6/16/13
Well, I'm not quite on the trail again yet, but I am thinking about it! I'm hoping to head out to the wilderness within the next couple of weeks. In looking for a hike that would give me about a month on the trail, I have settled in on the Benton MacKaye Trail, which "figure-8s" with the Appalachian trail, in Northern Georgia and through the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. I have done very little prep work for this hike in comparison to other long distance hikes that I have completed, and I am also, in comparison, very out-of-shape at this point in my life. (Well, I'm in a shape...it's just much larger, rounder, and not a firm and muscular.) It is time, though, for a "baptism by fire" experience...nothing like a long distance hike in the wilderness to whip the body back into shape. After all, it's just putting one foot in front of the other, and walking like we do every day. How hard can that be, right?
Later this week, I will get my gear together and escape this Florida heat, with a drive up to North Carolina. I will bring with me a companion, Ty, a "foster dog" that I've recently acquired. ("foster dog" because, I'm not yet convinced that his stay with me is permanent, and am passively looking for him a home...message me if it's you and your family that want a dog). I'm hoping that he's going to be a good trail dog, and that I'm up for the adventure of hiking with him. My plan is to head out next week on a trail near my folks' cabin in Burnsville, NC for a few days to see how both he and I do. Then, I am hoping to spend the month of July thru-hiking the 288 miles of the Benton MacKaye Trail, and possibly looping some with the Appalachian Trail. As, I said no real solidified planning, as of yet.
Overall, my goal is to get back out on the trail, taking in God's amazing beauty, while rejuvenating my whole being, both internally and externally. It's been awhile, and I am very excited to get back out there (and take you all along on the journey with me)!
