Date: 2012-03-25
To: 2nd Prep entry for 2012 thru-hike
Miles today: 0.0

Writing a second 2012 Thru-Hike prep....   starting end of March 2012My last thru-hike prep entry for a 2012 thru-hike was written 11 months ago after medical issues kept me from hiking in 2011 and 2010. You should have read the previous 2 "prep" entries explaining the problems I experienced keeping me from the trail in 2010 as well as 2011. In my 2008 and 2009 journals I had recommended you read the "first" and "last" pages of my 2000 Appalachian Trail journal to see how I came to this place in my life. Now I would recommend you also read the "first" and "last" page of my 2008 journal and the "first" page of my 2009 journal. I have misplaced the last few pages of my journal for 2009 so haven't updated the end of that journal. I've made reference in my "2010 Thru-Hike prep" about having to cut short my 2009 hike due to another family emergency back home.So once again I sit here planning the thru-hike I've dreamed of since 1972. As my good friend and journal transcriber Jim Edmonds says... "I've never seen anyone who seems to have a black cloud follow him like you do".   Well he is correct that over my life I've had that cloud show up at times in my life when everything seems to be as good as life can be. So I must admit I've been looking for that cloud the past few months and on more than one occasion thought it may be on the horizon, but with just 5 days to go before stepping once again onto the A.T. the sky appears to be clear.This time my hike will be different as I've met a like minded guy who appears to be as crazy as me and wants to go for his 2nd attempt at thru-hiking the A.T.   He got as far as Hot Springs last year but was suffering from the after effects of vertigo and made the correct decision to leave the trail. His hiking partner and life-long friend, Tom, continued on and made it to New York before ending his hike. Tom will join us to hike thru the Smokies after he completes a 50 mile tune-up hike from Springer to Hiawassee. At the end of June he will go back to New York where he ended last year and continue his hike to Maine and Mt. Katahdin.I've been hiking with these 2 men since last November when by chance??? (I've come to believe there are no coincedences in the world) I met Randy, my new hiking partner. I was jogging along a bike path when I noticed this guy with a pack and since Florida is flat you just know when you see someone carrying a back-pack they must be planning for some adventure elsewhere. So I slowed my pace to ask ..."you planning a hike on the A.T."? His answer was yes and that's how we've come to this point 5 days from starting our adventure.And while you may thinking hiking in the Tampa Bay area of Florida is boring, let me assure you it has been anything but that. On our hikes over the past 5 months we've come upon snakes (ratttlesnakes), bobcats, wild boars (the kind with tusks), and while I had my eyes focused on the 5 feet of trail in front of me looking for snakes Randy spotted a Florida Panther dash across the trail and dissappear into the brush before I could raise my head to see what only a few others have had the opportunity to see in the wilds of Florida. The local park ranger told us there is a mother and baby in the park, but where there is a mother there certainly is a father and if I have the opportunity to see either of them I'd prefer not to see the mother with baby as she would pose a larger threat as any mother will tell you when she feels her child may be in danger. Also on this Appalachian Trail hike I'll be hiking with my friend of 40 years. I've given him the trail name of "Bones". The name is appropriate since he unexpectedly passed away a few years ago and I'll be carrying his ashes. I mentioned helping his daughter bury his ashes in the White Mountains of N.H. in 2008. He was a great friend and we always joked about his hiking with me on the A.T. While he was a great woodsman and hunter he always said ...."if I hike the A.T. with you you'd end up carrying me". At that time we had no idea how correct he was. Over the 40 years of our friendship we spent many days in the woods of N.H. and Maine fishing and hunting ....I hunted with a camera and had better results than he did. Since he loved to walk in the woods and track deer and moose I thought it was appropriate back in 2008, and his daughter agreed, that on the side of the mountain where we had hunted in earlier years that I placed his ashes beneath a large pile of moose crap. On top of his ashes his daughter and son-in-law placed a golden medallion from the Marine Corp of which he was a proud member back in the 60's, then I placed the moose crap to honor his death as he had lived. I mentioned that I believe there are no coincedences in this world and as we drove away from the mountain a short way from where we had left my friend a large moose crossed the road in front of us. Also on this hike I'm changing from a tent to a hammock. It's not your Sears Roebuck type hammock as it's specially made for backcountry hiking. There are a few brands out there for sale, but I've opted for a Warbonnett Blackbird that is handmade by a guy in Colorado. An additional piece of equipment that is good to have with a hammock is an underquilt. It's like one half of a sleeping back and hangs under the hammock to keep you backside warm. And to round out the hammock you carry a tarp that you hang overhead to keep the weather out. The underquilt and tarp are also handmade by an individual and his wife in Ohio that have the reputation of quality of construction and service. Their company name is Hammockgear.com and Adam worked with me to custom design both the underquilt and tarp for this hike. The reason I've changed from tent to hammock is comfort. My bones can't take sleeping on the ground anymore even with a good pad. The hammock has allowed me to get a good night's sleep, something I haven't experienced in the last 4 attempts of hiking the A.T. It also gives me the ability to camp almost anywhere since I don't need level ground, only 2 trees and on the A.T. there are plenty of those. I'll be sure to give updates and reviews of my equipment as I travel north.Finally I keep referring to this as a "thru-hike" but the reality of the past has proven that no matter what your intentions are you can never be absolutely sure of the future so for now I'll plan on moving northward on the Appalachian Trail and take it one step then one day at a time. Start date is Friday March 30th on the "Approach Trail" at Amicaloa Falls State Park .....finish date????....the dream and love of the wilderness will never end.