Journal entry Feb 25th to Mar 1st

This is the first in a series of journal entries I will be posting along the trail. I hope to be posting one of these entries every week. I thought it will be fun for readers to be able to follow along with all the ups and downs I will surely be experiencing throughout my adventure on the Appalachian trail.

Feb 25

8 days until GA. Got my new tent today, the Eureka spitfire 1. Its a great tent, it weighs in at just over 2lbs, which is a big weight saver from my former tent that was 6lbs. It is quite a bit smaller than my former tent but still should offer enough room for me and the dog. Dropped my rain jacket and pants out my bag in favor of a poncho. Big weight saver, and with a little custom work will be just as good as my full rain suit. I will be doing an article on it once its all done and tested on the trail a bit. Had some trouble getting my food to pack the way I need it to, but with the help of a good friend who is a much more experienced packer than me, was able to get it squared away. Still a little heavier than I want to be but that will change come warm weather when I can mail home all my cold weather gear. Packing for a dog is proving to be an added challenge, but a welcome one. I cant see doing this without him. Getting close to my start day pre trail jitters are trying to get the best of me but thankfully I have a wonderful support structure that helps me keep my head on straight.

Feb 26

7 days until GA. Worked on my rain gear today. It is coming together very well. The sleeves fit good but the shorts need a bit of adjusting. Thankfully I have a wonderful girlfriend that helped me figure it out. The weight savings from the rain gear swap will be significant. switched around some of the dog gear and made it work way better than I had originally packed it. Packing with my dog sure does add a level of challenge to this. I was told very few people that start with a dog are able to finish. I plan to defy those odds.

March 1

4 days until GA. Took a day trip to visit my sister and niece before I leave latter this week. It was great to spend some time with them, I already don’t see them much. Had some awesome dinner my sister made. It felt kinda weird saying goodbye knowing that I will not be seeing then for 6 months. Stopped at REI by her house to pick up some odds and ends things, found some of what I was looking for gonna have to look around a bit for the rest. This week is gonna be crazy, with only 4 days until I leave for GA. I am spending a lot of time saying goodbye to people, And the rest of my time making sure I have everything ready to go for AT 2015. Getting very restless, I have a very odd combination of emotions at the moment. One minute I feel like i’m ready and the next find myself second guessing my entire plan, but then I realize that plans matter very little, what does matter is my determination and dedication. So plans be damned i’m going for it.

 

 


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