Harpers Ferry, WV / College Park, MD - 1012.7 miles

Hikers crave all you can eats along the trail. Somehow after 850 miles I had not yet been to one. Well this ended in Waynesboro, VA when I went to the Ming Garden Buffet. I had a silly grin on my face the entire time and helped my self to 4 fully loaded plates, plus desert. I even had some to go. The next day I walked to the outfitters in an attempt to get some of my worn out gear replaced. Luckily Lowa replaced my boots for free and shipped them ahead for me to pick up.

At around mid may every year there is a hiker fest/ party called "trail days," held in Damascus, VA. Since I was over 400 miles north of there I decided to have my own trail days and go home once I reached Harpers Ferry. To get there I had to hike over 100 miles through my second National Park of the trip, the Shenandoah's.

After Waynesboro I got back on the trail at 12:30pm but managed to hike nearly 20 miles with off and on thunderstorms rolling through. When I got to the shelter it was full and just about everyone was asleep. So I pitched my tent nearby. When I woke up the next morning I saw Twigs, who I had not seen since Erwin, TN. It was great to see a familiar face. Twigs was hiking with a group of guys consisting of Specs, General Lee, and Wildman. I joined them through the park.

In the park the gradient of the trail is fairly easy and I saw my first second and third bears. However it really is the McDonald's of National Parks. One can literally drive through the entire park and the vistas offer up views of the valley which consists of WalMarts and gas stations. Visitors were amazed by the view, however, us thru hikers didn't give them a second look and rolled on through.

One nice thing about the park are the wayside restaurants throughout. They serve great milkshakes and overpriced food but it is very welcome after a long day of hiking. My guide book informed me one particular wayside closed at 7pm. However, I ran into a couple of girls that told me it closed at 5:30. Thus I ran the remaining 4 miles I had to the wayside and got there at 5:15, just under an hour to enjoy a delicious blackberry milkshake.

That same day a father and son thru hiking team, EZ and Trail Trash, were attempting to get to the wayside aswell. For some reason the son, Trash, was not feeling well. When they showed up EZ was carrying both backs and Trash collapsed as he approached the restaurant. He was in a lot of pain and cramping badly. We gave him food and Gatorade but he was still in pain. We decided we needed to get him into town but the people in the park that day were very self centered and unwilling to help. A big scene was made and eventually the Park Rangers came. They said they couldn't do anything for Trash. Thus it took the whole group of us hikers to finally find someone decent enough to drive them into town. Other than that the park was fairly uneventful and I was actually very happy to leave.

When we got out of the park Twigs and I decided to hitch a ride into nearby Front Royal, VA. We got a ride immediately and stopped in for some pizza. We noticed there was a movie theater in town so we had to check it out. Twigs had already seen 3 movies on the trail, he loves them more than I do. We had heard Robin Hood had just come out and were hoping to see that. However, this particular theater was only showing 4 movies, three of which Twigs had seen. The only remaining movie was Letters to Juliet. So Twigs and I watched Letters to Juliet along with 12 other girls between 13-17 years old.

From here I was on the home stretch. All that was between myself and home was 50 miles and a section known as the "roller coaster." The roller coaster is a 13 mile long section with consistent ups and downs with no switch backs. By the time I made it to the roller coaster it was cold and raining. Luckily there is a hostel right at the end of the section called Bears Den. They have a hiker special rate which includes, bed w/ lines, shower, internet, pizza, soda, ice cream, and laundry. They even had a TV and clothes to wear while you did your laundry. Twigs, SPecs and I wore matching PJ's to bed and watched Indiana JOnes.

The next day I said goodbye to Twigs and Specs as I made my way to Harpers. This is the unofficial halfway point of the trail and location of the ATC headquarters. After a 20 miles hike to the city I got my picture taken at the headquarters and checked out some of the history of the city. I was the 79th thru hiker that had made it to Harpers this year. My chances of making it to Maine go up from 15-20% to 50%. The headquarters also has a gigantic 3D map of entire AT. I spent several minutes retracing my steps before my dad came and picked me up. I was on my way to College Park and said goodbye to the trail for a few days.

Update Coming soon.

I am currently in Kent, CT and will have a full update within the week. Sorry for the delay.

Waynesboro, VA 853.1 Miles

I have spoken to several past hikers and they repeatedly tell me that Virginia is easy and I will be able to hike 25-30 miles a day. Well I am Into central Virginia and am still waiting for the terrain to get "easy." I am still having 2-3 2000 foot climbs a day and I could easily go the whole way without doing a 30 mile day.

