Appalachian Trail

[Hetchy]

I bought my plane ticket from San Jose to Atlanta Georgia.
I will be staying at a wonderful hostel near Amicalola Falls State Park on the night of March 14th 2011. The next day I will begin the Appalachian trail by first hiking the 8 mile approach trail up Springer Mountain.
This is going to be quite an amazing experience to see the third major Long Distance trail in the Trple crown in as many years. I can't wait to report back to y'all what i find out there!
Take care of the Sierra for me for 1 more season would ya?
This promises to be quite a tough hike. i am thinking it will take me about 4 months to cover the 2,175 miles. About the same amount of time i took to cross the 2,800 miles of the CDT. Despite the elevations being drastically lower out on the AT the trail follows non-continuous ridgelines. Essentially straight up and down. There are not very many switchbacks. My speedy friend Sage whom i met on the CDT went from doing 30+ mile days to 20 milers on the AT. So I am not gonna fool myself into thinking this will be an easy hike.
Another adventure it will be though.
Anyhow i started this thread so i have someplace to share the hike with y'all.
Even though I am not leaving until March my heart is already there.
You know you have the Long Distance hike bug when you dream about the crunch of trail dust under your sneaker and wake up just before you take a bite out of that nutella, cheese, and peanutbutter burrito you just finished making.
Is it March yet?

[rlown]

Good Luck, Hetchy..

Is your progress still gonna be posted on postholer?

Hope the ticks don't get you too bad.

Russ

[BSquared]

Keep us posted, Hetchy! And think of me when you do the bee-utiful section of the Trail from Harper's Ferry to Penn-Mar. I've done it a couple of times in the spring, and it's just gorgeous!

[ERIC]

Good luck! Can't wait to read about your progress.

[maverick]

Looking forward to tracking your progress Hetchy.
Have fun, and be safe!

[vandman]

Enjoy yourself. Bring some Ben's 100% DEET for the spring no see-ums and ticks. I have a place up near the TN/NC border near The Pond Mt. Wilderness. If you feel like raiding my wine cellar, give me a shout.