Date: 2008-01-17
To: updates
Miles today: 0.0

A few minor updates:I plan to quit my job on February 29th. While this has been a good job, I am looking forward to leaving. My boss has known since October that I was leaving in the spring, but its nice to be on the home stretch. Ever since my week off from work for the holidays, time has been slowing way down. It's becoming more difficult to concentrate, and the days seem to be going slower. This may also be due to the fact that I reached the $4,000 mark, which was my unofficial budget for the trail. I'm pretty sure I can and will spend less than that, but 4000 was the number I was shooting for. Now that I have that money locked up, there seems to be less motivation to work.Also, I joined Planet Fitness last week, and its good to get the heart going again and to build some leg muscle. I don't exactly have to lose weight, but I do want to get myself in decent shape. Right now I hit up the treadmill walking 3 MPH at the maximum 15 degree incline to work on my calves, and a decent pace on the Stairmaster to work on quads. Perhaps in a few weeks I'll add in my weighted pack. On the educational front, it is time to apply to college again before I go run off into the woods. Blah.It's funny how I update my gear list. Sometimes prospective thru hikers, including myself, deliberate for hours which piece of gear will work better, and sometimes things just work themselves out. A few days ago, my Ipod stopped working. The screen just turned blank, and wouldn't turn back on. I tried to reset it, used the USB cable to try to "jump" it, all to no avail. Since it was on my gear list, I thought about A) if it would be OK to go on my hike and B) what would happen if it wasn't OK.A) Since I'm writing this a few days after this happened, I now know that my Ipod magically came back on after a few days¢¦maybe it needed a break.B) Nothing bad would happen at all.At least for the start, I think an Ipod would distract me. First, it will be cold. Ipods, and other electronics don't do well in cold. Second, I'm pretty sure I'll have more important things to do, such as not falling and meeting other people. It's one less thing to worry about and one less thing to carry (actually 2 if you count the charger).Also, I'm adding another thermal layer. I know Georgia winters pale in comparison to New England, but at elevation, anything is possible. I have been testing my 13 oz Men's Large Patagonia R2 Fleece Pullover all winter, and it just isn't warm enough. The wind rips through it and I wont have faith in it if the temp drops below 15. So, in addition to my R2, I am adding an 11 oz Mens Large (Tall) LL Bean Fitness Fleece, which is an awesome value at $20. Also, the fitness fleece is a pretty light fleece, and will provide a good layer to wear while hiking if the temp drops. At night, I'll add my R2 for extra warmth. I know this is 24 oz of thermals, which is out of proportion for my pack weight, but a down jacket is too warm to hike in, and the good ones are pretty darn expensive. Also, I'll be able to send one fleece home after Mt. Rogers, instead of carrying a down jacket as my thermal layer the whole way.I booked my flight too. I will fly from Boston to Atlanta on Saturday, March 1st (yes that's 1 day after I quit my job) and chill with my friend who will be finishing up his last semester at Emory University, in Atlanta (Congrats). I'll hang out with him for his birthday (March 2 nd), probably do a little sightseeing on Monday, buy fuel (since its not a great idea to fly with pressurized fuel canisters), and hit the trail March 4th. I'm not sure if I'll be doing the approach trail; it will depend on my friend's class schedule.Tick¢¦tock¢¦tick¢¦tock¢¦7 weeks to go