I think I have a case of the Mondays....on Wednesday....

[hikergirl1120]

So I am planning the 7/1/09 SOBO...I am running out of steam.

I have been working a second job and saving up decent cash but that is totally wearing me out. Not to mention it seriously cuts down on my time available to be outside.

Good grief I am just worrying that I won't be able to get it together to take off in July.

I am planning this adventure by myself which is and has been entirely overwhelming. I am trying to take as much advice as I can but I find that most of it contradicts the previous.

Ok I am done ...I think I just needed to get that off my chest. I just need this snow to melt...not much of a winter person. I need some sunshine!!!

[Manwich]

i totally hear you, im not a winter-guy, so between work and snow it's been killing me that i'm inside all the time.

everything will sort itself out in time.

[berninbush]

Hang in there.

July is still a ways off. You still have time to plan. And the bottom line is, it's just walking. Even if you don't have "everything together" by the time you set foot on the trail, start anyway and figure it out as you go.

Bright artificial light (especially a sunlamp) can help with the winter blues. It's not the same but it's better than nothing.

[hikergirl1120]

I am seriously considering investing in one of those....someone else told me that going tanning helps....can't say that is sounds very appealing but I am in need of some cheer. Ha Ha!

P.S. It's just walking....very nicely put...I needed to hear that Thank you!!

[Lone Wolf]

So I am planning the 7/1/09 SOBO...I am running out of steam.

I have been working a second job and saving up decent cash but that is totally wearing me out. Not to mention it seriously cuts down on my time available to be outside.

Good grief I am just worrying that I won't be able to get it together to take off in July.

I am planning this adventure by myself which is and has been entirely overwhelming. I am trying to take as much advice as I can but I find that most of it contradicts the previous.

Ok I am done ...I think I just needed to get that off my chest. I just need this snow to melt...not much of a winter person. I need some sunshine!!!

i guarantee you're overplanning.

[RedneckRye]

Calm down, breathe deep.
Take a break from the planning and avoid the advice overkill for a few days.
Skip looking at Whiteblaze for a while.
Maybe even call in to work "sick" for a day.
I heard that there is something going around.
Your mental health is at least as important as physical health.
Everything will be OK.

Have fun out there!

[mister krabs]

Looks like somebody's got a case of the mondays!



/got nothing.

[hikergirl1120]

Yea maybe I need some more Flare!

[flemdawg1]

Peter Gibbons: Let me ask you something. When you come in on Monday, and you're not feelin' real well, does anyone ever say to you, 'Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays'?
Lawrence: No. No, man. ****, no, man. I believe you'd get your ass kicked sayin' something like that, man.

[garlic08]

That's one reason I hiked NOBO. I didn't think I could wait until summer. Good luck!

[hikergirl1120]

I can wait...I am just praying I don't have to wait until next year....

[Manwich]

It's in the experience of mankind that prayer doesn't go a long way. Make it happen yourself.

[berninbush]

I can wait...I am just praying I don't have to wait until next year....

What would be the delaying factor? Sounds like you're doing ok on the money front.

[hikergirl1120]

Yes I guess I just feel unprepared. I know that I will have to just kind of go with the flow as far as the actual hike and that I can't plan every detail (trust me I am not trying to do that). It's really gear. I am pretty inexperienced compared to a lot of the people on here. I want to start doing some shakedowns but again the snow factor, although it is February so that is on it's way out....hopefully.

[gold bond]

I've had to learn that life is about choices. We can choose to be blue or not. Sometimes that is easier said than don but I have learned to choose not to be blue. Gotta get that FUD (fear, unclear, deppression) out of your head and always remember....it is what it is and worrying 'bout it ain't gonna change it...you gotta choose to change it. Hey look on the bright side...you get to walk for a few months this summer while the majority of us get to just dream about it! Good luck and have a safe and enjoyable hike....you deserve it!

[berninbush]

Just remember that people have successfully hiked the AT barefoot, and with a shower curtain as shelter.

If you're not leaving until July, you've got plenty of time for shakedowns. If something isn't working for you, you'll have time to buy something else. But ultimately if you start the hike with a piece of gear you end up not liking, it's not a tragedy. It's just a matter of changing it out at the next town. You're going in July... a gear problem is highly unlikely to turn into a life-threatening issue at that time of year. It's not like hiking in January in two feet of snow with hypothermia nipping at your heels.

[TrippinBTM]

Yeah, don't let "planning" make you sweat. Like Van Zant sang, "if you want to hear God laugh tell him your plans." As has been said, it's just walking, pretty simple. We Americans get swept up in the thought that we need to buy all this stuff to make it work and you can't hike without all this technology, but man, it's not like that at all. Things become easier, not harder, when you realize what you need is not external to you. Less stuff in your life to deal with, plus you get an inner confidence and peace.

Lastly, don't go tanning, that's really bad for your skin.

[IceAge]

What you have is also known as "analysis paralysis".

[berninbush]

Hikergirl, maybe what you should do to boost your confidence is post your gear list here.

Not with the usual "any suggestions" question, however.

Just make the question, "Is anything on this list (or any omission) going to present a serious barrier to me completing a successful thru?" Get people who have actually completed thru hikes (not me) and people who have actually used those gear items (probably also not me) to tell you if there are any big pitfalls you should know about. If not, you're good to go. (Doesn't matter if 20 people have 20 different opinions about what could be "better." You'll find for yourself what works once you're on the trail and can adjust accordingly.)

If someone can point out a legitimate major flaw, you'll still have months to fix it.

[q-tip]

I am there too. I am going SOBO March 4th. Still getting the details wrapped up, and every day there is a new list of things to get or do, but I am enjoying the process. I have found touching the trip every day for a short while works best for me. I went trekking in India and touched the trip pretty much every day for six months, and when I got there if didn't matter. Hang tough, it is a journey that started with the dream...