Date: 2013-02-28
From: Hamilton Square, NJ

To: Atlanta, GA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

(In which things really get going)I write this from a railcar on Amtrak's Crescent train service. I boarded in Trenton at 1518 and I will find myself in Atlanta at 0813 tomorrow. Also, I will be using 24-hour time for clarity. Trust me, it's good for you. You can thank me when you go to Europe or most other places.At this point I am well past what many would regard the physical point of no return. There are many tangible points that I have passed that I could have called the point of no return. I could have called my first journal entry announcing my 2013 northbound ambitions the point of no return. It could have been when I started investing the equipment I would need, or later when I submitted my two weeks' notice at work. It could be this afternoon when I boarded the train, or it could be when I find myself departing for Springer Mountain on Saturday, or it could be at Neels Gap a couple days later.I am not sure where the point of no return really is, but I know it exists in my mind and was no tangible thing. Maybe it just never existed - since the idea of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail entered my head, it never once felt less than right. This is just something I feel like I have to do. Whether it is destiny or something more mundane, I feel like I have to do this. I am faithful and cautiously optimistic that I will see 2,200 miles of walking and the top of Katahdin by the beginning of October.The last dance until the next danceLast night was my last dance at any of my home dancers for a while. While New Jersey is not my favourite place, Trenton has been a great hub for dancing a few nights a week. I will miss my Princeton, Glenside, and other dance communities around here. If I knew that Perpetual e-Motion was playing a dance this Sunday, I would have postponed my start date!While I am done dancing at home for a little while, I am by no means relaxing my attempts to dance as often as possible. Tomorrow night is a dance in Atlanta - by far the furthest from home I will have danced! I hope to make the Sautee, Georgia dance on Tuesday too. It will be interesting to see what energy I have available for dancing after walking almost 40 miles.So far, there is plenty of certain dancing queued up. The last weekend of March is Appalachian Spring in Elk Park, North Carolina. The first weekend of May is Whitewater Whirl in southern West Virginia. Memorial Day weekend is Almost Heaven in northern West Virginia. There will be a few zero days structured around dancing (and lots of eating) at home. I am taking an entire week off the Trail at the end of August for American Week at Pinewoods in Massachusetts, followed immediately by Dawn Dance in Brattleboro, Vermont. Once I finish the Trail I will hang around in Maine for the Contra Colours weekend the first weekend of October.Unremarkably little to say about the trainWell, I suppose there is not much to say about the train ride itself. Now I will see how successfully I can sleep here. I noticed that I could definitely set up my hammock through the aisle, securing it to the luggage racks. I think I have enough sense to not try that, fortunately.Peace,