Date: 2002-12-24
Miles today: 0.0

Tonite, Christmas Eve, only 67 days left before the hike starts. Yikes! How will I be ready?People ask me how I prepared. The Internet proved invaluable for AT thru-hike info. (By the way, a thru-hike is the term for hiking the whole trail in one year. To hike in chunks, as I have been doing to learn, is called section hiking). There were many Internet sources, and thru-hikers on all of them - Wingfoot's site Trailplace before it went down, the WomenHiker's List and AT-L on Backcountry.net. AT-L and ALDHA (the AT Long Distance Hikers Association) offered Rucks and Gatherings, educational meetings of long-distance hikers.I gleaned valuable info from each, and made fast friends. These friendships often led to actual Trail time together: my Vermont Long trail partner Clyde (see our Long Trail journal, also on this site), David A, Russ the Gimp ( !hotdog ) and Pittsburgh in North Georgia (see the Woody Gap picture above), Ruth M. in NC, Leapfrog and Susan Alaska in Virginia, Anna, Terry/Bumpkin, Rogene and others in TN, Art and Susan in Vermont - I'd better stop, there are many.The hikes, lists and Rucks led me to some genuine thru-hikers, whose brains I picked clean. And then I went out and did it, hiked, by myself and with friends. This did LOTS to alleviate fear, test gear and answer my questions.For pure gear info, I liked the Yahoo group BackpackingLight. Many knowledgeable folks, and they know the latest and lightest.Perhaps my favorite 'net group was HikersRUs, a spontaneous Yahoo gathering of 2003 AT trekkers. Largely banter, the list tosses fears and excitements around in equal measure as it bonds for the Trail ahead.What is it about hiking that initiates these fast bonds? I keep coming back to that first AT trip. Here is something I posted on HikersRUS recently:"Hi All,You know, I realized this morning that when you've hiked with someone, a bond is formed. The hike may be short, but for some reason, backpacking with others in the backcountry forges a link that stands out in memory. Maybe it's the clarity and simplicity of the tasks at hand, maybe its the welcome presence of another human in a wild world, who knows. Doesn't matter. The bond exists.Once this idea to hike the Appalachian seized me in January of 2001, I got no peace. I woke up fearful every morning, dreaming about it. My stomach was a knot. Still, the idea wouldn't turn me loose.From mid-January to mid-March, I went from zero to sixty. I had nothing, no equipment. By April I was fully equipped and out of the trail for a week. I had to KNOW.That first week in the woods hiking from the base of the Smokies to Hot Springs was magical and ...awesome. Awesome is the only word that will do.In many ways, I was stupid. My companions turned back because of extreme cold and snow. I pushed on, because I was there and needed to KNOW. I had no long underwear (hell, it had been in the 80s in the flatlands!). I had no experience. I had never seen a shelter and wasn't quite sure how one found one. I didn't even know what double white blazes meant. I spent my days alternating between total freaked out, self-questioning fear and full frontal awe.I actually HEARD the snow drifting down through the hemlock needles. The wind roared in the tree tops and tore away my precious body heat when I would top a rise. I discovered my rain coat blocked wind. That spare socks made good emergency mittens (and nose tissue! ;-) ). I learned how to start an Esbitt tablet in the cold and wind. And how to make friends with strangers. I started with six mile days, and worked up to 13 by the last day.Awesome.I look forward so much to seeing that section again next spring.Anyway, when I touched down in Hot Springs days later, I was a New Woman. The experience had altered me in some unseen alchemical way, deep in my tissues. Deep in the way I viewed myself. Very emotional. Something vital had been stretched, yet it hadn't snapped - in fact, it had strengthened. It was HUGE on the inner landscape. I walked around town, limping, in my hiking clothes, trying to look cool, hoping everyone would mistake me for a thru-hiker.Hot Springs, NC has an annual celebration called Trail Fest. Folks camp by the river. There is food. They put up a big tent on the post office lawn, and speakers and musicians come in. David Brill, author of "As Far As The Eye Can See" was one of the speakers and he said something that caused tears to spring into my eyes.He read from his book awhile, then paused, looked out among the crowd at the thru-hikers - you could pick them out from the tourists - and spoke just to them. "You know, the person who signed the register at Springer Mountain, GA will NOT be the same person who summits Katahdin, ME..."It still gives me chill bumps! It is already true. Just imagine this time next year, what we will know about ourselves.These emotions we feel right now, the anticipation, the uncertainty, yes, even the fear, are very special and will be a source of nostalgia for the rest of our lives.So that is my Christmas card. Don't expect expensive gifts.Hugs all, fellow travelers,JanAT Class of '03