Lyrics

Does anybody else think in song lyrics?  Maybe I'm weird, (well that's a given), but so often I find myself in some sort of situation that greatly affects me emotionally, and lyrics to a song jump in my head and won't go away.  For example,  I was taking a nap today,  (hmm,  wonder if I can do that on the trail) and in my dream I was standing on the top of Springer Mt. and I was overcome with the beauty.  The words  "purple mountain majesties" came to mind and in my dream, Meadowlark, Krazie Girl, Bryan (no trail name yet) and I, all started singing America the Beautiful at the top of our lungs. :)

I need to remember not to do something stupid so  l don't end up with a horrible trail name. In this case if this really happened, I could be called Earworm.
:O

Anyway,  all this makes me realize what a huge and important part of my life that music is. 

My first AT hike. Taken on Wolf Laurel Top

The Road Less Uncomfortable

Amanda's Mirror of Support

This 

and others were posted on my mirror one morning by Amanda.

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