What an impending time! This blog is moving forward.

To Georgia, then

Well, I’m in the final stages of planning for this NOBO attempt on the 26th and will be flying into ATL on February 26th and departing the Springer trailhead on the morning of February 28th. I have flights, shuttles, resupplies, lodging, permits, and attitudes all booked until the middle of the Smokies, where I plan to order a ride to Gatlinburg from Newfound Gap. If everything happens as scheduled (and if it doesn’t, I’ll curse the Fates, but then Gumby, of course), it will be a hopefully inauspicious Friday the 13th. My friends and I didn’t go to G’burg last time, but the more I read about the vulgarity, kitsch, and unapologetic kitsch, I figure I have to try some of it; Because who doesn’t need a refrigerator magnet with a fluorescent purple bear and a glass of mango liqueur? LYK how that goes when the time comes.

And by the way, my cheap hat goes off to those intrepid souls who started in January. Wow. I’ve been following some of them on their journey north and have had to deal with the massive winter storm that hit a couple of weeks ago. The last photo I saw of Neel Gap was covered in snow, and I heard about low mileage days in the Smokies. Hard work. Lihat juga Fuente de contenido. Given the projected higher temperatures, and assuming another major flushing system isn’t on the way, I expect the trails to be wet and muddy, and not ideal, if not white. Here is the hope.

From talkative preparations to astonishing steps

I’ve enjoyed writing these introductory ramblings over the past few months. It’s been a luxury to take my time, type on a desktop computer with a full-sized keyboard and (some would say) a smaller-sized brain, and publish things to my heart’s content. But I will soon transition to more classic journaling as the long walk begins. Now it becomes more real, more three-dimensional and more reflective of moments and days: sweat, friends, cartilage, images, stories, scares. I’ll be using my phone to document things, but at least I’ll have a little bluetooth keyboard so maybe it’s worth the half pound. I don’t really like typing on phones. The buttons are too small and my fingers, when I walk and eat too many processed foods, are like sausages.

I’m thinking about the best way to update this blog and have heard other bloggers discuss their intended modus operandi. Such a variety of approaches. Some journal on paper and then transcribe periodically using AI and publish weekly. A man plans to ship his laptop from city to city and post it when he gets there. Others have talked about writing every day and posting whenever they have a signal. I’m not positive yet. We’ll see how the daily cadence goes, but I think I’ll take notes at the end of the day at camp and then post updates when I get to a town. Basically every 3-5 days. That’s what I did with Trail Journals during my NOBO ’12, and it seemed to work pretty well. The point is that these updates will probably become shorter, sharper, more observational multi-day summaries with more trail photography (and maybe some video if I can figure out how to do it on this platform) rather than the topic-specific rants I’ve been posting so far.

Not 2012

Which is good because didn’t the Mayans say the world was supposed to end that year?

Anyway, I’ve noticed over the past few months of preparation, as I shop, research, train, think, and write about my next adventure, that it’s very difficult for me to decouple this hike from what I experienced in 2012. As you can imagine, successfully completing an AT hike is a life-changing experience, impacting each person uniquely, but, as a whole, inevitably integrating into one’s sense of self. Consequently, it is difficult to escape. It’s not that I want to escape or erase any of it. No. What I’m trying to figure out is how this one fits together. The consequences are always derivative. And attending to the past can be the thief of presence. I don’t want to recreate what I did. I also don’t want to make a clean slate. What inspires me is Heraclitus’ idea that we cannot bathe in the same river twice. That Life is defined by change. The river (and the AT) is constantly changing, and so am I. He also talks about Logosanother hugely important idea that I love and that points to a Universal order that underpins all this change. That stability, that core, is also crucial for me.

I’m also thinking about another type of model; and that is the palimpsest. For non-geek types who’ve never heard that funny word before, it’s basically a page of a document written on parchment or papyrus that is washed or scraped off and reused. The ancients used to do this a lot. I like that idea. The base and the contours are there, the page is not exactly blank, but a new story must be written on it, superimposed on the past. Maybe this means stopping acknowledging the milestones of the past and the sweaty climbs of 14 years ago and being intentional about distilling the new.

Neel Gap or Hiawassee. See you then.

But you know, I look at all of the above and say, «Get over your stupid, overly analytical self, man. You’re overworking your brain and boring me. Just start moving and let the footsteps and the eyes and the sun and the rain fill all the empty spaces. Surprise yourself.» So, there’s that.

Still, The Godfather II was awesome.

Oh, by the way, last thing, and a total non sequitur: if anyone is interested in gear selection and final adjustments on that front, I ended up with a starting base weight of 18 lbs. That will take me to Damascus where I will unload a couple things and get down to 17lbs. Although I can replace it with a Helinox Zero chair and wash everything. Who knows? You can see the details. right here.

The next time you hear from me I will be on the Camino. Wishing you all the best this hiking season, whether now, soon, or simply enjoying the trail through the eyes and words of others. Good luck.

Nor’Easter

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