Here. We. Go.

Pretty happy with myself for finally finishing packing early this morning.

It's finally here.

No more planning. No more research. No longer do school or work stand in the way of the adventure that I've been planning for the past year (and change). I'm too excited to be nervous. I'm too cocky to be worried - or so I've been told. I'll work on that, but nothing can put a damper on the knowledge that later today I will be starting a multi-month journey amidst the best that God's creation has to offer. For weeks now people have been giving me this furrowed-brow look when I tell them I'm walking to Georgia by myself. This is almost always followed by a calculated question such as:

• What happens when you run out of water in the middle of nowhere?
• What happens if you run into a bear?
• What will you do if you run into a moose?
• Only two pairs of boxers???

The answers to these well-meaning questions are (in order):

• I have a water filtration system, and am never more than a few miles from water or a town.
• Depending on which book I trust I will either play dead, run away, or attack the bear. Great.
• Ride it.
• Yes.

After I assure them that changes of clothing are unnecessary because everyone else on the trail will smell as badly as I will, they lose the look and are excited for me. Some say they wish they could do something like this but can't due to [work/school/money/etc.]. It's true that I am greatly blessed to be in a position where I can go off for 4-6 months without any major consequences. I think this trip will be as important as a job would be for my future in different ways. For several months all I have to worry about is which campsite I want to pitch my tent at, and would I rather have the freeze dried lasagna or the freeze dried meatloaf? With all this free head-space I'll be able to toss around the big ideas, work on my writing, and be with God on His turf with no distractions. As they say, "Climbing mountains is the equivalent of churchgoing." (For more transcendental hiking quotes like this, please click here.) 

I'm also just excited to tackle the challenge of walking 2000ish miles, 5 million steps, whatever you want to call it. It's going to be really hard, and things that are difficult generally give you both a new perspective and a better idea of who you are as a person. Like Calvin's dad always told him in the comic strip, "It'll build character." Except I'm bringing this upon myself, but no matter...

So here's the plan for the next few days:

Later this morning I drive with E-Dokk to the base of Mount Katahdin in Maine, the first of many peaks that I will summit in the next several months. We'll camp there tonight then hike it on Wednesday.  Eric will hike one more day with me on the AT, then send me on my way. 

I'm not sure how many updates I'm going to be able to provide while in Maine. I don't have a computer, fancy phone, or anything else they have these days to get onto the internet, so I'll have to rely on libraries and other internet-laden facilities. And Maine has two of those along the trail. Goody. I'll see what I can do, but in the meantime please enjoy the polls on the right side of your screen. For the weight poll, my starting weight is 187.6lbs. And keep in mind I will NOT be counting the week I spend in Speculator, NY with my family at Camp-of-the-Woods towards my total day count for Maine or the entire AT. For those who are calling foul-play on this one, the week lost on conditioning will far outweigh and benefits of rest received. I'll try to add a new poll every once in a while to give you a reason to come back. I'll also be taking pictures and will try to incorporate some of them into my updates.

For anyone who is interested in what the Appalachian Trail looks like, or wants to get an idea of where I'll be at any point in time, go to this great interactive map. Thanks for reading and God Bless!

I'll try to update again soon, and if I don't it's probably because I tried to ride a moose...

I'm so freaking excited! Maine, here I come!