Off to the trail tomorrow...

Tim here. I have finally been convinced (kicking and screaming mind you) into getting some proper gear for the trail. Christine finds it quite funny that I finally caved just 2 days before we're due to leave. I feel quite Americanized (note the spelling) with all these high quality purpose designed items. They do however come with a high quality purpose designed price tag, which has certainly made this planning process slightly painful. Still, I'm starting to come around and enjoy all these great items I now own. REI will be glad that I decided to go hiking, I probably just paid the wages for one of their staff for over a month!

I have been researching the A.T website throughly today, and studying the interactive map online. Check it out at www.appalachiantrail.org if you're interested. It gives you a good idea of how far between shelters, and even shows a photo of them in most cases.

So anyway, tomorrow we fly out to Baltimore in the morning, take a train to DC in the afternoon, then another train to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in the evening. We'll spend the night there in our tent, and then set off on the trail on the morning of Sept 2nd. Harpers Ferry is the headquarters for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and is also known as the psychological half way point on the trail. We'll be heading south and as the seasons cool off from Summer to Autumn, the weather should stay fairly constant as we get closer to the equator. Our next post should be in a few days, at our first refuel spot. At this point we'll be about 30-50 miles in, and hopefully running like a well oiled machine. Hope you're all well, keep us in your prayers, 

T&C 

So, I was talking to Lindsay and she made me realize that we haven't shared much about the logistics of this trip. which most of you want to know about.... Here are some of the details including a map!

Food: We will carry our food for 3-5 days at a time. The trail isn't too much in the wilderness and runs close to towns quite often. We will go in to town once a week to use the internet, restock on food, wash clothes, and maybe even take a shower.

Shelter: We are carrying a tent in our packs and there are also huts spaced out along the trail. We will probably sleep in our tent if the huts are full, or if we just fancy it. In the national forests we can set up camp anywhere, but in the National Parks we have to camp in designated areas.

Packs: Our packs will range between 20-30 (9-14 kg) pounds, depending on how much food we are carrying at a time. We are trying to be very minimalistic so the less the better!

Distance. The entire trail runs roughly 2175 miles(3500 km). We are going to attempt to walk 700 miles (1126 km). We aren't going to have a tight schedule so as not to get burned out. Its just an estimate, so we'll wait and see how far we really get! 

Start and Finish: We are starting in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and hiking south. We think we will enter the Great Smoky Mountains and finish there. 

Hope all this helps! Heres a good map and a picture of a typical hut and blue mountain view!

Off to the trail....

after copious amounts of planning and money we have finally laid everything out. in neat and tidy piles the contents of our future life lie across a plaid quilt and some shaggy carpet. 

amazing that the needs of human life can be put in one pack. 

a pack that will not only hold our needs but also our hopes of laughter, campfires, growing love, and increasing faith.

we hope you all can keep us in prayer and thought these next seven weeks as we use our God given feet to haul ourselves across a beautiful country.