Strictly for excitement of 2010ers!!!

[ShelterLeopard]

Well, I don't know about you all, but I leave for my hike in just a couple days under 3 months, and I'm PSYCHED!!!

So, I decided that we need a thread solely for exciting and venting excitement of 2010 thru hikers. (NoBo, SoBo, January start, June start, whatever! We're all excited, I'm sure)

So, what are you all doing in this stage of preparation? Still getting needed gear? Food prep? Or are you packed and ready to go, and just keep packing and repacking your first maildrops because you need something hikery to do?

[Symbol]

I here you! I am looking at a little under 4 months and feel the same way!

[BrianLe]

Not to be buzz-kill (!), but I suggest this thread be moved to the 2010 class thread area.

I'm leaving about the same time you are and am ~mostly ready, but having foot surgery in a couple of weeks. So my physical training will be pretty limited until near the last minute. Not ideal for a late winter start (!), but it's what the schedule allows.

My gear is virtually complete. I'll put together my five resupply boxes in January sometime, collect some of the contents in the meantime (on sale where possible ...). Mostly resupplying along the way.

So some few tasks to do over the next couple of months --- put a few meals together, do a couple of shakedown hikes or at least "sleep outdoor in planned gear" in the snow, depending on foot recovery. Book my flight. Make various arrangements for home life to proceed harmoniously with me absent (just me being absent should aid in that ... :-)). Organize gear at home to make it easy for my wife to mail me specific things on demand. Get the new AT book with the 2010 version is available.

Definitely looking forward to being on trail next year; I spend a bit too much time reading this and BPL threads, though that's caused me to change my mind on a few gear choices. The main thing now is to get through this surgery and start healing; I wish other schedule constraints had allowed me to have it a bit earlier!

[Maddog]

i hear you too...102 days and counting!!!

[Doctari]

I don't leave for another 10 years, but I already got: my gear, plan in place (to be burned the first night), etc, and in fact I could leave in about 1 hr if given the opportunity right now & that's cause I would need to get/pack food & the store I would go to is a 30 minute drive, but I know where everything I want is.

SO, if anyone wants to sponsor me, hint, hint, hint:

Class of 2010 have a great hike!! Wish I could join you.

[ShelterLeopard]

Thanks Doctari!

[Pony]

While it is difficult, I try to think about the trail as little as possible. A couple of years ago, I left Springer with the intent of thru hiking, but in the six months prior, I devoted nearly every waking hour either researching the trail or thinking about it. By the time April rolled around my enthusiasm had declined significantly since the previous November. In the spring I will be heading out of Damascus, where I left the trail two years ago, and hope to have a clear head so that it all seems fresh and new.

[Speakeasy]

While it is difficult, I try to think about the trail as little as possible. A couple of years ago, I left Springer with the intent of thru hiking, but in the six months prior, I devoted nearly every waking hour either researching the trail or thinking about it. By the time April rolled around my enthusiasm had declined significantly since the previous November. In the spring I will be heading out of Damascus, where I left the trail two years ago, and hope to have a clear head so that it all seems fresh and new.

Hey - I hear you OSUBCS#1. I've spent the last 7 months researching, buying, selling, switching out gear, shakedown hiking and logistics planning that I started to feel totally over saturated with information. As a result I started to feel like I needed a break from WB. I used to dream about the trail every day and lately I noticed that I have not really been thinking about it. So here I am. Looking to become inspired again to begin my adventure. Thanks much ShelterLeopard for making me feel the excitement again. I'm leaving a little later (4/14) but I hope to see you all out on the trail. Real life is starting to get me down and now I can feel excited about the future. The information I have received from WB has made my hike possible and I want to thank all those who share their experiences and advice. Well, enough from me for now - I hope to see all the class of 2010 out on the trail...

LostKey (formerly known as Speakeasy)

[Many Walks]

The class of 2010 is about to embark on the trip of a lifetime and I hope you thoroughly enjoy every mile! Wish you all the very best!!!

[Jeff]

THis AM I had the chance to climb Bromley on a cool, sunny day here in Vermont !! Not a bit of snow on the slopes...what will the skiers do on Thanksgiving day?

In six months the mud will be deep and hikers will be loving the trails here in New England.

[ShelterLeopard]

THis AM I had the chance to climb Bromley on a cool, sunny day here in Vermont !! Not a bit of snow on the slopes...what will the skiers do on Thanksgiving day?

In six months the mud will be deep and hikers will be loving the trails here in New England.

Hey Jeff, if you're still stocking up on Ben and Jerry's, save me a pint of your best for July!!!

[HumanBN]

Starting off this March. Excited and ready. Going to do as many extended hikes as possible this Winter. Doing a two night trip this weekend with my brother, who plans to hike the AT as well.

[Young Gun]

I still need about half of my gear but you know christmas is a wonderful time and of course i will be getting out of my first semester of college in dec. then I start work to save up to hit springer on the 15th of march i keep putting my pack on and walking around the house for no reason other than trail fever.

[SawnieRobertson]

124 or fewer days for me. A lot will be determined by the weather. I have to be home (a short day's drive from Springer Mountain) March 2, 9, and 16, but I have thoughts of doing a few miles earlier if we get into one of those pre-Spring wonder weeks that could serve as a final shakedown. All that aside, I am ready to pack except for considering exchanging my tent for a LightHeart 2-door. It is over a pound lighter than my Stephenson 2-R. In other words, there is a lot of weighing going on in my head.--Kinnickinic

[JoshStover]

Im soo pumped and ready to go. I swear if I had just a few more bits of gear and few thousand more dollars I'd take of tomorrow. I love the snow and it wont be to long til its all over the trail!

[ShelterLeopard]

And last night, my packa arrived in the mail! Needless to say, I'm psyched. Keep compiling all the newer and lighter gear I need...

[ShelterLeopard]

And this morning, I packed almost all of my maildrops (I'm only doing them for the first month, and two other slightly difficult resupply areas). Almost certainly to be unpacked and repacked a lot, but still... Yum... Korr's pasta sides, salmon, barbeque sauce, and chocolate chip cookies!

[Jack Tarlin]

Make sure you don't seal them. Instead, leave 'em open and make sure your base camp person (the one with your itinerary who is doing your mailouts) has some wrapping tape. That way, if necessary, you can call them from the Trail and have them add/delete stuff before the parcel is sent out.

[ShelterLeopard]

That's what I was thinking- I'm going to spread out all gear and excess food so my mother can easily find anything extra I need. That way I can call if I need any replacement gear, crave any food, change my schedule or simply can't FACE another pasta dish.

[sheepdog]

Hey ShLep,
You gonna keep a trail journal?? Gotta keep track of a fellow Higgins Laker!!!