Need advice

[bfitz]

Hello everyone
This is my first post on the forum which I was just told about today by a fellow who hiked the AT in 1998.

Anywhere here is where I stand see what you think, I know it doesn't look good, but here goes anway.

I am 26 years old, and currently confused about my life and where its leading. I am a Mainer, born and raised and grew up hiking the AT when I was in my teens. I am an Eaglescout and enjoyed my youth in outdoor activities. The Last time I hiked the AT was in 1997 which is when, I started spending less time in the outdoors because I met the woman I have been in a in a long term relationship with for 10 years.

Since then I have spent the last 10 years working at crappy jobs and moving from place to place never settling down or fiding what I want to do. I dropped out of college, later graduated from trade school and did many different things. However I have gotten separated from the forest and mountians I loved so much as a young man. Over the last few years I have been trying to figure out what I need to make myself happy and after much deliberation and concernation. I have decided I need to hike the Appalachian Trail. I said it was something I would do when I was in my teens, but some how I forgot about it or got distracted by life, work and my relationship. Finally I have found a time when I have no future commitments though truthfull I have finally decided to make time to do this for myself.

But here is the rub...I havent given myself much time to get ready and to leave. I want to make a south bound trip from Katahdin down to Georgia. I want to do it all consecutively. Money is a bit of a concern but I plan on selling almost all of my possession (i.e JUNK) to fund the trip. I will be hiking alone, as I have told very few people of my desire to undertake this journey. But I feel I need to do it. I need to accomplish something tangible with my life. I want to spend my 27th birthday on the trail and hopefully by then be back in my old body not an out of shape depressed one.

currently I wiegh 207 lbs and I am 5' 7" and I am out of shape. Today I started working out at the gym and I went to an, outfitter to look at gear.

I decided I want to go as light as possible. I have an outdoor survival back ground, so I can make do with very little. However I know that due to my poor physical shape, I wont be able to carry much and I don't want to anyway.I have no physical heath problems other than flat feet.


I would like to leave baxter state park in May of 2007 but I have much to do before that time.

1. Raise money for gear and the trip by selling everything I own
2. Purchase the correct minimal amount of gear for the trip
3. Get in as good a shape as I can before I leave.
4. plan the trip
5. Leave

Are these goals to much to achieve in 2 months? Would it be foolish to leave with so little time in preparation?

What do you all think? I feel like I need a quest right now, in my life and a goal to achieve.

Brother in Arms

p.s. Anyone else heading south bound from Katahdin in May 07???

Hello everyone
This is my first post on the forum which I was just told about today by a fellow who hiked the AT in 1998.

Anywhere here is where I stand see what you think, I know it doesn't look good, but here goes anway.

I am 26 years old, and currently confused about my life and where its leading. I am a Mainer, born and raised and grew up hiking the AT when I was in my teens. I am an Eaglescout and enjoyed my youth in outdoor activities. The Last time I hiked the AT was in 1997 which is when, I started spending less time in the outdoors because I met the woman I have been in a in a long term relationship with for 10 years.

Since then I have spent the last 10 years working at crappy jobs and moving from place to place never settling down or fiding what I want to do. I dropped out of college, later graduated from trade school and did many different things. However I have gotten separated from the forest and mountians I loved so much as a young man. Over the last few years I have been trying to figure out what I need to make myself happy and after much deliberation and concernation. I have decided I need to hike the Appalachian Trail. I said it was something I would do when I was in my teens, but some how I forgot about it or got distracted by life, work and my relationship. Finally I have found a time when I have no future commitments though truthfull I have finally decided to make time to do this for myself.

But here is the rub...I havent given myself much time to get ready and to leave. I want to make a south bound trip from Katahdin down to Georgia. I want to do it all consecutively. Money is a bit of a concern but I plan on selling almost all of my possession (i.e JUNK) to fund the trip. I will be hiking alone, as I have told very few people of my desire to undertake this journey. But I feel I need to do it. I need to accomplish something tangible with my life. I want to spend my 27th birthday on the trail and hopefully by then be back in my old body not an out of shape depressed one.

currently I wiegh 207 lbs and I am 5' 7" and I am out of shape. Today I started working out at the gym and I went to an, outfitter to look at gear.

I decided I want to go as light as possible. I have an outdoor survival back ground, so I can make do with very little. However I know that due to my poor physical shape, I wont be able to carry much and I don't want to anyway.I have no physical heath problems other than flat feet.


I would like to leave baxter state park in May of 2007 but I have much to do before that time.

1. Raise money for gear and the trip by selling everything I own
2. Purchase the correct minimal amount of gear for the trip
3. Get in as good a shape as I can before I leave.
4. plan the trip
5. Leave

Are these goals to much to achieve in 2 months? Would it be foolish to leave with so little time in preparation?

What do you all think? I feel like I need a quest right now, in my life and a goal to achieve.

Brother in Arms

p.s. Anyone else heading south bound from Katahdin in May 07???

Dude, your fine. Go for it. You can get in shape during. Any screw-ups in planning or equipping can be corrected on the trail after field testing as well as plenty of time to rethink when your whiling away the miles. Everyone fine tunes their approach while on the trail. One thing, Sobo is probably a bit more physically demanding in the early term, a lotta big mountains in the first 500 miles for you...just persevere, go slow, don't kill yourself, or (injure yourself) and your body will adapt quickly. When oppurtunitities to change plans or have weird adventures like blueblazing to a waterfall or rowing out to some island in the dark with college girls in Hanover come up and tempt you, give in.

[bfitz]

Sorry about the huge waste of space.

[bfitz]

And I can't believe I spelled it oppurtunitities, that was completely unconcious freudian slippage......