Pre-thru anticipation

[Bloodroot]

How did everyone feel gearing up and getting ready to start their thru (first for some)? I remember how giddy of an experience it was trying to be so meticulous in all details. Even more memorable was when I actually got out there and started putting the miles under my belt, how those fine details seemed not to matter so much or really should have never mattered at all.

I admit, if I were to attempt a second (which I hope I will someday), it would be complete different story. I would deal with financial affairs and merely gear up and walk out the door.

[Ronin]

I'm very excited as I am currently preparing for my first thru-hike! When I look at the calendar, it's still seven weeks until I depart for ATL. Seems like an eternity!

I admit, if I were to attempt a second (which I hope I will someday...I would merely gear up and walk out the door.

Interesting...It is so easy to get overwhelmed by the massive amounts of info here at WB and everywhere else. It sounds like what it all comes down to is "keep it simple" and "do what works for you".

Cheers!

[Chaco Taco]

I'm very excited as I am currently preparing for my first thru-hike! When I look at the calendar, it's still seven weeks until I depart for ATL. Seems like an eternity!



Interesting...It is so easy to get overwhelmed by the massive amounts of info here at WB and everywhere else. It sounds like what it all comes down to is "keep it simple" and "do what works for you".

Cheers!

You know, I could not agree more with you here. Iam not doing a thru but am doing a 9 day section and am nervous with it being my longest and my first thru prep hike. I find listening to everyone here to be really good for me, but in the end, i am the one carrying it all. If I think I can go heavier and be fine, Ill do it. Im not going for speed, Im going for pure enjoyment.

22 days left til my trip.
Happy trails everyone and good luck on your thru's. If I see ya in March along the Smokies, stop and say hello. Happy hiking everyone

[SalParadise]

my first attempt i think the whole undertaking was just so overwhelming that I didn't really know what to feel, and so didn't really feel anything. 2,000 hiking miles was too hard for me to put in my head.

my second attempt i was totally relaxed and almost felt like I'd done it already. I even stayed an extra day at the Hiker Hostel for no other reason then I felt like sleeping in that day. then I got to Springer and it felt like seeing an old friend again, it was nice.

[Johnny Swank]

It's WAAAYY to easy to get overloaded with info about the AT. Just plan for those first few days and prepare to be flexible.

[Jim Adams]

I admit, if I were to attempt a second (which I hope I will someday), it would be complete different story. I would deal with financial affairs and merely gear up and walk out the door.

Bloodroot,
This is exactly what I did for my 2nd thru and the walk up the approach trail (new to me--didn't do it the 1st time) was very comforting, relaxing and satisfying however, when I got to Springer and sat next to the plaque I was nervous and had too many tears in my eyes to sign anything meaningful in the trail register.
I've been to Springer quite a few times since then and even though it wasn't for more thru hikes, the emotions of knowing "what is up the trail" is so overwhelming at times that I still need to just sit there by myself and remember.

[rafe]

This is exactly what I did for my 2nd thru and the walk up the approach trail (new to me--didn't do it the 1st time) was very comforting, relaxing and satisfying however, when I got to Springer and sat next to the plaque I was nervous and had too many tears in my eyes to sign anything meaningful in the trail register.

I've heard others mention tears at Springer. I guess I'm strange. I didn't cry at Springer, but I did let loose a vale of tears when I quit my hike two months later in VA.

[Jack Tarlin]

Um, Terrapin:

The phrase "vale of tears" probably goes back to the Old Testament.

It does not refer to an ammount, i.e. a "vale of tears" does not mean a whole lotta tears.

The phrase instead refers to the world as a place of troubles; when someone talks about "this vale of tears" or more often, "leaving this vale of tears," they are generally referring to our troubled planet.

So whatever you let loose upon leaving the Trail was not a "vale of tears."

Boatload or s***load, maybe. But not a vale.

In that you recently corrected me on another thread about my writing style and inability to nuance correctly, I felt sure you would want to know about this.

[rafe]

The phrase "vale of tears" probably goes back to the Old Testament.

Well, hell's bells. When it comes to the old testament (which wasn't remotely on my mind) I admit total friggin' ignorance. Bucket o' tears would have been more accurate, but I think it's beside the point.

[Jack Tarlin]

The sheer number of things you are frigging ignorant about, Terrapin, boggles the mind.

But it's certainly nice that just once, you admit it! Someone should call CNN.

[SalParadise]

I've been to Springer quite a few times since then and even though it wasn't for more thru hikes, the emotions of knowing "what is up the trail" is so overwhelming at times that I still need to just sit there by myself and remember.

Jim, you really hit it. what was so great about my second attempt was getting to all shelters I'd been to the year before, and i was so surprised that I could really see all the people who where there the year before, even exactly where they were sitting and all the conversations that went on. More then anything, that's what drives me to visit the AT again and again, for all the ghosts of friends that are still on the Trail.

[Ronin]

The fact that several "second-timers" say that they were so much more relaxed and less worried about hitting the Trail speaks volumes! Tears or no tears...

[rafe]

Though I didn't get anywhere near New England on my '90 hike, I remember this clearly: an October evening, about ten years later, at Galehead hut, leafing through the registers for 1990... and finding the register entries from folks I'd hiked with between Springer and VA. It was quite moving and bittersweet. Talk about ghosts of hikers past.

[esmithz]

I was very anxious before my thru attempt in 2006. Politics kept me at the office a week later than I wanted. I worked up until 5:00 pm Friday and drove to Georgia from Northern Virginia the following morning. I plan to try again in a couple of years. Maybe 2009. Next time I'll take at least one or two weeks between leaving work and heading down to Georgia. Good luck. Stay close to the other hikers and keep a good attitude. Don't let the urge to keep moving north consume you else you'll risk burnout.