Date: 2013-08-07
To: My Plans For Hiking The A.T.
Miles today: 0.0

I don't have many plans for hiking the A.T., but #1 on the list is to be as safe and as free from injury as possible! I have had several injuries over the last four years that would have been "show stoppers", had I been actually hiking the trail. I injured my Achilles heel tendon; that took about six months of doctors and therapy to correct, and several years ago, I became severely dehydrated and ended up in the hospital with an IV in my arm. Most recently I had several bouts of an eye conditon called Uveitis. (An eye irritation that has not flared up since I retired) But I have learned from all of these injuries and have taken steps to keep them from reoccurring again. First I plan on hiking the Approach Trail (8.8 miles) from Amicalola Falls State Park to the top of Springer Mountain on Friday February 28th 2014 with my wife. We will spend one final evening together before I start the A.T. The next day March 1st, we will go back to the starting point on Springer Mountain, take a few pictures, sign the trail register, hug, kiss, and cry a little bit, and I'll start on my journey north. At the parking lot down the mountain we will say our final goodbye.For one or two weeks I will keep the daily mileage to about ten miles per day and gradually increase the mileage to an average of fifteen to eighteen miles per day. My backpacking trips have taught me that I prefer to hike all day and set up in the evening wherever I may be (stealth camping). I am not opposed to being near shelters, and if at the end of the day that's where I am then that's where I will stay. At certain places like the Great Smoky Mountain National Park it's a requirement to stay in shelters. All of my plans are flexible and can be modified as I go along. I plan to resupply for food every three to five days and stay someplace with laundry services, and a hot shower, and all you can eat about once a week. When my wife comes to visit I will take two days off to be with her, when my children, friends or relatives visit they will have to be able to "hit the ground hiking". Because I have such a large family, I have to stick to these rules or I would never get to Katahdin. The truth is that when my children come to hike with me, I will be the one trying to keep up with them because they are all in such great shape. I will not have any mail drops, nor am I hydrating any food and sending it ahead. Everything I will need I will find along the trail: outfitters, food, showers, laundry services, etc. My wife Nancy, will probably visit me along the trail about every 400 to 500 miles, wherever I may be, to exchange clothing and gear as the seasons change. I will have AWOL'S latest Northbound (2014) A.T. Guide book, one for me and one for my wife so she can follow me every step of the way. I have many friends and family members who want to follow me on Trail Journals.com so I will do my best to keep the journals as interesting as I can, and I hope to do one every day with a picture. No definite dates yet, but family and friends have expressed interest in hiking with me at various points along this fantastic trail from Georgia To Maine.