‘Twas The Night Before Springer

An old Chinese proverb says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” It makes me wonder what a journey of 2,197.4 miles begins with. In my case, it begins with anxiety, fear, and a tummy that’s rumbling in such a way that I feel like I could give a super sucker water gun a run for its money, in both psi and volume. I am now threatening to spray anyone who gets close to my molten lava butt broth. So, to say the nerves are flowing is an understatement. I apologize to anyone following close behind us, walk around the mud slick. You’ve been warned.

Tag Time

We are tag numbers 1093 and 1094. They don’t mean anything to you, but to my dad and I they mean everything. They represent months of endless hiking of local trails over and over again. I feel like if I do the 8-mile loop hike around Lake Vesuvius one more time, the forest service is going to start charging me rent. They also represent hundreds of hours watching videos, reading blogs, talking to other hikers, and planning every ounce that we will carry on our backs for as long as the trail allows. You’ll never find yourself being more petty than when you are weighing your underwear to decide how many pairs you should take. The answer is zero. Commando it is.

Ounces Make Pounds

You find yourself trying to decide how much an ounce of weight in your pack is worth. Do you want to spend $50 on a cheap puffy jacket that weighs 16 ounces or $250 on one that weighs 10 ounces? The answer seems simple, but if you choose the cheap option too many times, you’ll find yourself shivering on a cold night and hiking the trail with a 40-pound pack. Both spell trouble, although many will argue that there is no problem with a 40, 50, or even 60-pound pack. For me, 30 pounds was the goal. I’ll miss this by a few pounds, but I refuse to cut my full roll of toilet paper.

Right Here, Right Now

Well, the time is now. The next time you’ll hear from me, I’ll be walking somewhere in Georgia. I’ll probably be wet, cold, and second-guessing every decision I’ve made to get me to where I am. I appreciate all of you for following along with me. If you could like, share, comment, donate, or subscribe to the blog on The Trek site, I would be beyond appreciative.

Talk to you soon. I have a long walk to take with my dad. Wish us luck.

Godspeed

Hope you like the play on ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas’ below.

https://youtu.be/MUnD9rhqpgs?feature=shared