Planning to make the hike by 2021
by
, 03-10-2016 at 21:16 (1557 Views)
I'm recently back from my first actual steps on the trail. a 6 mile day hike in the snow from Newfound Gap to Charlie's Bunion (almost). I've known of the AT, I've read about the AT, and in my work as an over the road truck driver, I have exhausted the collection of audiobooks about the AT which are available on amazon. I am totally smitten with the thought of making a 5 month journey of over 2000 miles and standing triumphant on a mountain top in personal victory.
Now the real work begins. The research on what gear I should get, what physical conditioning I can do in the sleeper cab of my 18 wheeler, and how to sock away the money Ill need to survive a self imposed unemployment. My registration to whiteblaze is an attempt to glean as much information from those who have hiked, and are hiking the AT, in real time. I welcome any constructive suggestions, and humbly beg for words of encouragement.
I understand that some of my new idols (Skywalker, Awol, Apostle, Wrongfoot, and the whole gang from Mountain Crossings) are members of this community, and I would be thrilled to get advice from any of them, but I am by no means an advice snob. Ill be an open minded sponge!
I already have a trail name. it was given to me 20 years ago by my friends and shipmates in the navy. To paraphrase Mellville, "They call me Funhouse".