Since I got separated from my old hiking group I have entered some sort of thru hiker black hole. Before, at the end of the day, I would arrive to a fully loaded shelter almost daily. Now all I see are empty camp sites, trails and shelters. A couple of days I have not seen a single NOBO. I did meet a guy named Youngone from Indiana. We split a hotel room in Daleville and hiked together for a few days, but he went home for a few days. Youngone and myself made the climb to McAfee's KNob, which is considered to have one of the best views in VA and on the entire trail. As soon as I got there my camera died...still a great stop though.

After Youngone left I met up with Roughin It, who I had not seen since Georgia. Although he too was planning on going home when we reached the James River. The bridge over the river is the longest pedestrian footbridge on the entire trail. It also is a great place for diving and swimming. When I arrived there were about 20 young college students jumping of the bridge into the river. I got a hitch into town for a quick resupply and returned with the intention to jump off myself. The group of kids that drove me back said they were camping by the river that night, even though it is not allowed. They told me it is not enforced and offered for me to join them. I said I might go swimming and camp there as well. As I was setting up my tent a ranger came walking up. I figured he was going to kick us out, but he made a B-Line to the tent of the college kids who drove me to the bridge. Apparently they were smoking weed in there tent and the ranger busted them. Luckily for them they only got tickets. The ranger allowed us to stay camped where we were and went on his way.

This ticket did not deter the group of college kids. They were courteous and offered to move to another spot as not to bother me of the other thru hikers. I told them it wouldn't be a problem and I went to bed. In about 30 minutes I was awoken to a full on party by the river. 30 people showed up, built and bonfire, sang songs, drank and played guitar until 4am. I did not get much sleep...

The next day I crossed the river and hiked in about .5 miles. There I saw a hiker named Willard. He said even he could here all the noise from the night before. I guess I learned my lesson, as to not sleep by the road on a friday night.

I am now in Waynesboro, VA and about to enter the Shenandoah's. I am making great time and putting in 130+ miles a week. Hopefully I will catch up with the group ahead of me and get out of this black hole of hikers.

Pearisburg, VA 626.4 Miles

The weather so far on this journey has been incredible. After the freezing rain and wind I encountered on Springer Mountain I figured I was in for a cold and wet hike. Thru hikers last year went through a stretch of 18 straight days of rain. Therefore I have been very lucky. The weather has been mostly sunny and mild.

The worst weather to hike in is heat. I remember climbing Pond Mountain in 90 degree temperature. Once I got to the top I was drenched in sweat. It was as if I had just jumped into a pool. But on cold mornings I will be begging to be in that heat again and vice versa.

But with all the great weather we have had it was bound to get bad eventually. And that is just what happened when we left Atkins. Apparently tornadoes had hit just west of where we were and for the few days after my stay in Atkins we got the remnants of the severe storms. Fortunately companies make waterproof rain coats, pants, and pack covers to keep everything dry. Unfortunately, despite possessing these items, I got soaked.

After the rain I got separated from my hiking group. Al hurt his hip, Sonic got giardia from drinking contaminated water, and I have no idea what happened to Samurai. At first I thought they were ahead of me, as they typically are, so I hiked a couple of big mile days. Then I found out they had all stayed behind. Since I was making good miles, and was afraid to catch the hiker flu, I decided to push on without them. I figure they will catch up when I stop home once in Maryland.

Just before Pearisburg I stopped at the Woods Hole Hostel. Here they host a family style dinner and breakfast all with homemade organic food and Amish ice cream. While there I met an interesting guy named Antawn from Montreal. The Caps happened to be playing the Montreal Canadians that night in game 7. And THEY LOST. Great... Luckily Antawn is a humble guy and refrained from rubbing it in. I did not know what to do with myself for a couple of days. I had fully expected the Caps to cruise through the playoffs. I was even planning on getting off the trail for a bit in order to see them win the cup. Now I guess all there is to do is hike.

After my stay I made it into Pearisburg, VA which starts the central portion of Virginia. They break VA into 4 sections. There are a lot of miles in VA. The Virginia Blues are catching up to me...

