The way this is gonna work

So how stoked am I that Patty has so enthusiastically adopted this co-blog idea? Very. For her, it'll be a cool way to chronicle this crazy long adventure upon which we embark in less (significantly less) than a month. For me, it will doubtless be one of my greatest sources of amusement during the summer. (Is it lame of me to say that? I don't really care.)

Going along with the theme of recording our preparations for The Trail (see below), I would like to share with the world what I'm doing to ready myself for two weeks of hiking. First off, I bought a backpack. I ordered it last week on Steepandcheap.com (my favorite website/ addiction; check it out if you never have), breaking my Lenten resolution not to buy anything (with the exception of household necessities) until Easter. In my defense, I couldn't not buy the thing. It's an Arc'teryx, it's red, and it was a ridiculously good deal. I'm a bit concerned that the thing might actually be too big; I guess I'll find out when I get it from the post office today. (As I've told Patty, I'm like a goldfish: I'll use as much space as I have at my disposal. If 3 shirts, a towell, and my toothbrush don't fill enough of the pack space, I may well end up taking along something like a basketball or a pair of hooker boots; and who needs those on the AT?)

Other than buying a pack, I also started looking through the thru-hiker's guide, but was (to be honest) more interested in reading the to do lists Patty has scattered through the thing as bookmarks than in reading tips for what to do on day 16 in Tennessee. I did read the book's intro, however, where I learned that it wil basically be a miracle if I don't get poison oak or lyme disease; and that when I'm walking through towns I should act as a pedestrian. Dang! I was going to act like an Australian and walk on the left hand side of the road: the very middle of the left hand side, that is.

Unlike my co-hiker, I have not bought either a sleeping bag or pad, have hardly begun to think about getting together food or cooking apparatus, and don't have a single "to do" list to guide me in my preparations. Somehow, I think I'm going to be ok. My goal for this week was to convince Patty that we should fly to Atlanta; not ride the bus or the train. Not only does the airplane take at least 34 hours less than either of the land-bound alternatives, but it's way less expensive than the train. Have we bought our plane tickets yet? No, but we're planning to, and that's half of the battle, right?

Hiking, here I come!