hike south to Springer Mountain.The advantages are obvious. It works with my schedule. I¢ll have the most favorable weather for the north end of the hike, especially the dangerous stretch through the White Mountains, which I should hit in early July. I should complete the northern leg by early August and finish in Georgia by mid-Oct, avoiding the worst of the summer heat. I¢ll be ahead of most of the northbound hikers going north, and they¢ll be past me when I turn around to go south. The trail north of Harper¢s Ferry is pretty easy, at least until you get to northern PA, so that gives me time to condition.I¢m well aware even if I make it to Maine, it will be very difficult to resume my hike in WV. The kids will be headed back to school and I don¢t know who can watch the dogs. It will be very easy to just say, that¢s enough, but I will be disappointed all the same. That¢s a major drawback of the flip-flop. I suppose I could do the southern end next year, but that isn¢t a true thru-hike. I guess I should try to survive the first week or so before I worry too much about that.The amount of planning I¢ve put into this is hard to believe. I spent several weeks evaluating, reading reviews and help guides, and trying stuff out. Even with the best lightweight gear I could find my pack weight is probably going to be over 25 lbs, I was hoping for closer to 20. That might not sound like much, but it feels like 40. I spent $400 on a sleeping bag that weighs less than a pound and $600 on a tarp and hammock that weigh almost three pounds. A $300 lightweight pack weighs two pounds. Three days of food and a 2 L of water, that¢s 13 pounds, including the bear canister. Spare clothes, rain gear, a stove, various camping stuff, a phone, toiletries, it really adds up.Several people asked if I will carry a gun. My lightest option is a five-shot 38 revolver that weighs about a pound, loaded. I¢m more worried about two-legged varmints than bears, but as a practical matter, carrying a pistol is tough. Many states, basically North Carolina through Massachusetts, prohibit pistol carry without a permit. And to reach Harper¢s Ferry, I probably have to fly into Wash DC or Baltimore, neither of which is known for firearms tolerance, so I¢m not sure how I¢d get a pistol to the trail in the first place. I don¢t like it, but I may have to hike naked.I plotted the route and know where I can stop for supplies and a rest. I estimate I can spend about 27 of 73 nights on the northern leg in a hotel or hostel. 42 nights can be in or near a shelter and 4 nights I¢m in the open. Most hikers rest one day a week or so, that means 80 days to Maine. I practiced with my gear. I slept on the floor with my pad and sleeping quilt (my back got sore). Tried out the stove, figured out how to fit everything in the pack and I did a 10-mile test hike in Sam Houston Forest.  The bills are on autopay, I canceled the TV cable and I told my client I'm going to be busy for several weeks.I don¢t really know if I can do any of it. I told myself, no matter what happens, I will give it two weeks. Maybe I¢ll end up hating it so much, I¢ll pull the plug. Or I could get injured, a sprained ankle, infected blisters, Lyme disease or sore knees and hips that keep me from continuing. But if I don¢t do it now, I¢m might never, so here goes.