Hi there,<br><br>Being as i'm new here perhaps I should introduce myself before just jumping right in.&nbsp;<img src="/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Cool" smilieid="7" class="inlineimg"><br><br>For starters, I'm a nature lover and guy who can't get enough of the outdoors who somehow (interestingly enough) started his own company in 2010 and have been, errr, 'stuck inside' and infront of a computer for too damn (can we curse?) long. A previous business venture a year prior to this had me outside working on an orchard, waking up with the sun, digging ditches, choppin' invasive trees, old-school irrigation of a 20+ acre orchard, lifting heavy stuff and being outside for 14+ hrs a day. It was a lot of hard work and I hardly had any help. I've since moved past that venture and I just feel that i've grown 'soft' these past couple years as my primary source of income is work-at-home / IT work / online ventures. It's pretty nice, but just seeing the treetop blowing around outside my 3rd story apartment window isn't enough to satisfy my nature needs.<br><br>I'm also one who, for lack of a better word, 'picks up and moves' when I get the urge too. Several years ago I had the&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;to move out west to a place i've never even been to, within 3 weeks I was on a plane and lived there for a year. I'm very comfortable with changes of scenery, and I believe that is what i'm in dire need of now!<br><br>Anyhow, I apologize if these are some odd questions.<br><br><br>-Cell Phone coverage? Does it exist and is there a particular carrier that performs better and has better&nbsp;reception&nbsp;on the AT? I know it seems somewhat silly to do the AT yet remain connected in such a manner, but this is more so I can check in on my staff and business as needed (every 1-2 days).<br><br>-Is there internet anywhere along the way? Once again, I know this isn't an office courtyard where wi-fi will be available. But I figured there would be areas along the way that may have a wi-fi hotspot or something for those of us who are torn between modern&nbsp;conveniences&nbsp;and a love for nature. I'll likely be carrying a small / lightweight Netbook or bring along an iPad or something similar. I'll need to check in with some upstream providers once a month and sign off on online invoices once a month. Plus it'd be nice to keep a photo blog of my journey and keep my friends, family, staff, and customers up-to-date in my hiking venture.<br><br>-Uh, is the trail.. how do I put this.. "pot friendly"? I'm a casual smoker even now, but I think that after reaching certain goals along the way that I could consider a joint 'well deserved'. Afterall, this is supposed to be my escape (as much as possible) from my current duties and obligations. My concern here is encountering those along the way who may not be so keen on it. This of course would be done within my own privacy, either inside my tent or outside if no one is around.<br><br>-What's the typical age group of people hiking the trail? I'm 23 and plan on doing this solo, just curious what age of people I will encounter along my way.<br><br><br><br>I'm so excited about this. As a child we used to go to the Smoky Mountains down in Tennessee and I always loved it. I'm certain I can accomplish the entire trail given my love for nature, my ability to work hard under extreme conditions, and my dire need to get the hell out of my apartment and into some woods! Even now, at 23, I walk everywhere. I have a car in the parking lot that hasn't moved in months. I live in a small city and there is no where that I can't walk to (everything is more or less within a 5-7 mile radius of me) and im no stranger to walking. When I was 18 I moved out of my parent's house to live on my own in a place I was renting. I didn't have a car at the time, but I used to have to walk about 4 miles to work in the morning (in the dark) through a narrow path in the woods that connected downtown with the 'hilltop' (Which as you can guess, is uphill). While these are small in comparison to what I know i'll have to do on the trail, I honestly think that 15-20+ miles a day for me would be a non-issue.<br><br>Anyhow, I just kind of wanted to introduce myself to this rather nice looking community and gain some insight from those experienced.<br><br>Got questions? Ask them, i'd be happy to answer them.<br><br>For obvious reason's using a handle on here, I wish my name was 'Dude Van Zandt', i'm merely paying homage to Townes Van Zandt who's been stuck in my head a lot lately.