Anxiety

With a little less than a month to go, I'm feeling both excitement and anxiety. I remember reading other people's posts and journals last year, and wondering why anyone would feel anxiety before the start. After all the time and effort spent getting ready, why would anyone feel anxiety?

I suppose that for me, I have absolutely no idea if I can do this. All I know is that I really want to know what it's like to do a long hike like this. This desire is so strong that I've risked not having a job when I return. Also, except for the first few days when I'm with my niece, I will be alone. The universal answer to anyone posting a search for a hiking partner is don't worry about it, you will find plenty of hiking partners along the way. I tend to be somewhat shy and introverted. I've read that most people who complete the trail also tend to be introverts. I'm looking forward to finding out who I will meet along the way.

There is also so much to get ready and so many other uncertainies. I have most of the stuff I need now, and I think I can find just about anything I'm missing along the way. I still need to get a new cell phone. I really wanted to do that this weekend, but about 30 inches or more of snow put an end to that task. The snow finally ended this morning (Sunday), and I spent at least two hours with a couple rests digging our cars out. After that, I decided to empty the maple sap buckets so that I'm ready for the next run. I would still like to make at least 2 gallons of maple syrup this year before I leave. I would normally make at least 4 gallons or more, but I will not be able to take off early from work. I need all of my PTO for my trip.

I put all of my stuff into my pack for the first time today. My pack feels about as I expected. My goal is to keep the weight under 15 pounds without food and water. I don't have a scale so I do not know what the actual weight is. I need to buy a scale this week. I decided that 17 pounds is my actual limit. I will do what ever it takes to get the weight under 17 pounds even leaving my botany books behind.

I've also been looking for a trail map for Georgia and North Carolina. It looks like that map is out of print, and will be until about the third week of March. I've been trying to decide on whether I should take maps or a GPS. I think I'm leaning toward maps. After all, I am a geologist. I don't think I could give up completely on maps.

I keep wondering what else I could be missing. I suppose that I will not know until I actually get started. I think I can make do with what I have. I've been running a lot and feel like I'm in fairly good physical condition now. I should be able to walk to where ever needed in a worse case sceniaro. Besides, unlike the Boundary Waters, there should be pleny of people around, and roads should not be more than a few miles away.

Joe