Whitewater's Long Distance Trail Journeys

Finally got some good news from the doctor today and it seems I’ll be ready (at least allowed) to hit the trail on Saturday, March 10th. YES! So I’m going to start re-labeling my mail drops and make the necessary revisions to my flexible hiking plan that I’m also using as an additional guide. My hiking plan spreadsheet can be converted to a PDF file and carried on my iPhone and accessed using the app PDF Reader…pretty cool!

With all my spare time, I’ve managed to do some more shopping and found another pair of trail runners that I like and they seem to be very comfortable on my feet, so of course I bought them. The Salomon XA Pro Ultra 2 GTX are highly rated trail shoes these days for weight, durability and comfort.

In addition to my new pair of trail runners I also bought some Superfeet Premium Insoles for my Merrell’s. The Superfeet GREEN insoles have been very popular now for over 30 years. They are designed primarily for footwear with  removable insoles and they are the recommended choice for those seeking maximum support and shock absorption, which I think I’ll need. Tried them out yesterday on a six-mile hike and they felt great under my feet. Super excited!

I’m really ready to hit the trail and begin this journey now for the second time. I get to relive all the emotions and anticipation of leaving on my thru hike within a week. The thoughts racing through my mind are pretty wild to say the least, but looking at the bright side, I’m guessing not many hikers get the opportunity to feel these rollercoaster jitters twice on the same trip.

Hopefully my next post will be from the start of the Approach Trail at Amicalola Falls State Park on March 10th.

Well, it looks like I’m missing some great weather this week out on the trail for February, but at least I’ve had my surgery now and over that hurdle thanks to Dr. Monica Rizzo, MD who stayed late yesterday evening at Emory University Hospital here in Atlanta and squeezed me into her surgery schedule so I could get on the road to recovery with the least amount of delay on my trek north to Maine. Thank you!

My after surgery follow-up appointment is already on the calendar for next Thursday, March 1st so hopefully from there I will be healed up enough to head out on the A.T. somewhere between mid to late March. Right now, the closest thing I’m doing to prepare for the trail is not being able to take a shower for the next 48 hours so I’m practicing those camp baths for now.

During my slack time I’ve read Zach Davis’ (The Good Badger) new book that came out several weeks ago, Appalachian Trials. The book is different from most of the books out there about how to hike the Appalachian Trail. It mainly focuses on the psychological and emotional roller coaster that most thru-hikers experience while on the trail. It’s a great read with lots of interesting points of view that people should be able to use not only on long distance hikes and the Appalachian trail, but also could be translated into everyday normal life. At my age, it’s just great to know that we have young people out there pursuing and accomplishing their goals. Congratulations Zach, great job, keep moving forward!

Tough week when you are all packed and ready to hit the trail after years of planning and your dermatologist calls you on Monday evening, less than a week out, and tells you that you have a spot (too much fun in the sun) on your back that needs to come off. Very bad timing. So I’ve spent most of the week talking to the doctors, friends, and family and have come up with the decision that I need to go ahead and take care of this before heading off to Maine. Due to my original plan of leaving very early on the trail compared to most hikers, the good news is I have the time to have the surgery, recover, and hit the trail with the masses in several weeks. Not exactly what I wanted to do, but I’m alright with it at this point.

So please bear with me. It looks like I will have my surgery this coming Wednesday and just as soon as I feel comfortable with the healing process, hopefully within about three weeks, I’ll publish a new take off date from Amicalola Falls. Being that the surgical incision is on my back, obviously I need to allow plenty of time for everything to heal correctly before putting a backpack on for five plus months. So not only is this very bad timing…it’s also in a very bad spot for doing what I want to do.

A good friend of mine told me the other night at dinner that everything happens for a purpose…so I’m going to leave it at that!

I’m hoping to find the time to pack all my gear up before leaving in only 10 days from Amicalola Falls State Park. Last weekend my friends down in OBA (Orange Beach, Alabama) gave me a send off party and fundraising event for the Hudson Family Foundation. What a great success it turned out to be! Many thanks from me and the folks at the Hudson Family Foundation to those who hosted the event as well as those who came out and supported it. Thank you.

So, now I’m looking forward to attending the 2012 Hudson’s Honky Tonk Benefit Weekend and activities beginning this Thursday night and going through Friday night with a VIP after party at Wild Bill’s. Looks like a lot of great talent lined up with a live acoustic performance by Joe Nichols and the main concert show Friday evening with Martina McBride and George Strait. It’s a rough life, but someone’s gotta do it!

My Send Off Cake by Ms. Cindy and the OBA Crew

Since my friends had a send off party for me down in OBA my wife, Mary, decided I had to have a family gathering at the house now and it’s on the schedule for Saturday night. Busy..busy, I’m going to be ready for some solitude on the trail. Do you think I’ll be able to find some in the coming months?

This post is a real live experiment. It’s my first time using an iPhone app called Dragon. I plan to use this app on the trail to make quick posts into my blog. I also need to test inserting a video from YouTube from my iPhone as well. So, with that, I picked another video to post that I think everyone will enjoy.

I’m beginning to get super excited about my journey since I’m now less than a month out from leaving. I just received yesterday by mail my new 2012 Northbound A.T. Guide, so I’m busy going through it and making final plans for my hike and departure.

Enjoy the video below of a GT (Georgia Tech) hiker and his dog on the Appalachian trail in 2010.

A little over a week ago I put out an e-mail to my clients and business associates letting them know about my plans to hike the Appalachian Trail this year and I’ve been overwhelmed by the responses. I was pretty busy for several days responding to e-mails and phone calls. Thank you to all of you out there interested in my hike! It was really fun and amazing to talk with the ones who have completed a A.T. thru-hike (my hat is off to you). To those who are planning to do a thru-hike in the future and to those who are just dreaming about their own trip or adventure very cool…go for it! I was out in Wyoming summer before last staying and climbing with a guy named Frank Sanders at Devils Tower and his slogan was “Blessed are those who live out their dreams”.  I think he’s got it exactly right.

Again many thanks to everyone, especially to my family, who put up with me and my adventures. Here’s to wishing all of you the very best at living out your dreams! Dream Big and Go Do It!