Hammock Test

One of my favorite pieces of gear is my new hammock.  It is a Warbonnet Blackbird 1.1 double layer.  Double layer means I can put a pad for insulation between me and the ground.  I had a chance to sleep in it for 2 weeks on a camping trip and it was the best sleep I've ever had.  I wish I could sleep in it in my house!!!  Here are some pictures from learning to set it up at the GT Bray Park before our trip.

This is what my hammock looks like under the tarp.

Here is me inside the hammock with my foot sticking out, ha ha!!!

This is my tarp.  It's called the Warbonnet Superfly.  It has "doors" on each end so it's almost like a tent.  Hopefully it will protect me from wind, rain and even snow on the trail.  It did a great job keeping me dry and warm on my recent camping trip.

Training For The Trail

I went to Inches Fitness to check them out. They are a new fitness center in town just for women. Locally owned and not a chain or franchise. Amanda went with me and we got a tour of the place. I really liked the vibe in there and the facility was spotless and very modern. They have lots of classes that sound fun and they even have a saltwater pool. I made an appointment to meet with a trainer tomorrow to learn the equipment and work out. I'm really excited! I told them about my hike and they are all interested and want to help so I'm psyched. I told them I only have 6 months to get ready, ha ha!!!

I've also been walking as much as possible. Robinson Preserve is a beautiful place to walk near my home.

 

This is the tower I climb to work out my legs. There is a great view from up there.

View from the tower at Robinson Preserve

Buying Gear - and so it begins

I started seriously ordering gear today. There are some things I will wait to order later as I get closer to my start date, which is still undecided. Things like clothing which I hope will be several sizes smaller than what I currently wear. But things that I have been researching and have made final decisions on, I decided to go ahead and purchase. I will post links to the things I can in case you want to check them out.

Today I ordered my Steri-pen for treating water. There are many options for treating water in the field but for me, this seems the simplest and safest so I'm going with it. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003A1MURC/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item

I ordered my cooking system today as well. I plan to do what's called "freezer-bag cooking" which basically means boiling water and pouring it in a freezer bag full of dehydrated food to rehydrate and eat. Yeah, can't get much simpler than that. Plus, no pot to wash either. Just throw out the freezer bag when I get to a garbage can. I know I will be so exhausted at the end of long hiking days so I need the easiest way possible. I have read so many good things about the Caldera Cone system so I decided to purchase it. I bought it along with .9L titanium Evernew pot from traildesigns.com. Here's the link: http://www.traildesigns.com/stoves/caldera-cone-system

As part of the freezer bag cooking process, it helps to have something to keep the bag warm while it rehydrates so I bought a Cook-N-Coozy. Here's the link: http://www.ultralightdesigns.com/products/cooking/CookNCoozy-Solo.html

I needed a new headlamp and my research showed this one is very popular and probably the lightest weight one available. It is the Petzl E+lite with integrated whistle. Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001SARHV6/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The last thing I bought was some gaiters from Dirty Girl Gaiters.com. Of course I had to buy the ones with butterflies on them!!! http://www.dirtygirlgaiters.com/ironbutterfly.html

I'm Hiking the Appalachian Trail

Ever since I was in college and heard about a trail that ran from Georgia to Maine, I've been intrigued. I guess really, ever since I was a little girl, trails have fascinated me. Growing up in south Georgia we would find trails in the woods to follow. My family went to the NC mountains nearly every summer and I've always had such a fondness for the mountains. I feel like my spirit comes alive when I'm there. Many years ago, I don't remember exactly when, I learned that people actually hike the entire trail. I started reading everything I could get my hands on about the Appalachian Trail (AT). I always joke that I have my own personal AT library since I own so many books about it. Then I found out there were websites where people kept journals for their hikes so I of course, read them obsessively. Somewhere in the recesses of my brain was a spark of an idea that maybe I could hike it one day. What a grand adventure that would be!!!

In 2005, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Coincidentally or not, my first symptoms appeared when my partner and I were hiking a section of the AT in GA near Neel's Gap. It was over Easter weekend and we had been told of a beautiful place to camp where we would have a gorgeous Easter sunrise. So we camped at Wolf Laurel Top and agreed the view was spectacular! Sometime in the middle of the night, the storm from hell hit. We were awakened in our tiny little tent to howling wind, hail, sleet and rain. We were terrified!!! We literally held the sides of our tent up and prayed that we wouldn't die. We just waited for a little bit of light so we could pack up and get out of there and down the mountain as fast as we could. Amanda went out in the maelstrom and got our bear bag down from the tree while I packed up inside the tent. As soon as it was light enough to see to walk we took off. It was a long downhill in that mess but we knew we were headed to a road and could possibly get a ride into town. As we were hiking down the mountain I started having a crazy pain in my leg. It kept getting worse and I knew I needed to get off of it.

We called a shuttle and got a ride into Helen, GA where we could dry off and warm up. My leg didn't get any better, in fact, it got worse so we decided to cut our trip short and head home. I was in horrible pain all the way home. When I got home, I also discovered I was having some gynecological problems and called my GYN doctor. After being examined by him, he told me I had a "mass" in my uterus and required surgery. I had also been having some numbness and tingling and told him about that. He advised that I call my Primary doc immediately, which I did. She ordered a stat MRI, which showed that I had lesions on my brain. UGH! I was sure I was covered in cancer now. I had hysterectomy within the month and several months of testing to see what was causing the brain lesions. I finally got diagnosed in October with MS.

My symptoms continued to progress over the next few years to the point that I couldn't work anymore. Oh wow, did I go through so much depression over that! I had always worked 2 and 3 jobs to survive and now not to be able to work at all?

My symptoms have leveled off right now so that I am probably in a remission. This can change in the blink of an eye. It could all come back tomorrow. So, I've learned that I have to live today and make the best of whatever each day brings - although I don't always do that.

My decision to hike the AT is based on that. I need to do it now and stop waiting. I won't get any better. My illness can eventually kill me, but it might not. It might stay the same. No one really understands MS. So I only have now. I'm going to give it everything I've got and see what happens. I don't want to get to the end of my life and regret that I never tried.

My family thinks I'm crazy. I've always been crazy though, so that's ok. I think that they don't really believe I'm going to do it.

If you believe in me and want to support me, I'd love to hear from you.


"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway." Earl Nightingale