Date: 2007-01-03
To: 73 Days
Miles today: 0.0

So much for updating this journal more frequently... I promise promise promise that I will write nearly every day once I start. So I have spent the last couple of months in preparation. I officially got all of my paperwork signed at work granting me a Leave Without Pay (LWOP) from March 19 until October 1. That gives me over 6 months to complete the thru hike. I want a couple of weeks off upon return to civilization to get my head back to non-trail life. So I figure that I would like to be done with the hike in 180 days. This means I need to average about 12 miles a day, which for you non hikers seems like a lot, but once I get the trail legs going I will probably be able to do that in my sleep. I bought my plane ticket from Newark to Atlanta. I fly at 12:30 on March 18th. I didn't want to miss the local St. Patty's day festivities and at the same time I didn't want to miss my flight so I made it for early afternoon. I reserved a shuttle from Atlanta at the Hiker Hostel with Josh and Leigh http://www.hikerhostel.com/ They shuttled Tribes and Mr. Sweepers in 05 and were super nice. They will pick me up on the 18th, I will stay at their place, and start on the 19th. A lot of people have asked me the significance of starting on March 19th. Well there is a new moon that day and I figured it would be a good symbolic gesture to start a new chapter of my life on a new moon. On some recent hikes I developed a bit of a knee pain so I went to a doc to have it checked out. When I told him that the pain only occurred when I did 15+ mile days guess what his answer was...uh well hike less than 15 miles a day. Anyway, he recommended a lightweight knee brace that I can carry, some cushioned insoles for my boots, and more stretching and exercise to build up my leg muscles. Why did I have to pay a $30 copay to have him tell me that? I guess I just wanted to make sure there was nothing grossly wrong with my knees that I was missing. As far as physical training for the hike goes, well I haven't been doing much, er, any. So much for docs recommendation huh? Actually I have just been eating like a pig over this holiday season and gained about 7 lbs. NOT SMART HUNGUS!!! My goal over the next 73 days is to get my butt in the gym and work those leg muscles and drop a couple of pounds while in the comfort of my own home. We'll see how that goes. I mean I have been doing day hikes and a bunch of overnighters to keep me in somewhat decent trail shape. In November, Tribes and I hiked from the NY/CT border about 95 miles to Lee, Mass. I also finished the section from rt 301 to the NY/CT border. So now I have sectioned from Del Water Gap to Lee, Mass about 215 miles, plus that 95 mile trip in 05 down in VA. 315 AT miles that I look forward to hiking again. (and again and again throughout life) See, I haven't been that lazy!! About a two months ago I started taking two types of yoga, Hatha and Kundalini. I realize that prob 80% of this coming thru hike is going to be mental and yoga is helping me gain a better understanding of my mental and physical limitations. I pretty much have all of my gear squared away for all the different temps I am going to experience. I will write an entire entry soon about my gear. I am a gear head and proud of it. My starting pack base weight (sans food/H2O/Fuel) is around 16lbs. So now I am just bidding my time and saving my money. Only 73 days 19 hours and 43 minutes until I fly to Atlanta...