Prehike Wrap Up

Well, today is the day! Currently at the airport waiting to board my flight to ATL and only slightly worried about fitting my pack in the overhead compartment.

I’ve had “write a new blog post” on my todo list for the last two weeks, along with “clean out car”, “shop for resupply”, and “cancel car insurance”. All I’ve done instead is “eat all the food”.

In all seriousness, I feel pretty proud of myself for my use of time the last two months. While I realistically probably should have done a little more thru-hike prep, I am a firm believer that no matter how much I did, I would still currently have this knot in my stomach and wandering thoughts of “What the hell am I doing?”

Here are a few fun things I’ve done and how I’ve convinced myself it counts as trail training:

Thailand/Cambodia/Laos

Traveled with one of my longest/bestest friends, Kelly. Besides the king cobra encounter and breathalyzer fiasco, this trip was everything I could have hoped for and more. I also got to break in my new pack and practice wearing the same outfits over and over again. Impressively stepped 33,400 in one day walking through Angkor Wat. And we maybe saw half of it.

Gave my Cat Excessive Pets

I love my cat and I’m going to miss the shit out of her. I googled “taking cat thru-hiking” and it looks like people at least have mastered day hikes. But really, check @campingwithcats…

Ran 10 Miles

I am a pseudo-runner. Sometimes I train for a race, and then I don’t run again for 4-6 months. Running and hiking are completely different, but at least I got myself into a form of physically fit before leaving. It helped that the Cherry Blossom was one of the most beautiful races I’ve done and I got to do it with my sister and another of my oldest/bestest friends, Sarah.

Surprise Drew!

Spent a lot of time with my boyfriend and his wonderful family, without whom I would have gone crazy planning this hike over the last few months. Drew turned 30 on the 16th and we successfully pulled off a surprise party for him on Saturday (click the link above to see it in action!)

I know everyone thinks their significant other is the best, but I win. Mine is better.

Got Kissed By an Elephant

This actually happened in Thailand, but it feels significant enough to warrant its own heading. I love elephants.

I finally put my pack together this morning. I’m not exaggerating when I say I am a horrible procrastinator. I’m sure there are things I will change and weight I will cut, but I think I have a good jump off point going into this crazy adventure. Tonight I stay at the Hiker Hostel in Georgia and they will drive me to the trail tomorrow. The forecast is looking pretty grim for my first few days, but at least I will learn quickly how to put up things in the rain.

Here we go!