Coming Down To The Wire

The previous post was rough mainly because I took forever to write (type) it.  Too many distractions with my thought process to make a truly coherent entry.  Ya'll are going to have to make do.

This is the last week before I hit the trail.  The plan is to have my good friends Chuck and Tracy take me up to the parking lot that is connected to the Appalachian Trail Connector on Saturday March 19th.  The beginning idea was to ride to Amicalola falls where Chuck and Tracy would do some day hiking while I did the 8 miles from the lodge at Amicalola to the Springer Mountain Shelter at the trailhead but they want to get back to the big ATL at a little after noon so I'm going to have them drop me off at the ATC parking lot.

It's still debatable if I will actually start the trek a day early or spend a lazy day at the shelter making a few videos and hiding a Geocache for the Newnan Hiking Club which will be in the area in May.  The Geocache will be hid (no the geocache was not hid because the big dummy left it at home).   The videos on the 19th will be the debatable part (the debate is over; no videos).

The pack has taken on a tremendous transformation since the last entry.  I upgraded to a 70 liter pack and once it was packed I realize it was about 60 lbs.  Some of it had to go.  The wool army blanket that weight-in at 6 lbs and had more bunk than I initially realized was the first to get cut.  Since wool tends to have the property of keeping a person warm even when wet I'm hoping I don't ever have to regret that decision.  Instead I have a minimalist sleeping bag rated at 40º with a sleeve that's good for another 5º and one of those thin emergency blanket; all together it weighs in at 3 lbs.  Then the 7 day food supply weight in at 8 1/2 lbs I cut it down considerably to 5 lbs.  Some extra stuff I was taking I'm now not.  These were the backup encase the main item failed, so on, etc, etc...  I got the pack down to 45 lbs.  Later today I will unpack and make an inventory that I will post later.  Oh, also; there is a good bit of warm weather gear that hopefully, by mid April I will be able to mail back home, or I may just shuck them at a Salvation Army drop off: depends on what type of mood I'm in when that time comes.  That will drop the pack by another 15 lbs or so.

Now once on the trail I shall have very few places where I can get out with a signal so I shall have very little electronics on me. I'll only have a cell phone for trail towns, a separate digital camera, (the camera on my iPhone has the shakes and I'm not upgrading to that behemoth iPhone 13) a solar charger, and my Garmin hand held GPS.  The GPS takes two AA batteries but will run off of them for up to a week before needing replacement. I have to keep a small supply of batteries with me.  I'll be more reliant on the GPS to tell me the time than my phone which I will keep turned off as much as possible.
.  As far as my wrist watch is concern it will guard the fort awaiting faithfully for my return.

I'll use the old method of paper journals to record my GPS position, milage, and notes.  When I reach a trail town I will use some of that time to update both this blog and farcebook.  

I have no qualms in letting my readership know that this upcoming grand adventure both scares and excite me at the same time.  The unknown, trials, and hardships (abet the hardships should be minimal or more like the irritants) along with the sights, experiences, and sense of accomplishment: all of it will be exhilarating.  Also, I'm hopping that the soul searching that I will do along the trail will finally allow me to decide what to do with my life. 

Maine Here I Come!