ever4ward

The high today was 18. I went ice-boating on the lake for a short run but the snowdrifts were too solid and the ride rough. So I came back inside and once more unpacked and repacked my AT pack. Anyone else done that yet? 100 times? I rechecked my daughter's pack, still 16 lbs. She carries the tent but no food. Checked my pack, still 16 lbs without food. I carry the cooking gear and the food for the 3 of us so on mail drop days my pack might weigh as much as 28lbs but it gets lighter every day. By mutual agreement, I don't check my wife's pack.

On February 9 we leave New Hampshire for Texas driving with our gear and pre-packed food drop boxes. We are delivering our Chihuahuas to our daughters while we hike and the food to my MIL "Mimi On Star" for regular mailing.

We are scheduled to arrive at Amicalola Falls on March 6 then hike to Len Foote Hike Inn then begin our 2013 Thru-Hike of the Appalachian Trail.

Every hiker of the AT brings expectations and plans great and small to the trail. Statistically only 10-15% will complete the nearly 2200 mile hike. As I sit in my dining room contemplating six months of continuous daily milage of 10-20 miles with our 11yo daughter I wonder what our biggest challenge will be. Certainly our vegan/gluten free diet is a big challenge. No Pizza Hut or local burger joint nights in trail towns. We have ordered 550 vegan/gluten free meals from outdoorherbivore.com and anticipate delivery in 2 days. We also ordered Justin's Nut Butter packages and Starbucks Via coffee packs. The food will be packaged into 5-7-10 day boxes and pre-labled for shipping to the pre-determined mail drop locations.

Well, its time to start dinner. Tonight I'm making a massaged kale salad to accompany my wife's vegan Posole.

Tomorrow it's AT-36!