1 post tagged “on the eve of departure”
We are about to embark on the Long Walk from Georgia to Maine. It has been three years of dreaming and planning. I first heard about the Appalachain Trail from a graduate student attending classes at the University of Michigan Biological Station. She had many harrowing tales and beautiful pictures to share that inspired me. I liked the idea of seeing the country on foot, experiencing the natural rhythms of the seasons, and pushing my physical limits. Maribeth shared these passions and we set our minds to getting to the trailhead.
Originally we had hoped to hike the trail last summer 2006, but we did not have adequate time to raise money, find a job, and apply to grad school. So we pushed it back another year. It was a good decision because we both held down jobs at Harvard as research assistants, applied and got accepted to a grad program in Botany at U. Florida, acquired the right gear on employee discount from REI, and raised the funds. We were surprised at the astounding cost of storing and moving our personal belongings during the trail so we sold it most of our stuff on Craiglist and Amazon and packed the rest of it in Maribeth's car. It is liberating, but we will have to restart when we move to Florida.
For the past 4 days we have been staying with Maribeth's older sister Jane and her family in Birmingham, AL. It has been wonderful to relax, heal, and recharge after moving and preparing. I have been going in their hot tub twice a day. Jane will drive us to the trailehead (Amicalola State Park, GA) on Monday March 5th. Their hospitality has been our first experience of "trail magic".
I am cautiously optimistic about our adventure. For the past three weeks I have been experiencing pain in my right knee. I feared that my knee would get enflamed on the trail stopping our adventure short. I went to the doctor yesterday and he stated that the pain resulted from my bowed legs improper tracking of my kneecap. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory and physical therapy to strengthen my inner quads and loosen my hips. The pain has been steadily decreasing since arriving in Alabama giving me hope that it will be manageable on the trail.
Eighty to ninety percent of all people that attempt a thru-hike in any given year fail to make it to the end for various reasons. Maribeth and I plan to take it in small steps, mile by mile, shelter-by-shelter, town-by-town. I hope that we are able to enjoy the entire five months that we have allotted on the trail. Getting to Katahdin is optional.
We'd love to have some friends and family hike a leg with us. Please e-mail us and make some arrangements! We will not have cell phones but there will be many towns along the way where we can check e-mail and make phone calls.
Send some love,
Jared
