February 2005

February 12, 2005- It's been a while since I've written anything but since I'm getting ready to head out again I figure that I had better get back into the habit. What a difference a couple of years makes. When I look at the 2003 entries, especially towards the end I want to say, "Oh, what a whiner." I'm sure that is not how I felt back then but it sure seems that way now.

At any rate I am looking forward to being back on the trail this March. I haven't decided my exact starting date. Originally, I set it for March 18th. The sixteenth is our wedding anniversary and I want to be home for that so the the 18th seemed appropriate. However, we are having a major Cub Scouting event (District Pinewood Derby) on the 19th so I decided that waiting a few more days wouldn't hurt. Then I was persuaded that a meeting on the 22nd that I was hoping to avoid was just too important for me to miss. Only 5 days after that is Easter and I guess I should be home for that. That puts me up to the 28th as the day I would be leaving Louisville. Finally, someone mentioned that if I would only stay for 4 additional days I wouldn't miss Scout-O-Rama. Sorry, something has to give sometime. Then, on the other hand, Scout-O-Rama is on April Fools Day so I guess we will have to see what happens.

In a way, I've already started. Undertaking an adventure of this sort takes a bit of mental, physical, and emotional preparation. There will be more about this is subsequent entries. I also need to pull forward in time any major tasks and responsibilities and try to tend to them before I leave. This includes things at home, things for the City of Parkway Village(my employer) and things for Scouts. It promises to be a hectic time.

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February 14, 2005- I've decided that I will leave on March 28 and am hoping that I doesn't put time pressures on the other end. I really should be back in Louisville by the last week of September. I have my ground transportation lined up, or at least I think I do. My daughter has agreed to drive me to Amicalola and perhaps hike for a couple of days or so before she returns home.

There isn't too much to be done in the actual planning department as I was basically satisfied with my planning from 2003. I did obtain a 2005 edition of the Thru-Hikers Handbook by Dan Bruce. The handbook lists many major landmarks and their mileage points, making it easier to keep track of where you are. It also gives the locations of water sources and trail shelters and lists the trail towns and services available in those towns. In short, it ells you nearly everything you need in order to function on the trail.

My next chore is to gather and check my equipment. Since I've done quite a bit of camping over the past 2 years some of my stuff has gotten a little scattered but I'm sure that I will be able to pull it all back together in a day or so. I am basically happy with my gear and am not planning many if any replacements. I did replace my hydration bladder with a smaller one. The 2 liter one I was using was too large to fit easily in my pack. I replace it with a 1 liter bladder. I realize that I have less water carrying capacity but then again I never completely filled it the last time out.

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February 15, 2005- Earlier I alluded to physical, emotional, and mental preparations and mentioned that I would expand on that.

Really there is not too much that one can do physically to prepare for this particular hike. I have started walking regularly and am trying to get 4 to 6 miles in every day, eventually expanding to 10 to 12. I am cutting back on my eating in order to shed 10 to 15 pounds. Finally, I am climbing between 120 and 180 flights of steps a day. I think I'm wearing a groove in the flights from our basement to second floor. Actually there is little more one can do to prepare locally for life on a mountain trail. The elevations just are not around here. I remember hiking in the Jefferson County Forest a few years back and I remember the hills as being tough. Now they seem no different than level ground. Yet they pale compared to the climbs up ahead.

The mental preparations and emotional things are more difficult to deal with. In 2003, I had no second thoughts or reservations about leaving. I felt like we had a handle on things at home and that we could be on cruise control for a while. Things have changed quite a bit during that past 2 years. Now my kids are establishing lives on their own and it seems that they need dad more than they ever did when they were younger. Now that my wife and I are approaching empty nest status we are talking about relatively major household restructuring. This involves some house remodeling, rearrangement of rooms. and new vehicle arrangements; basically every aspect of our lives here in town. We will probably have to come out of semi-retirement and return to full time work for a few years to finance all of this. Somehow I have to be able to compartmentalize all of this and put it away for a few months while I go play in the woods.

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February 17, 2005- Yuck!!! Mildew!!! Well it seems that I managed to to let my walter filter dry out completely after the last time I used it. I remember cleaning it and disinfecting it but I guess it was still a little damp when I closed it all back up. When I opened it up to recheck it the aroma of mildew nearly knocked me off my feet. The growth was concentrated on the filter cartridge itself, not a major problem since I was planning to replace it anyway. However, the aroma of the mildew was picked up by the housing and the hoses. I couple of hours in a bleach solution and a good scrubbing seemed to take care of the problem. There was one lesson learned and one reinforced by this experience.

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February 20, 2005- I've managed to locate all of my gear and have turned my attention to planning. I've come up with a rough schedule of where I hope to be and when I hope to be there. This list is subject to change depending on weather, injury, and a host of other factors.

