Nine Weeks: The Finishing Touches

I woke up this morning to about four inches of snow on the ground.  This gave Stewart and I the perfect opportunity to test out some of our gear.  Sloshing through the snow and slush, I found that indeed my boots keep my feet toasty and dry!  Our clothes repelled moisture and dried quickly... we were quite warm in below freezing temperatures.

My packcover came in the mail this morning, as well.  I'm awaiting the arrival of some small dry bags (to store my phone, journal, and other important items in) and a set of three AT preparation books that I bought online last night from the official store of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.  They're here if you'd like to take a look.  Really, the only gear I have left to purchase is a sports bra, food bag, knife, headlamp, and some insoles for my boots.  I can't believe everything else is purchased.

I did something very exciting today: I reserved a room at the Amicalola State Park lodge, which is located near the start of the Appalachian Trail.  We'll stay there the night before we begin our hike.  Our friends Windsor and Casey will tag along and stay at the lodge as well, waking up to breakfast with us and see us off on our long voyage.  Stewart and I are grateful for their company and it will bring us much comfort to have friends waving us goodbye as we trek up the trail leading up Springer Mountain and to the official southern terminus of the AT.  Having the reservations made today has sealed it in my brain: this thing is really happening! 

Last night I sat down and went through our Appalachian Trail guidebook, jotting down a tentative itinerary of the milage we'll do and shelters we'll stay at for the state of Georgia.  I figure that will give us some structure as we head out.  Sometime before we get to North Carolina, I'll sit down and do the same for that state.  State by state, we'll move along, setting reasonable goals and hopefully keeping a realistic scale of what we're doing and where we're going.  I don't want to be so focused on reaching Maine that I forget I'm in Virginia, or North Carolina, or wherever.  I never want to forget that the reason I'm doing this is NOT to reach the end (though that will hopefully be the final result) but to enjoy hiking a beautiful part of our country on my own terms, at my own speed.

So, I really feel as if I've tied up a lot of loose ends this week, as far as making the reservation, ordering most of the rest of my gear (the final items are going to be bought at a store here in town), and getting a feel for our Georgia timeline.  One important thing still needs to be done, however, and that is I need to send in our tent poles to get repaired, as the company representative told me it could take up to a month to fix.  We plan on mailing them out next Friday.  I know this is cutting it close... but it's better late than never, I guess.