Date: 2009-01-02
To: New Start Date, and Anxiety!
Miles today: 0.0

Check Six¢s Thoughts ¢ We decided to change our start date to March 12th. We have two commitments that would be very difficult to get to if we started later, so we re-evaluated our plans and decided to start on the 12th. If we keep close to the pace Old Goat kept on his 2006 hike, then the commitments should fall in line with where we expect to be at the time. The first is a family gathering in Virginia over Memorial Day weekend to celebrate my mother¢s 90th birthday. The second is a wedding in Pennsylvania on June 27th. My anxiety level is rising. I knew it would sky rocket as soon as we entered 2009! 69 days to kick-off. OMG!!! That¢s not much time! Will I have everything done that I need to do before we step out on the AT? What will I forget to do? Will I have too much stuff with me? Will I have not enough stuff with me? Will I/we be warm enough? Will anything happen while we¢re on the AT for which we¢ll need to get off the Trail? Will we succeed and do the entire AT, as we hope? Will the aches and pains I feel escalate and be a problem? (Or are they escalated in my mind now due to my anxiety of what¢s ahead!!!???) I just spent today organizing everything in our downstairs room to see where are with our supplies. That helped ease some of the thoughts that kept me awake most of last night. I¢m amazed at how much food and supplies we have. I didn¢t pay attention to Old Goat¢s preparation for his 2006 hike, so I didn¢t realize how much stuff he had bought ahead of time until he had it divided into the mail drop boxes, and ready to go. Looking at our supplies for our hike, there is a LOT of food ready to be boxed up. And there are a LOT of other things waiting to be divided up....for example, many half rolls of toilet paper. Huh? Every week for the past few months I removed the half used roll of toilet paper and put a new roll in place so we can carry smaller rolls of toilet paper with us. Each will go into a zip lock bag and be mailed to us in the drop boxes. With how many half rolls there are in the box, we shouldn¢t have to buy any along the way. And we¢ve been buying small (travel size) bottles of hand sanitizer. A half roll of toilet paper, a small bottle of hand sanitizer, an empty zip lock (for used paper trash), and we¢re good to go. (Pun!) A couple months ago I read ¢Certain¢s¢ prep journal entry where she lists things she needs to do (Feb 27, 2007). I just re-read it, and am comforted to see I¢ve done most of the things on her list, and have plans for the other things I still need to do. It¢s a great list, Certain! Thank you! I know that the apprehension and anxiety are almost always worse than what one is anxious about. In this case, I know that to be true because I truly do enjoy backpack camping. But knowing it¢s true doesn¢t ease the anxiety. It was easier to be the support person back home. I could get the things Old Goat needed and send them to him along the way. And when I went to meet him I brought our boxes of extra stuff and he rummaged through the boxes and took anything he needed. We have to make sure we have things very organized and labeled back home for our daughter to send to us if we need things. I need to focus on the present moment and try to put my anxiety out of my mind.....not an easy thing to do! Time is flying!!!!!