Ready or Not

It is finally time to shove off the mainland for this incredible Appalachian Trail voyage. Tuesday will be the culmination of many months of planning and preparing. Megan and I met one night last week to go through our packs and double check our list of gear and other supplies. This is the first time I have talked to Megan face to face since she left North Carolina last summer to return home after our A.T. trip was cut short (due to Darrell Tipton, rutheless murderer). It has been somewhat of a challenge trying to put together a six month trip with someone who lives 700 miles away.

This past week has been strange. I feel like I've had too much down time to think about the upcoming A.T. trip. All of the planning is done, the first package mailed, and here I was sitting at home with too much time to think. The thoughts that crept into my head were all negative thoughts, which is highly unusual for me. I began to worry about being warm enough at night. I worried about the fit and form of my boots. I bothered with what toiletry items I should ditch, and which ones I ought to carry with me. It has been hard to shove these thoughts out of my head. And I am completely ready to start hiking in Georgia just to get away from these worries that I can do nothing about.

Today my parents had a going away party for me. Mostly family attended, but many friends stopped by also. How incredible it is to be able to share about this adventure that means so much to me with people that want to listen and learn. I went through my gear, piece by piece, discussing the purpose and other related factors. Just like I did in my classroom a few months ago for my students. Fun.

I'll end today's blog with a quote that I love. I am not sure who coined this phrase but it seems to fit. "Not all who wander are lost".