Long Time No Hike

It's been 3 weeks since my last hike. Uh Oh!, do I sound like a member of AA???? Some days it feels like I should join a support group. Oh Wait! I am a member of a couple of support groups, the Adirondack Forum and the Appalachian Trail Conference.

I'm making my mind up to schedule my hike of the Appalachian Trail (the AT) this coming spring, March 2007. My husband is more than a little uncomfortable cause I haven't done more than 3 days/2 overnights and my plan to thru hike the Northville - Lake Placid trail never came thru. He also says when I came off my 3 day hike (of the Northville - Lake Placid trail - see previous posts), I complained of aches and pains so am not really ready for a 6 month hike. My contention is that no matter how a person trains, there will be aches and pains at the end of a days (many days!) hike so no biggie. And while I agree with him that a NPT thru hike would have been ideal as a training tool and decider if I want to do a longer hike, it isn't strictly necessary. Many hikers just go ahead and hike the AT without that long distance prep.

So far, I've ordered the whole set of the AT guides, the Data Book and the Planning workbook. I got the guides and planning workbook already and read the workbook. I'm stoked about going. But, in the interest of fairness, I'd like to think a couple of more weeks on this. Perhaps get some input from other hikers before making any irreversible plans.