Sunday, February 27, 2011
One Month!
In 4 short weeks I'll be on my way. I am so ready to go! My re-supply boxes are just about done and I started moving out of my apartment. 4 more days of work. Just tying up the loose ends! Woo-hoo!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
5 Weeks Left!
In just 5 short weeks from today I will be at Amicalola Falls State Park starting my 6 month hike north. Every day has become a countdown for me. Days until I quit work: 12. Days until I move out of my apartment: 15. Days until I leave Michigan: 18. I feel like time has been moving extremely slowly these past few weeks. I just want to go already! The warm weather here has not helped my eagerness very much.
I have many reasons why I am ready to leave here, but mainly I am excited to start my journey. For 6 months I will get to move at my own pace. There will be no deadlines. Society works differently on a trail of that length- and I am looking forward to discovering it. I feel like I don't fit in here and I am looking for a place to belong, if only for a little while. I am excited to be dirty and stinky and to not be forced to pee in a toilet! I am yearning to listen to the wind and rain, to feel dirt and rock under my feet. I want to go to bed every night exhausted and to wake up every morning excited to live!
I will miss some of the comforts of home, don't get me wrong. I will miss my family and friends. I will miss the security of having a paycheck every week. I will miss my animals. I will miss having more than one change of clothing and shoes.
I know that only about 27% of hikers who start the Appalachian Trail going north actually successfully make it to Mt Katahdin in Maine. http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805579/k.DA92/2000Milers_Facts_and_Statistics.htm I hope to be one of the successful hikers that make it this year! However, if I should not make it, I do not want to look at it as a failure. My goal is to complete the AT, but the journey is much more important than the end result. I will be proud of myself if I only make it one mile because I will have already accomplished so much. I have already made life changing (and bettering) decisions that I may have never gotten around to if I hadn't decided to hike the AT. I might still be working at a job that makes me miserable or living far away from my amazing husband. If I decide to quit for any reason, I don't want that decision to negatively effect anything that had gotten me to that point. But damn, I sure do want to do a victory dance on the top of Mt. Katahdin!!
I have many reasons why I am ready to leave here, but mainly I am excited to start my journey. For 6 months I will get to move at my own pace. There will be no deadlines. Society works differently on a trail of that length- and I am looking forward to discovering it. I feel like I don't fit in here and I am looking for a place to belong, if only for a little while. I am excited to be dirty and stinky and to not be forced to pee in a toilet! I am yearning to listen to the wind and rain, to feel dirt and rock under my feet. I want to go to bed every night exhausted and to wake up every morning excited to live!
I will miss some of the comforts of home, don't get me wrong. I will miss my family and friends. I will miss the security of having a paycheck every week. I will miss my animals. I will miss having more than one change of clothing and shoes.
I know that only about 27% of hikers who start the Appalachian Trail going north actually successfully make it to Mt Katahdin in Maine. http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805579/k.DA92/2000Milers_Facts_and_Statistics.htm I hope to be one of the successful hikers that make it this year! However, if I should not make it, I do not want to look at it as a failure. My goal is to complete the AT, but the journey is much more important than the end result. I will be proud of myself if I only make it one mile because I will have already accomplished so much. I have already made life changing (and bettering) decisions that I may have never gotten around to if I hadn't decided to hike the AT. I might still be working at a job that makes me miserable or living far away from my amazing husband. If I decide to quit for any reason, I don't want that decision to negatively effect anything that had gotten me to that point. But damn, I sure do want to do a victory dance on the top of Mt. Katahdin!!
Friday, February 4, 2011
I just quit my job!
So, today I took a huge step in my journey towards completing the Appalachian Trail. I put in my notice at work. March 4th will be my last day in retail (hopefully forever!). Then starts the tedious task of moving out of my apartment :( However, fun is just ahead because I get to go hang in Concord, NH for a week and North Carolina for two weeks! What happens next? March 27th I start my 6 month adventure on the AT!!
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