The first person knows...

So I had to tell someone about my plans. One big reason was to keep me from possibly changing my mind. If someone knew, I would have to live up to my promise. So I told the one person who would most appreciate my trip. She was super excited for me and promised to send me candy care packages. I will hold her to that :-)

Gear

Gear is obviously a very important aspect of a thru hike. I have been building up my backpacking gear for years now. I like buying the latest and greatest as long as I know it is a quality product. Lightweight gear is the goal, but you have to balance weight with needs. Being dry, warm, comfortable, etc are all very important, so the absolute lightest item may not be the right choice if you end up being miserable because of it.

Right now, my pack weight goal is to be under 12 lbs without food and water. This is extremely doable but it does get expensive and you have to leave out some comfort items like a chair. 

I broke down and bought a bunch of stuff from ZPacks. I have ordered from them in the past and liked what I got, so I bought a new ArcBlast 52L pack, a Hexamid Solplex tent, and various other items. $$$ but I think it will be worth it. The waterproof nature of cuben fiber is my main reason for buying new gear. I love the idea of my tent not sagging when it gets wet.

I still need to acquire several important items, the most critical being a sleeping bag. It must keep me warm in the wildly unpredictable southern Appalachian spring weather. One day it can be in the 70s and sunny and the next 20 and raining. I am a cold sleeper so I know I will need a warm bag, but I am unsure of what to get right now. I plan on going by Mountain Crossings this weekend to see if they have any Western Mountaineering bags in stock that I can look at. My other options are a REI Igneo and a couple of other options from Marmot.

I also need to get a camera and battery pack, plus all the necessary cables, and keep it as light as possible. More research to do...

The Decision

I remember the first time I stepped foot on the Appalachian Trail. It was May 2004 on a family trip to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN. We drove up and stopped at Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Everyone was looking at the view or the giant plaque and doing all the touristy things. I was more interested in the narrow dirt path that ran into the trees and disappeared. I was instantly hooked- I wanted to know where that trail went. I wanted to follow it right then and there. So I walked a hundred yards or so up the trail, turned around and came back. I was 13 years old at the time and I knew that I wanted to hike that entire trail one day.

On the AT at Newfound Gap looking north. May 2004.

Two months later I got my first true taste of backpacking on the AT. We hiked Springer to Neel Gap in 5 days with my scout troop. It was amazing. I remember my grand plans to thru hike after high school in 2008, all my research and reading. I bought the ATC's Workbook for Planning Thru Hikes and started filling it out.

Needless to say, that didn't happen. Life got in the way, along with a scholarship for college, and my plans disappeared. After college, I told myself, I would go. I didn't plan for that, just assumed that it would happen. Instead, I got an amazing job in my career field 2 months before graduating college, and out the window went my thru hike dream again.

Earlier this year the idea snapped into my head again. Why not next year? I feel like I have reached my peak at my current job and I am financially able to take 6 months off of work. I feel like I have a good chance of getting a leave of absence so I have a job to come back to, and if not, I can survive. So, why not?

I toyed with the idea for 3 months and I finally decided to go for it. I am going to hike the Appalachian Trail!

Thus the planning began. When? Next year obviously. Only way I want to go is northbound. That means a March-April start. I don't like super cold weather, so wait until April. Looking at the calendar, I picked April 7th as my start date to give me Easter with my family.

So the decision has been made and preparations have started. I am going to wait until the middle of September to make my announcement to family and friends. I have planned a section hike starting Labor Day weekend from Springer to Fontana Dam  to make sure I am ready to go. I have had issues with my feet and knees the past couple of years, so I want to make sure that I am physically ready to go before announcing it.

This is it. My dream is beginning to become reality. Here's to 2015!