T-Minus 12 hours before departure

This is the last night before hitting the trail, and both Tim and I are bristling with anticipation. Yesterday was a good deal of driving and a quiet night at a hotel in North Carolina, today was a little less driving and a trip to an Irish pub to enjoy a final off-trail dinner in Georgia. 

Not much else to report on just yet, Tim got a couple of items he was missing, and I replaced my gloves at a shop here with something a little bit nicer. We met another thru-hiker there who was prepping for his departure tomorrow as well. His name was Troy, no trail name yet either. He seemed like a nice guy, and the lady at the gear shop said that all the thru-hikers she talked to this year seemed very friendly. It all bodes very well.

Dinner involved eating in a cellar with a unisex bathroom and dollar bills with messages stapled all over the walls. So this had to join the ranks.

If that doesn't embody our perspective for this adventure I don't know what does. 

Well tomorrow is day 1 of our great Appalachian adventure (thank you Chris McCandless for that phrasing) and we couldn't be more excited. Tim says he may make a few guest posts on the site as well, but we'll see what happens. Ok, Silence of the Lambs is on, so I know what I'm doing for the rest of my evening. I'll talk to you all from the trail!

It's The Final Countdown

It's almost April 12th! Tomorrow morning is it, time to hit the road and kick up some dirt. My parents are dropping Tim and me off at Springer Mountain in Georgia, where we will start our journey on Saturday. 

My gear is packed...ish, and I'm in perfect hiking shape...ish. We'll see how everything goes, but I know for certain that these first few weeks are going to whoop my ass. My packs base weight (before food and water) is currently at 23lb, so I hope a few days on the trail finds me tossing random odds and ends that I don't need. 

With just a few tasks left to do today I'll be ready to leave in the morning. I have to choose which food items I'll be bringing with me for these first 5 days, wash all of my hiking clothes (since I've been "training" in them), and do my taxes.. I know, I know. Other than that, it's just dinner, sleep, a long car ride, some more sleep, another long car ride, yet some more sleep, and then a short hike to the trailhead. Not too bad considering I've been salivating for this trip for years. I'm sure I'll have more to talk about once on the trail, and I'll attempt to be amusing but I make no promises. Until next time, here's me testing out my new camera (GoPro Hero2) in the backyard.

The site is live, hello world!

I'm still in the planning stage of my AT thru-hike, but I believe that stage really lasts until the day you leave.. and even then maybe for a few more weeks. The current plan is for Tim and me to leave sometime around April 15th for Springer Mountain in Georgia and do a northbound hike (as 90% of hikers are wont to do). 

As far as gear is concerned I have most of the large items purchased and tested; tent, sleeping bag and mat, ground tarp, backpack (external frame), cooking system, water purification, hiking boots, solar charger, leatherman, first aid, etc. I'll share a full list of my gear and why I chose it in a later post. As of now I'm just waiting with bated breath.. April cannot come soon enough.