Town	Anticipated Date
Hiawassee, GA	end of first week in April
Fontana Dam Village	3rd week of April
Hot Springs, NC	end of April beginning of May
Erwin, TN	end of 1st week of May
Hampton, TN	mid May
Damascus, VA	mid May
Atkins, VA	mid May
Pearisburg, VA	end of May
Waynesboro, VA	mid June
Harpers Ferry, WVA	mid to late June
Boilins Springs, PA	late June - early July
Duncannon, PA	early July
Delaware Water Gap, PA	mid July
Fort Montgomery, NY	mid July
Kent, CT	mid to late July
Williamstown, MA	end of July beginning ofAugust
Killington, VT	early to mid August
Hanover, NH	mid August
Glencliff, NH	mid August
Gorham, NH	mid to late August
Andover, ME	late August
Stratton, ME	early September
Monson, ME	early September
Baxter Peak, Mt Katahdin	mid September

Having completed the rough schedule I am ready to specifically plan the first sections The schedule for these sections looks like this.

Hike 1 Amicalola Park-Neels Gap
39.3 miles
Anticipated Days 5

Day 1 Approach to Springer
Notes: Anticipate long Hard Day 8.8 mostly uphill miles

Day 2 Springer to Hawk Mtn Shelter
Notes: A slightly easier day. Only 7.6 miles and the first 4 miles are mostly level to down hill

Day 3 Hawk Mtn Shelter to Gooch Mtn Shelter
Notes: A butt kicking day. Only 7.3 miles but it involves 2 serious climbs

Day 4 Gooch Mtn Shelter to Woodshole Shelter
Notes: An ambitious 11.9 miles- Did not quite make it to this shelter in 2003. There is one major climb

Day 5 Woodshole Shelter to Neels Gap
Notes: A very short 3.7 miles if you leave from Woodshole, There is one major climb and then a steep descent into Neels Gap. Resupply at Neels Gap The Walasi-Y, a hostel with bunk, showers, and laundry ($15 per night)/ outfitter/grocery is literally on the trail. The trail runs through a breezeway separating the hostel from the store. Shuttle service into Blairsville, GA may be arranged from here.
First re-supply point

Cumulative Days: 4 (April 2)

Hike 2 Neels Gap to Hiawassee
36.1 miles
Anticipated Days 5

Day 1 Neels Gap to Whitley Gap Shelter
Notes:A long climb out of Neels Gap followed by a decent ridge walk. Followed by a descent and another climb. Probably won't stay at shelter as it is more than a mile off the trail. Distance is 6.2 miles

Day 2 Whitley Gap Shelter to Blue Mtn Shelter
Notes: 11.6 miles

Day 3 Blue Mtn Shelter to Tray Mtn Shelter
Notes: 7.7 miles

Day 4 Tray Mtn Shelter to Deep Gap Shelter
Notes: 7.1 miles

Day 5 Deep Gap Shelter to Hiawaassee
Notes 3.5 miles; Hiawassee is 11 miles from the trail Hiawassee Inn will shuttle to and from trailhead.
Resupply in Hiawassee. There is a grocery and a couple of restaurants in Hiawassee. The major lodgin options are the Hiawassee Inn ($35.00 single), Mulls Motel ($45.00), and Holiday Inn Express ($71.00) Will probably opt for Hiawassee Inn as they are less expensive and do provide shuttle service

Cumulative Days: 9 (April 7)

Once I am in Hiawassee, I will check my maps, talk to people, perhaps make a few phone calls, and plan the next few stages in detail. If I find that I am far behind schedule I will have to plan mre ambitious days but if I am ahead I can plan slower more relaxed days.

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February 22, 2005- Trips like this need to be financed somehow. I've been saving money for years to pay for my vacation. Money, however, is not unlimited and many hikers have to stop sooner than they wanted because they run out of money. Expenses include food and supplies purchased along the way, a weekly stop at a laundry (if one is available), local in town transportation, and an ocassional restaurant meal or hotel, bunkhouse, or hostel stay. Many, but not all towns the trail goes through operates a hostel or bunkhouse of sorts where for a reasonable fee, generally less than $20.00, a hiker can arrange for a bunk for the night and a shower.

People generally do not carry a lot of cash when they hike. They used to rely on travvelers checks that wer mailed to them but now are relying more on in town ATMs.

Atypical budget may look like this:

Catagory	Cost per day	Number of Days	Total Expense
Food & Supplies	$9.00	180	$1,620.00
Laundry	$8.00	26 laundry days	$208.00
Transportation			$100.00
Hotels/Hostels			$300.00
Restaurant Meals			$300.00
Transportation to and from Trail			$250.00
Contingency			$200.00
Total			$2,978.00

The above figures don't necessarily reflect my budget but they do reflect what some people might spend.

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February 26, 2005- I've been working on food for the past few days. I've packed food for the first 12 days and my mail drop for Fontana Dam Village. I'm not planning on carrying 12 days worth of food at the beginning but I am going to take advantage of my daughter's and son's desire to hike with me for the first few days. Once the determine for sure how long they are want to hike I will transfer that many days of food to my food bag. I will then resupply out of their car when they are ready to come back home.

Fontana Dam Village is the first "stop" without a convenient supply point. It is at the southwestern tip of Smokie Mountain National Park, which starts a 70 or so mile stretch without a convenient resupply point. The food that I am taking, along with planned in-town purchases along the way should should get me to Pearisburg, VA, about a third of the way up the trail. If I make it that far, I will regroup and take a day or two to figure out my food for the next several hundred miles.