Atkins, VA 538.8 miles

There is little I like about the state of Virginia. They have bad drivers, feud with Maryland in the Supreme Court more than any other state, have 2 ACC rivals of UMD, and seceded from the Union in 1861. The only saving grace, in my eyes, is the fact that a majority of Virginians voted for Obama in the past election. Other than the poor state history, politics and rivalry, the country side is quite beautiful.

Virginia houses the Graysand Highlands, which is a range of bald and bouldered mountains. All with beautiful views. They maintain their bald appearance due to a population of "wild" ponies i the area. They're very tame and you can get close enough to pet them, or in James' case ride them. Turns out the ponies are not so wild. They were introduced into the area by humans in the 1940's and a series of fences, which I constantly am climbing over while hiking, keeps them penned up. Each year they are herded together and checked by vets. Some are even sold to keep the population static.

Sadly James and Sherpa are leaving. James has a flight back to the Isle of Man and SHerpa has a wedding to attend. It will e tough to see them go. I have gotten to know well over the past month and I literally hike with them almost daily. The three of us all hike at about the same pace and don't care too much for early mornings. It is not as though we are lazy. Generally get on the trail by 9am each day but most people are up by 7am. I often find that James, Sherpa and myself are the only ones remaining in camp in the mornings, even though the sun hasn't come up yet.

Anyways the three of us chat about various subjects while walking. Yesterday I gave a brief history of the United States and James lectured on British history. We also talk about business ideas to get rich, and world sports. Thus it will be sad when they leave although they have planned an awesome trip in order to return home. The two of them plan to hitch a ride over 300 miles to Harpers Ferry, WV, rent bikes down the C & O canal into DC, and then catch their flights. I am slightly jealous.

A couple of days before they were to depart we arrived at Partnership Shelter, which is one of the nicest on the entire trail, equipped with warm showers. However, Samurai can attest that they are not warm. As we approached we were greeted by many thru hikers that we knew who were cooking burgers and throwing a going away party for Sherpa and James. Many of the hikers had zeroed at the shelter just for the event. Nefis was playing his ukulele as we sang songs which we did not know the words to. Thus the choruses were repeated over and over. At the en of the night a few of us remained around the campfire. It happened to be the close group of guys that had been together for the past month. After a game of hot potato, played with a hot coal from the fire, we went to bed. The next day we hiked into Atkins and booked our typical cheap motel room which we crammed with 5 hikers. After our stay James and Sherpa found a ride to Roanoke to begin their journey after the journey and we said goodbye. The rest of us continued on a footpath headed north.

Damascas Part 2

The trail has many hidden treasures along the way. Most of the hostels have been unique and fulfilling. The day after Beauty Spot was Samurai's birthday. I did not realize this until lunch time. I asked around but no one had anything resembling a cake. Luckily Pop-pop was going to a hostel nearby so I joined him with the plan on picking up a cupcake and candle for Samurai. When we arrived there was no one around. We walked around to the front of the house where the owner was installing a gas pump into her 1980's Chevy. As we approached she asked us if we were mechanics. Unfortunately we could not help. After 15 minutes she gave up and said she would make us food. We sat down to some cokes and ice cream. Luckily she had cheesecake and a candle. At that time Samurai, Sherpa and James arrived. We got the cake ready and surprised Samurai with the bday song. CC, the owner, then showed us her insanely obese cat who she said did tricks. She got a stool and put the cat on top. She then sang songs to the cat while feeding it food. All the cat did was eat...

Roan Mtn is the highest mountain on the AT until NH. On top sits the highest shelter on the AT and more snow. I hate hiking in snow but luckily it was only in a few places. After Roan begins a section of bald mountains known as the Roan Highlands. It looks like a scene out of Lord of the Rings. The last mountain in this chain is hump mountain. When we reached the summit I dropped my gear and declared, "Welp. I'm camping here." Soon the whole gang followed suite. We sat around a fire with 360 degree views, played cricket, listened to the radio and watched the sunset. This was my favorite mountain thus far.

I am now in Damascas, VA the "friendliest" town on the trail. The gang I have been hiking with have been planning a zero here for sometime. Like Hot Springs the trail goes right down main street. It is also just 3 miles into VA which houses over 550 miles of the AT, the most by far than any other state.

