Date: 2012-03-01
To: FAQs
Miles today: 0.0

Who are you going with?Myself and about a thousand or two other people who will be trying to hike the whole trail as well. My Uncle Bob and his dog Spirit will start out with me. What are you going to eat?Normal hiking stuff, some pre-packaged freeze dried food, mac n cheese, ramen, Lipton sides/pasta sides, cheese, tortillas, PB, chocolate. I will eat delicious meals in towns and hopefully get some fresh fruits and veggies. I'm bringing a jet boil stove so I will be experimenting with 'freezer bag cooking' along the way. I will resupply in towns every 4-6 days either by buying or having food mailed in advance.Where are you going to sleep?In my tent mostly, but there are shelters every 5, 10, 15 miles or so along the trail which have room to sleep in and campsites around them as well. Most shelters have a water source(creek, stream, etc.) and a privy(outhouse). I will filter my water before drinking it, don't worry. The trail runs through towns and close to towns frequently, so if I want a hot shower in a hotel room, I can do that as well.When are you leaving?My Uncle Bob will drive me down to Uncle Ray's cabin in TN on Monday March 19 and I will begin the Approach Trail the next day.How long will it take?I think it will take me between 5 and 6 months. If I average 15 miles per day, it would take 5 months, if I average 12 miles per day, it would take 6. There will be times where I take off for a day, or even for a few days and then return to the trail. Because of this, I have an extra month cushion just in case.How much is your pack going to weigh?I'm hoping to keep my base weight(total without food and water) under 30 lbs, and I would love to keep it under 25. W/ food and water, my pack will probably weigh close to 40 lbs.Kaitie(my girlfriend) is OK with this?Surprisingly, yes. She has supported me through the entire decision making process and has encouraged me to follow my dream.   Her brother is quite the adventurous type and his trans-atlantic honeymoon in his 35 ft sailboat may have made it easier to accept my adventure. She also knows that if there is ever anything that she wants to do, I will have to let her do it, so it is a win-win situation. It will be very hard to be away from each other for so long, but we have it planned so we should be able to see each other every month or month and a half while I am gone.Didn¢t you just tear your ACL?Not really, but kinda.   I believe I tore my ACL on June 7, 2011 playing volleyball in a league w/ my cousins and friends. The only problem was that it was 4 days before Kaitie and I left for our trip to Europe and the doctor that I saw thought that it was an MCL sprain or something less serious. I hobbled through Sweden and Ireland w/ a leg brace, anti-inflammatory, ice, and either schnapps or Guinness and the trip was fantastic. After the trip I was finally able to get an MRI which revealed that it was in fact a torn ACL. I scheduled surgery for August 26 and had to make sure that the swelling was down beforehand. Since then, I have been very active and consistent with my physical therapy and rehab. Just within the past few weeks, I have transitioned from running to hiking. When I finally loaded up my pack, and took a 4 mile hike on moderate terrain (in West Chester this means mostly flat w/ a couple of hills) I was so happy that my knee felt great both during and after and I knew that I was ready. My surgeon and physical therapist have told me that I would be ready for the past few months, but testing it out definitely increased my confidence. Why?Because I want to and because I can. I hope that¢s not selfish, but if there is something that you want to do and can do, then wouldn¢t you? Maybe the better question would be, Shouldn¢t you?   I have the opportunity of a lifetime and I¢ve made sure that all important parties in my life are comfortable with this decision. I¢ve wanted to do this for a long time and if I didn¢t do this now, I could sit around the rest of my life saying ¢You know, I probably should have hiked the AT back when I was 25¢.