Date: 2005-03-09
To: Time to Hit the Trail!!!!!!!!
Miles today: 0.0

It is so hard to believe that our time for beginning our journey and dream is upon us!! One more day at work and then we head for Georgia! Are we prepared? Do we have all we will need? So many questions, concerns, fears, and even tears!The questions? Will we be warm enough with our gear? Will we be physically up to the challenges? Will our dogs be taken care of when we leave? And on and on? I guess the answers to these questions will never be entirely answered and I believe that we are as prepared as we can possibly be. Mentally we are up to the challenge. We are 100% determined to complete this dream. I completely believe that only a severe injury will cause us to give up. Physically, we are prepared to endure through the conditioning process that will occur as we progress on the trail. We know that we will be exhausted, sore, and will have to go very slow. We will listen to our bodies and rest when we must, we will hike our own hike, and most importantly will "see" and completely enjoy every aspect of the trail!Tears? Yes, these were shed at a family going away party given to us by our children. Just last weekend 18 family members gathered at our house to wish us well. Kieran, Jacob, and Jordyn Mallory (our grandchildren), all three of our children and their spouses, and Diana's brothers and Mom and Dad were here. As they, Sarah and Emily, left to return to Kirtland, Ohio, tears were shed simply for their concern for our safety, and the fact that we would be gone for an extended period. Diana and I also shed tears as we thought about missing the growth of our grandchildren. Emily, our youngest daughter, is starting her second trimester of pregnancy, due August 27th. So all these things caused the emotions to run pretty strong. We assured them however that we would keep them posted and call them every chance we get.Kieran, our oldest granddaughter, went home and arranged a speaking engagement with her 1st grade teacher for when I get off the trail in April. I assured her I would be more than happy to speak to her class. She was very tickled.Our jouney really hit home last night as we packed our backpacks. Diana has done an absolute phenomenal job organizing everything and I mean everything-meals, supplies, etc. Our basement was and still is a maze of boxes and ingredients for meals on the trail. The amazing thing about all this is that whenever I asked where anything was, she almost immediately knew where it was!! She is amazing! I swear I will eat better on the trail then here at home. We have tried many of the meals and they are really delicious. Problem is she is making me carry all the food!!! Ha! It is sure worth is though.So many people have expressed interest in our trip! For this I am so thankful. Emails from many of you offering advice and encouragement mean so much. I cannot begin to mention all of your names to thank you. We hope the emails, prayers, and thoughts continue as we begin our jouney. We need all the help we can get. John and Jim, you bet I'll do this for all the "old NRCSers". We'll just show them there is so much more to life than the "programs"!!Donations for Outreach International are doing well, although I do not have a handle on the amount yet. I'll try and keep you posted on this.Ok! I have rambled enough! Gotta' do some final prep things! Friday is the Hiker Hostel, in Georgia. And then SPRINGER MOUNTAIN!!!! See ya'll on the trail. P.S. Don't forget, our email on the trail is theduhls@pocketmail.com