In Damascas there are no cheap motels. Only Bed and Breakfast's which cost nearly $100 pp. However, Sherpa and I like the finer things in life and refused to believe the hostel was the only cheap place to stay in town. While walking along the street/trail I noticed a sign next to a bike rental shop that read "vacation Rentals - 4 Bed, 3 bath." Later we came to check out the place in greater detail. It was $150 per night which included a fully furnished house with laundry, showers, full kitchen and more. We asked if they had cable and the owner said, "no, sorry only satellite." Sherpa and I quickly gathered every thrue hiker we knew in sight and booked the place. Since they had not changed the beds over they knocked another 50 dollars off the price. The place even had a movie library (we later watched Lion King.) After gathering 9 hikers it came out to $11 per night per person. Not bad.

That night Sonic, James and I went to the grocery store to buy dinner. James and I were thinking Spaghetti but my idea is much different then his. Apparently he is a miniature Gordon Ramsey. Anyways I boiled noodles while he did the rest. We had a delicious and filling meal. Oh yeah the Caps happened to be on that night and won. As were the Orioles. They obviously lost.

Damascas, VA 463.5 miles

Leaving Hot Springs was difficult. Difficult enough that i walked about a half mile across the river to where camping was again permitted and pitched my tent. I found this to be acceptable because almost all of the hikers I saw at the bar the night before were doing the same thing. Unfortunately Duke won the NCAA tourny, but I made sure to let everyone know in that small NC town of my disapproval.

Returning to the trail after two great days in a town is like jumping into a cold shower. This lasted about ten miles for me. I reached a road and saw a sign for a hostel. Here I met a nice man named Fred who actually ran an incredible place. He gave me free coffee and let me use the phone. I used the Internet, got and few snacks and then it began to pour. Luckily Fred gave me a ride back to the trail head.

The next few days were amazing. The highlight being big Bald Mtn, which is over 5500 feet. Luckily the 50 mph wind gusts at the summit dried all of my wet gear in minutes. The shelter which was 400 feet below the summit was very cold and ended up being my last shelter to sleep in for sometime.

the day after Big Bald I made my way into Erwin, TN. There is a hostel right off of the trail called Uncle Johnny's. My mom actually stayed there in the past and informed me they rent bikes. Today about three of those bikes are in working condition and one has working brakes. Uncle Johnny himself gave us a ride to town to eat and resupply. i finally got Mexican food which I had been craving for sometime, however it did not compare to El Amigo, a local Valpo restaurant. Sonic, who I have been hiking with since Hot Springs ordered $21 worth of Wendys and ate it all in one sitting. After that he had a rough night.

On the way back we had a beer run and I split a six pack with a hiker nameed Pop-pop. There are many characters on the trail but Pop-pop may be my favorite. He is a retired pharmacists from WV and is in his mid sixties. He hikes like he is 30 and he lives the "highlife." I capped my night off with a viewing of none other then Forest Gump, to the delight of the entire bunkhouse.

Uncle Johnny has shuttles to town everyday so I decided to take the breakfast shuttle. I sat down at a Huddle House with James, Sherpa, Sonic and Pop-pop. The waitress gave sonic a hard time, most likely because he is from the West Coast and says the word "bro" in every sentence. Anyways a random couple walked up and laid a 20 dollar bill on our table and told us to add it to our order. We must have looked like we were starving POW's.

I returned to the hostel and got packed up and ready to go. I still had a load of laundry going and by the time it was done the lunch shuttle was leaving. How could I pass that up?

When I returned everyone was still at the hostel and hanging out on the porch. We found a guitar and started singing songs. James knew Britney Spears and the 5 of us guys proudly sang her hits at the top of our lungs. We delayed departure even further until the temp cooled and left at 4:30 pm.

Along the way we passed a train and Al flattened a penny on the tracks. Our plan was to hike until dark. At around 7:30 we were approaching a mtn called Beauty Spot. I reached the summit just as the sun was setting to an amazing scene. The best part was the spontaneity of the day and how great it ended up. We finished the hike with our head lamps and made camp at deep gap. Somehow we ended up doing 12 miles. It may have been my best day out here yet.

to be continued...

Hot Springs, NC 271.3 miles

GSMNP is the most visited National Park in the country. It also contains the country's most diverse forest. My trip through the smokies was very diverse to say the least.

Thru hikers are accustomed to very few rules. Essentially we abide by Leave No Trace principals. This changes in the Smokies. First of all we as well as all hikers must carry a permit at all time. This is easy to obtain, in fact you can fill one out before you cross over the dam into the park. On the other hand thru hikers must give way to "section hikers." Each shelter has four spots reserved for thru hikers. The remainder of the spots can be reserved by section hikers. Well there are enough thru hikers to fill each shelter every night, and once a section hiker comes strolling in, this means one of us must give way and sleep outside. We must all give way to horses. My British friend James thought this meant if a horse came walking in we all had to sleep outside.

