Here We Go Again!

     I think it is safe to say that the Appalachian Trail is under my skin.  Like an addict, I am always thinking about my next fix.  Pretty much as soon as my last AT trip was finished, I started thinking about the next one.  When would I go?  Which section would I choose?  Who would I invite along on this adventure?  

    Since I had pretty favorable weather last February in Virginia, I decided to choose another section in this state: Damascus to Bland, about 121 miles.  Damascus is located just over the border into Virginia from Tennessee, and the route would take me all the way to Bland, where I started last February, leaving no gaps to fill in at a later date.  Perfect!  

    These miles would begin in Damascus, an iconic AT trail town, follow the Creeper Trail, hit Virginia's highest point of Mount Rogers, travel through Grayson Highlands State Park where the famous wild ponies live, descend into Marion where we'd have a much-needed hostel stay, include an icy river crossing where a bridge has been washed away, and then continue through the mountains until we reached Bland on the tenth day of hiking.    

    I decided to invite all of my closest female running friends along this time.  Included in this invitation, were a checklist of gear that would be needed, a strong recommendation to get in some serious training over the winter months, and a subtle warning that this trip would be a mix of cold, wet, blustery, and sunshine-y - difficult every day, and amazing every day.  In the end, it was settled that five of us would tackle this trip: Kara, Misty, Chelsea, Amy, and I.  

    The last few months have been filled with constant online chatter, ranging from gear recommendations and preferences, to food choices, to training regimes, to combatting the weather we might face.

Amy spent a snowy winter's night in her tent in her yard to test out her gear...

Four of us met up in Holly to try out our packs on the slippery trails...

Kara and I spent a horrifically windy night in our tents in my backyard...

Chelsea loaded up all of her hear into her fancy new pink pack...

Misty and I hit the trails in Lake Orion and Holly to try out her fully-loaded pack and do a final gear test...

And I've spent my days hiking in the Hogbacks in every kind of weather, packing and re-packing my pack, and ultimately opting for a bear-proof food bag over a bear canister for this trip...

We are now just hours away from our next adventure.  It's time to do one last inventory of gear and pack it all away.  Our eyes are constantly watching the upcoming weather forecast, along with scanning every tidbit of insight the internet has to offer regarding the section we will be hiking.  That's right, it's that time before the trip where you pretty much go crazy with anticipation.  Do we have the right gear? Enough gear?  Too much gear?  Enough food?  Too much food? Is there any way to make our packs lighter?  Will we even care about carrying two extra pounds if those pounds grant us a little extra comfort when we most need it?  Have we taken care of everything and everyone at home?  Is this current snowstorm going to impact our trip south?  Can we just leave already?!

I have made all the plans and preparations I can think of, from routes to gear, to anticipated daily mileage, to predicted weather, but as the last two AT trips have shown, flexibility is the only way to go about this kind of trip.  The unknowns always seem to outweigh the best-laid plans.  So, we will go.  On Friday morning, we will get out of bed well before what is considered morning, and we will head south - through Michigan and Ohio and West Virginia.  When we cross into Virginia, we will leave the van behind, board a shuttle and head to Damascus where our trip begins.  I cannot wait to come back with endless stories of our adventures, including the good, the bad, and the ugly.