Date: 2006-09-07
From: Glencliff, NH

To: Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 0.0

Hello!!!! I've been gone a month, but my foot is doing much better....not 100% yet, but lots better than it was. Well, I'm leaving my little home here in the North Georgia mountains tomorrow morning and heading up to Roanoke, Va to meet my friend, Hokey Pokey. I had originally thought I would be back to Glencliff, NH around the first of September to restart this on and off walk I'm having this year, but when I got home, I had an email from Hokey Pokey asking me a few questions about the White Mountains since I had just walked through there. He said he was going up to NH and walking through the Whites about a week into September. When I emailed back, I asked if there might be just a little extra room for a small hiker and his small backpack to ride along. :-))) He said there was and he'd be glad to have the company. The time is almost here for that ride which works out very well for me because Hokey Pokey also said I can leave my truck at his house until I walk back to it. His house is only 20 miles from where I'll finish the Trail.   I'm always amazed at just how well things work out on the Trail!! I spent all day yesterday going through my backpack and bounce box, making sure I have most everything I'll need. I've added a few new things to carry on the Trail and will talk about those as I see how they are working out for me.....and I'm not taking a few things that I usually carry......and they are biggies!!!   I've thought about my cookpot and stove for a long time and realize that if it wasn't for being addicted to Starbuck's coffee, I wouldn't even carry the cookpot and stove. Well............I've decided to go cold turkey!!!!   NO COFFEE. :-((( I know that the people that know me are probably thinking to themselves right now that I've probably only got a .0000000001% chance of surviving this thing, but I'll take those odds. (big talk from me while I'm sitting here in my recliner enjoying my Starbuck's this morning while I'm writing this) By not drinking coffee on the Trail, I won't be carrying my cookpot, stove, windscreen, fuel and fuel bottle, Dunkin Donuts coffee mug with the handle on it (gotta have a handle on a mug to drink coffee the right way), Mug Mate coffee filter and the coffee itself!!! That's a bunch of stuff I won't have to deal with on the Trail!! I won't miss the stove for cooking because I prefer cold meals when I'm walking anyway. I will be carrying Jolt caffeine gum until I'm weaned off the coffee.........I bought a whole case!! :-))) Can't wait to wake up in my tent that first morning back on the Trail and have my Jolt caffeine gum..............ought to be an interesting morning. Ha!!! :-))) Anyway, back to my ride. Hokey Pokey and I'll be leaving his house about 1am Saturday morning, the 9th and driving to Hartford, Ct, picking up his hiking partner, Kerosene, who is flying into Hartford Friday night. We'll then drive up to Glencliff, NH and I'm hoping I'll start walking by 2pm Saturday. If I'm too tired, I'll stay at the hostel and leave Sunday morning. I'm pretty sure I'll be wanting to sleep in the woods Saturday night though. I've checked out the weather forecast and it looks like I'm in for 60's daytime and 40's at night.....perfect!!! I'll bet the leaves are starting to put on their show too. I remember walking South in that area one year in the beginning of October and I was just past prime leaf season, so I should have the timing down pretty good to walk with the changing leaves for a while. I'm also going to resist playing that dangerous leaf catching game, even though I always win. ;-))) I'm not in great shape for walking, but I have tried to walk about 3 to 8 miles most days that I've been home, so I'm planning on going slow for now and testing my heal out to see how the plantar fasciitis is going to respond to the extra weight. I just checked and see that I still have 1,081.6 miles left to finish the AT this year.....piece of cake. ;-))) I'm hoping the only time I leave the Trail will be for a few days at The Gathering in WV around the middle of October. I should be close enough by then to get a ride from the Trail to attend the 25th Gathering!!! I'll call Hammock Hanger   http://www.trailjournals.com/hammockhangerFT05/ later today to see if she can still post my journal entries for me. She always does so much better than my OLD transcriber, Jan Liteshoe http://www.oldanddecrepidhasbeenhiker      Mrs Moosie also transcribed for me one time and did a very good job, not like Jan Liteshoe at www.can'tgetoutoftherockingchairanymore I'll also try and post photos when I can, but not sure how that will all work out yet. I'm planning on bouncing my laptop, so it just might work. WOOHOO!!!!!   I'm going for a walk!!!!   :-)))