The highest point on the AT is in the Smokies at Clingmans Dome, over 6600 feet. The plan was to leave the shelter early and catch the sunrise. What I did not anticipate were the three foot snow drifts. Thus I missed the rise by an hour, but it was still a beautiful hike/morning. Some guys even slept on the viewing tower. Highly illegal but highly awesome. I spent a good amount of time at the summit and then descended. The rest of the day was tough. The three feet snow drifts turned into six foot snow drifts. My feet became soaked and tired within minutes. I even got lost few times as it is hard to find the blazes in all the snow. Every 100 yards or so I would post hole down the entire embankment and would be unable to move for 2-3 minutes. The difficulty of this walk made the idea of going into Gaitlinburg more and more appealing. By the time I was 2 miles away from the gap I had made up my mind, I was going into town for a hot meal.

As I arrived at the gap I saw a sea of people and cars. This is something I had not seen the entire trip. I had arrived at the site where FDR dedicated the park in the 1940's. It is also the site of some 2nd round trail magic from a nice couple, WIll and Way (thru hikers of last year) and my first hitch hike of my life.

Six of us stood by the roadside and stuck out our thumbs trying to entice the sea of cars to give any or all of us a lift. After 15 minutes I finally got picked up by a driver. It must have been my great BO or the fact that I wore my best bandanna but I managed to flag down a driver. It happened to be a young women, Suzie, who was on a road trip from NY and was paying back for all the hitching she had done. After some rearranging, Samurai and myself jammed into her car. SHe was very nice and took a great interest in our hike. She also provided me with some ideas for after the hike, including opportunities to travel and work at the same time.

After a 30 min ride Suzie generously dropped us off in the middle of town. What a site. Gaitlinburg may be the biggest tourist town in America. Fake museums, t-shirt stores, old time photos, haunted houses, mini golf, etc, lined the street. This is why GSMNP is the most visited national park in the nation. It starts in Gaitlinburg. I doubt many even make it up to the mountains. All in all it is one of the most amusing/disgusting places I have ever been to. One store proudly displayed two of my most hated flags. Of of the confederacy and one of the Duke Blue Devils. Clearly I did not enter this store. In fact I sat outside it hoping my smell and general appearance would put the place out of business.

I purchased a new mattress pad, for more comfort, resupplied, and got some KFC. We quickly got a cheap cab ride, $10 for 2, back to the gap and walked to the nearest shelter. Samurai and I pulled in at sundown and of course the shelter was full. Thus we pitched our tents outside and went to sleep.

About an hour later two rangers came up looking for 2 lost hikers. No one had seen them, but the rangers gave us a "warning" for tenting and not moving on to the next shelter. We tried to explain that it was getting dark and the next shelter was likely to be full but they wouldn't hear any of it. I still haven't heard what has happened to those two hikers. The rest of the smokies were beautiful and snowy. Probably the best stretch of the trail I have hiekd so far. I was eager to hike through a section I did last March with my friend Kurt, and very eager to meet up with a man named Curtis who runs a hostel. It is impossible for me to describe him correctly but imagine a 20 year older Joe Dirt.His hostel is truely a hikers haven. Everyhitng one needs is located on his property in a different hut. There is even a hut for the interent.

I am now in Hot Springs, NC. The AT actually goes right through town down the sidewalk. Samurai, Sherpa and myself conveniently got a room above the only bar in town. hikers are everywhere. Tonight I plan to go swimming in the river and take a dip in the natural hot springs. It is amazing how much hiking the trail makes one appreciate the simple things in life.

Fontana Dam 162.2 miles

Fontana Dam was built in the early 1940's by the Tennessee Valley Authority. It is also the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the AT goes through the entire backbone of the park.

Here I have decided to take my first "zero" day with the same group of guys I have been with for almost two weeks now. We are staying at the Fontana Lodge, which has all the amenities. Pool, spa, game room, library, bistro etc. About 50% of these amenities are currently out of order or closed for the season. Awesome. I can't complain though as it is only $25 to stay in a room packed with 5 hikers for two nights.

My trail name has become "slapshot." Obviously because of my love for hockey and constant craving for Capitals updates. Oddly enough slapshot is the name of the Capitals mascot.

