Currently, the plan is to board Train #50, the eastbound Amtrak that stops in Connersville, sometime in the wee hours of May 19. When I get off I will be in Charlottesville, VA, and the next day I will start walking the Appalachian Trail north from Rockfish Gap, near the southern end of Shenandoah National Park. The destination will be a little over 1300 miles away, Baxter Peak, on Mount Katahdin, in central Maine. In past years I have managed to walk maybe 90% of the trail. I’ve been at both ends. But there are gaps in between that prevent me from being able to say I’ve done it all. And it bugs the hell out of me. To fill the gaps, I will be covering a lot of ground I’ve covered before, but nothing that’s been hiked since ’95 and most since ’75 or ’80. It will seem new.
I have always thought this hike would be impossible due to conflicts with time and money. (no time, no money) However, reaching the breaking point with my former employer in August, quitting, and going on Social Security has suddenly made the impossible, possible.
It suddenly occurs to me that I can thank FDR for this hike. He created Social Security that makes it financially possible, and the CCC that did a lot of the work constructing the trail making it physically possible.
But anyway, I will be carrying a tablet to post regular updates on Facebook – once I get the hang of Facebook, and will check this board when possible. The tablet is only going to work where there is Wi-Fi available so there will be long periods of time when nothing is posted. There is also the 50/50 chance the tablet will die.
I am getting fanatical about shaving the weight I’ll be carrying, but one unnecessary heavy for its size weight that will make the trip is Bill Kreimer’s honor coin. It will keep me connected in spirit and provide inspiration.
Everyone have a good summer. Barring Lyme disease, snakebite, being mauled by a bear, trampled by a moose, or falling off a cliff, I think I will.
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