Date: 2006-12-01
To: Prep #61--Oh My Gaawed! It's DECEMBER!!
Miles today: 0.0

Am I freaking out? Um....yes. I'm definitely freaking out. In 30 days, it will be 2007. This means I'll have to tell my boss I'm quitting, I'll have collected the remaining little pieces of gear (via Santa), and I'm currently only holding two fingers up on my hand to signify how many months I have left before I quit working! YIKES...IS THIS REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN? Lot's has happened since my last entry. I went on my first 3-day/2-night hike over Thanksgiving weekend. It really changed my perspective...in a GOOD way. I got a slight peek at what it will be like to hike and not have a specific destination that I "have" to get to by the end of the day. It was liberating.I was also very proud that I finally taught myself how to build a nice fire using nothing more than matches and a pocket knife. (Usually I like to carry those fire starters...but I can't carry the extra weight on the AT). I learned that the windscreen for my stove makes a great fan for nurturing a new campfire. I remembered something I saw on that tv show, "Man vs. Wild" and that did the trick. I love that show.So picture this.....a brisk cool Fall night...pitch black by 6:00 p.m., you're completely alone in the woods, there's a sliver of moon in the sky with clouds moving in front of it, a small campfire, the occasional rustling of leaves by some animal, and the sound of coyotes howling in the distance. That was me last Friday and Saturday nights. It was AWESOME!!!! Oh, did I forget to mention that I also saw bigfoot out there, but like everyone else, my pictures just didn't turn out! This was my first night's spot:No, seriously, it was a pretty incredible experience. The first time I've camped alone and it was the most freeing feeling. I got to confront my over-reacting imagination that liked to convince me that there were "bad and scary things" lurking in the woods around me....all part of what I was talking about when I said I thought it was sad that we've managed to detach ourselves so much from nature that it's easy to develop irrational fears. I was sharing my campsite with a litte snake though, but she didn't seem to mind me too much. Can you pick her out in the pic?:I practiced setting up/tearing down camp as if it were raining. I've also discovered that I'm an abnormally cold sleeper, but have added a pair of 200ct fleece pants to my sleeping system, which helped a lot. I also learned that temps in the 40's require no hat or extra extra layers, but as soon as it drops into the 30's, I have to start taking cold weather measures.Oh...and I believe that Jolly Rancher candies just might be the single most incredible candy for purposes of hiking. Can't explain it, but popping one of those little guys into your mouth seems to change everything. All of my teeth will have rotted out by the time I reach Maine if I eat them for 2175 miles though!I think this may have been my last shakedown and I'm so glad I did this. I really can't imagine hitting the AT and having never tested your gear or used it in a real situation. I'm feeling really good about everything now. Oh...and Nicole is riding down with Toasty and I!! The 3 of us can at least start together, which is pretty cool. Something makes it a bit less scary to know a couple of other people, even though I'm sure we'll all be hiking at different paces within 2 days. Well..I best stop rambling. I'll probably put another entry in today....seems I've not had quality AT thinking time in a few weeks and now that I've started...it's hard to turn it off. Happy Holidays Everyone!!!!!