Franklin, NC 107.7 miles

After a wonderful stay at the Holiday Inn express we hit the trail again. I am currently hiking with the same British guys, Al and James, as well as, Nate (an airforce guy) and a couple of guys from Massachusetts, Samurai and Twigs. I had seen Nate and his friend Tom at Springer and along the way. Today I found out Tom is a Phi Psi from Missouri. Small world. I also met a guy on the trail from Steamboat Springs, CO. This is a small ski town in the Rockies which I randomly drove through this summer. Small world.

Forrest Gump best describes the weather of the past couple of days. "We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night... " In this weather we reached the state border of GA/NC. The rest of the evening was cold and wet. By the time I reached the shelter I was drenched. Everything in my pack was drenched. Luckily there was no room in the shelter, as a group of high-schoolers smugly occupied every spot. Thus I set my tent up in the rain, cooked, and went to sleep. About 30 minutes later I awoke to a flash of lightning that appeared to strike just yards away from my tent. After awhile I got accustomed to the storm and feel back asleep. In the morning there were two inches of snow of the ground and on my tent. I didn't know it was possible to have a thundersnow storm but apparently it is. Fortunately my gear and clothes were no longer wet but frozen.

With a pack of frozen/wet supplies we decided to head back into a notorious trail town, Franklin, NC. This town is pretty much owned by a man named Ron Haven, who is a legend among hikers. He owns three motels in town and drives a hiker shuttle, which is a converted "short but," which looks like Ron painted himself.

Hiawassee, GA - 67.5 miles

Everyday I find a new injury that nags me while hiking. I am begging to realize this is normal and part of the process. After Neel's gap I was feeling much better and made it to the post St. Patty's day party at Low Gap. There was a group of former thru hikers that brought hot dogs and beer for all the hikers. B-Man brought a case of my favorite beer, Miller Highlife, and let me indulge. He has thru hiked twice and the past and now throws parties up and down the trail. His friend Geek was along helping, also a former thru hiker. I actually saw these guys a couple of times in the past few days. Both times Geek was taking a midday nap on the ground.

For the past three days I have been hiking with two gentleman from the Isle of Man, near the UK. This has been a perfect opportunity for me to perfect my British accent. Yesterday I had them speak in American accents while I tried my British tongue. Very entertaining. My favorite is their American pronunciation of the word "water", which we saw like "wadder."

We hiked to Dick's creek gap where we met a guy named Grits who had burgers waiting for us. Then we jumped on the back of a pickup and a man named Mike drove us down the winding road going 60 mph. We are spending the night in a small town called Hiawassee, for a resupply and hot tub.

Neels Gap - 30.7miles

The AT starts atop Springer Mountain, GA. In order to reach it you must hike the "approach trail" which is 9 miles straight up. It is more like hiking the Sears Tower than a mountain. There are literally over 500 stairs to climb just to get past the 1st section. After I reached the top of Springer I realized many people get a ride to a road that is just 0.9 miles from the summit. They are the smart ones.

I thought with my experience this summer I was a good hiker. This was until I saw my sister and her dog Taylor hike. Had we let the dog loose it would probably be to Katahdin by now.

One reason the trail is greater than the "real" world is the people. The kindness of everyone is overwhelming. I have gotten more free food than I did even in college. If you bump into someone at a bar or in the streets of Chicago you are more than likely going to end up in a fight or get shot. Here the response is, "sorry man", "my bad bro", or my favorite "no worries."

Thus far the hike has been much harder then I originally expected. After two days I finally got used to all the uphill climbs; however, my knees and feet are taking a beating. I have added Ibuprofen to my trail mix to help.

Currently I am in a hiker hostel and it may be the coolest place on earth. Bed, shower, dinner, breakfast, laundry and internet all for under $20. I am watching Moby Dick with a guy who has been here for a couple days. Fantasia is up next.

There is a St. Patty's day party at Low Gap tonight which I don't think I will be able to get to. In addition I had no green clothes to wear. Lucky the cover to my sleeping pad is green and I wore that on my head. Looked like a green version of the Pope's hat.

Tis' the Season

At this time of year, I would be making the final push at school and preparing for summer vacation. A year ago my grades were steadfast after 3.5 years of studying, barring a two month long academic meltdown. This meant I was anticipating mid-week trips to the Indiana dunes, bonfires, the 9am baseball club, and campus golf. Most of these activities required missing a class or an entire day of classes. This was acceptable. My senior year management professor told me the most important thing about senior year was building relationships. I cannot think of a better way to build a relationship than waking up for class, walking out the door, seeing a housemate return from class, replacing our books with gloves, and throwing the baseball around for 2 hours. Thank you Professor Stuck.

