Wednesday, June 12th

Wednesday, June 12th.

This morning I left Buffalo on an Amtrak headed to Philly. I Know I'm not starting the trail until the 17th or 18th but leaving home makes it feel like the process has already begun. Two days ago I was at work and right now I'm thinking about the task ahead; hiking thousands of miles through the continental divide. I have four days to prepare my mind before I'm standing in Montana (at the Canadian border) at the start of the trail. This feeling is remarkably familiar; a combination of excitement and nervousness. Last year I hiked the 2,660.1 miles of the Pacific Crest trail. The year before that, the 2,181 miles that make up the Appalachian Trail. And here I am again, but this time preparing for the most difficult and demanding of the three United States long distance trails. I've been asked if I'm ready for this again. The answer is no. There is no amount of preparation that is truly going to make you ready for a thru-hike; even having already hiked two long distance hikes. I'm familiar with the lifestyle of the trail and the general pattern that goes along with it, however, outside of waking up, eating, hiking, eating, hiking, eating, hiking, eating, and sleeping, you never really know what your going to end up doing in the 5 months your out there. Everything is up in the air. You don't know where your going to sleep. You don't know who your going to meet or where your going to end up from day to day. I once had a man walk out of a bar in Southern California and offer to give me a ride in his beach-mobile to his private guest house where he allowed Baboon and I to stay, shower, eat, drink, and relax...all for free. I have had more random and strange experiences come my way while on the trail than in the rest of my life combined. So sure, I could say that I'm ready to hike from Canada to Mexico but I can't possibly know what I'm really in for.