Preparing for the Appalachian Trail in 2003

Share in Our Journey (written prior to leaving for the Appalachian Trail)

Sometime last winter, we hit upon a crazy idea. Actually, we didn't even think it was that crazy, because at first we never imagined that it would become a reality. Once in a while when we were bored, we'd sit around, looking at the atlas and imagine all of the places we'd like to go, and think about how great it would be to just hit the road for awhile. Go wherever our whims take us - maybe somewhere warm, maybe to the middle of nowhere, maybe to some big city or tourist trap. But what would we really accomplish? How could we afford driving around day after day? When would we know we were "finished," and what would we do when we were done?

One night, looking at our USA atlas, we saw a little pink dotted line running through state after state - the Appalachian Trail. We didn't know much about it - well, nothing, really. But the more we thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. Every vacation we've ever taken together has been to somewhere in the middle of the woods. Last summer alone we managed to fit in 3 backpacking trips in the midst of our 40 hour workweeks (not to mention planning an August wedding.) We're not "hard core," and we'd even still consider ourselves pretty inexperienced, but backpacking is definitely what we enjoy doing.

To make a long story short, all that indecision is history. As I write this, it is February 5th, and it's getting down to crunch time. Our anticipated start time is April 1st in Georgia, or as we all know, April Fool's Day. Except we're not playing a joke, and hopefully not fooling ourselves. Our goal is to make it all the way to Mt. Katahdin in Maine by the end of the summer.

I've enlisted the help of my brother, Earl, to update our journals as the summer progresses. Please check back in often, as I personally will be working on getting all the info. ready before we leave. Feel free to drop us a line, as we plan to check in where there's internet access along the trail. Also, please visit our links and help support us by finding some good info and outdoor equipment.

Thanks for stopping by, and if you happen to see us on the trail, say hello!

Chelsea

On To AT Journals