Ironically, I feel like I am beginning college for the first time all over again, not finishing it. Many of the same questions are going through my head. Will I like it? Who will I meet? Will I like the food? At least this time I am fairly certain I will not like the food.

I could not be more anxious. Obviously there are common concerns when hiking the AT. Bears, poisonous snakes, freezing temperatures, theft, injury, etc. My biggest fears are none of those. Instead I am worried about rodents. I have heard horror stories of mice and skunks climbing, in, over, and through peoples gear, including the bag they are occupying. If a skunk climbs into my sleeping bag while I am in it, I am dropping my gear and going home. Although it may be more repulsed of my scent than I of it's.

In a couple days I will be joining about 1500 others on the AT. Some have been on the journey for weeks, some are weeks away, some have already quit. I chose my departure time in order to avoid large crowds and the cold as best I can. My sister Sarah is graciously driving me to Amicalola Falls GA, and will join me for the first couple days of the hike.

Preparations

It may sound odd, but I am attempting to prepare as little as possible. Some thru-hikers send themselves 20-30 mail drops along the way in order to resupply. One reason the AT is appealing to me is the freedom. I don't want to be restricted to supplies I send myself months in advance, or to the towns I send them. I am avoiding mail drops. Instead I spend my time contemplating where I will be when the Capitals are in the Stanley Cup. Wherever that turns out to be, it will be near a TV.

I have spent a good amount of time planning what gear I will bring. The two biggest factors for me are weight and price. Weight means everything on the AT. I have heard that you can feel every ounce on your back, considering you must carry each one over 2000 miles. To reduce weight some hollow out toothbrushes, cut maps down, and remove wrappers from power bars to consolidate them into one bag (not recommended - bars will melt and mold into one giant bar). I am not sure I am to that level of obsessiveness but I am conscious of what I am stuffing in my pack.

Gear is already very pricey - lightweight gear, even more so. Luckily I have many of the major pieces needed, (backpack, sleeping bag, pad, etc.), most of which I received as gifts. My mother also has over 20 years of equipment stockpiled, and is allowing me to handpick anything I need. So I am very thankful for all the equipment I have received. Without the generosity of my family and friends I undoubtedly would be further in debt to the government.

For the past week I have been staring at all my gear, which I spread across the entire living room to my parents' displeasure. My pack weighs 25 lbs without food or water. Some "ultralight" hikers get their packs to 12-15 lbs. I can't imagine getting much lighter, without shelling out a few hundred dollars for state-of-the-art alternatives. Thus, I am content on having a slightly heavy pack. I can always change on the go if it becomes a problem. I also considered using the money I save on ultralight gear and hiring a Sherpa to carry my pack along the way. With unemployment still hovering around 10% there must be a decent pool of available Sherpas.

Adventure

For over a year now I have wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail (AT). I came very close to taking my final semester of college off and attempting the trek last March. However my dad advised me to graduate first. So I remained enrolled and received my diploma in May like everyone else.

While staying in school landed me the diploma it did not land me a "real job". I like to go with the trend and blame the economy but I believe it is also due to my uncertainty of what to pursue. I am certain I want to hike this trail and figure since I am jobless I might as well be homeless.

Why do I want to hike? I really don't know. I guess I can say it was inherited due to many family vacations involving hiking/camping; however, I hated hiking when I was younger and would complain during the trip's entirety. That must have been extremely annoying for everyone around me. In fact I wrote a full page apology to my parents, that I didn't end up sending, for being such a brat on those trips, as I had to listen to similar children all day and everyday, while working as a backpacking guide in Idaho this summer.

One winter my family and I took a ski trip to West Virginia. While my sister was out skiing I was in the hotel room watching the main event of the Poker World Series. My mom got so upset that we left the same day. So it is very ironic that, thus far, all I have wanted to do with my adulthood is find adventure.

I can't think of anything much more adventurous than living in the woods and traversing mountains for 6 months. The plan is to start in Georgia and head north to Maine. A member of my church, Van (who I call Herman), advised me to start in Maine and go south, as to go downhill the whole way. Not sure it works like that but we'll see.