Date: 2002-12-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well   ...I've decided to abandon the trail name I was given in 2001 --"Toot"I'm open to suggestions, but I may just wait until I hit the trail and get one from another hiker. Only problem with that is I would prefer not to be named for a bodily function or some weird behavioral characteristic.Meanwhile, preparations are all coming along well. My gear has been pretty well nailed down for quite a while. I recently made one change to my clothing list. I had heard about a Polarguard3D vest made by GoLite but was originally scared off by the price. Then, about 2 weeks ago the REI Outlet website ran a clearance ad on that exact item. I figured for the price it was worth the risk and went ahead with the order. I've had it now for about a week and am quite impressed. It will most likely take the place of my old trusty long sleeve Polartek200 fleece jacket. At 14oz, it's about half the weight of my fleece, it's warmer, and it's much more compressible for stuffing in my pack. I'll layer that over a long sleeve power stretch top and if necessary a coolmax shirt. For added warmth and wind/rain protection I'll just add my rain jacket. Should work just fine.My bounce box is coming along too. I'v begun to load it with the items I will need from time to time that I would rather buy up front instead of hunting for along the trail. Among some of the items are my entire supply of AquaMira and extra rechargeable batteries for my digital camera. I plan to add several pair of hiking and liner socks so that I can retire the older pairs as they burn out. The bounce box will always be about 2-3 weeks out in front of me so that I can access it on a regular basis.I am not planning on regular mail drops at the moment, although that may change as I get closer to my departure date. I know from prior experience that there are some towns that just don't offer much in the way of re-supply.This week I dug out my second pair of boots (brand new) and started breaking them in. They will stay behind and get mailed to me, along with my change of clothing once I hit New England and the temperatures begin to drop. I have a pair of Montail TRS Comps that I plan to use during the middle months of the hike, most likely from around Damascus to Hanover.Another decision I've made is not to carry the AT maps this time around. Turtle and I carried them in 2001 and after a while they ended up spending more time in our packs than in our hands. The elevation profiles are helpful in forcasting the type of hiking each day will bring. But we found several of those profiles to be pretty inaccurate and we were happier to just read ahead in the handbook so that we knew where the water and shelters were. My plan now is to carry the Thru-Hiker Handbook and possibly the ATC Databook. I have heard directly from Wingfoot that the 2003 Handbook is reformatted and will contain more information and be easier to use. After getting my copy I might opt to leave the Databook behind. It's paper anyway and paper is heavy. I am going to cut the pages out of the Handbook and only carry those that I need to get me to my next bounce box location, at which point I will pick up the next set of pages.I guess with the exception of a new trail name I'm in pretty good shape at the moment, with the exception of near daily "antsy attacks" about wishing I was already hiking. March 29th can't come soon enough. Stay tuned for future entries, since I will soon be giving notice to my employer. That will be the last formal act of preparation and will mark the point of no return !!Safe hiking