JBandStacy2014

So...once again I find myself prepping for another trail. Unfortunately, it's not the trail we originally planned for BUT we are still excited. I am assuming most of you know why we left the AT, but if you don't, let me briefly explain.We were leaving Three Forks, looking forward to a short 4 mile day and taking our time to talk with section hikers and take in the beautiful surroundings. About 15 minutes into this hike, TD being about 30 feet in front of me, suddenly stopped and I knew there was a problem....HOLY CRAP, I had no idea. The plastic clip (?) that connected the shoulder harness to the actual pack snapped into three pieces. After a brief panic and a couple of, "What the hell do we do nows?", we managed to fix it to the best of our ability and keep walking.
If that was not bad enough, the hike up the first mountain after Three Forks, we suffered an injury. When I say "we", I mean TD's knee. We knew it was bad, but again...we had no freaking clue. It didn't instantly swell or even show signs of an actual injury, but by the time we reached Horse Gap, one of the strongest men I know was in a terrible amount of pain and could no longer keep it from me. So, we stopped, had a snack, rested a bit and started to plan our next step.
For those of you who have done the AT, you know going into Cooper's Gap is a steep steep climb...you can see the immediate elevation change at the first white blaze leaving HG. Trying to alleviate some of his discomfort, I got the BRIGHT idea to flag down a random SUV carrying 4 extremely shy teenage boys to ask them where the road went. Luckily, the not as steep dirt road led exactly where we were headed and we set up the side of the mountain on a terrain much more suitable for my brave hiking partner.
I think you get the jest...
While TD's knee is not giving him as much of an issue as it was when we left the AT, there is no way we can return and risk it. We also realized that taking a break would allow us to regroup the gear and decide our next move. That move...The Florida Trail.
I will spare the you all the details of how this came about, but know it's needed. I wish I could say that we are more prepared for the FT than we were for the AT, but we are NOT AT ALL...
Honestly, we really don't know how this is going to work. We blew through savings to rest and now are heading out on bare minimum (and even that sounds like more than we actually have LOL).
Regardless, the journey that Tear Drop and I have been on far surpasses the AT and the FT. We are partners and no matter how much money, gear, plans, or help we have...we are stronger together than most and that's what matters.
I love you TD - let's rock the FT Palm trees and beaches!