Alright, if you are going to follow this blog you might as well find out early - before I even take the first step on the Appalachian Trail - that I occasionally make a blunder. I just spoke with Laurie at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters in Harper's Ferry. She strongly suggested that I not start my hike from there at this time. A handful of experienced hikers have come in recently reporting that the north faces of the mountains are heavily iced over. They are having to inch along, at times sitting on their behinds to slide a ways down the trail. That, combined with bitterly cold temperatures, does not sound like a smart way to start a journey of over 2,000 miles.
So... a change of plans is underway. I will now join the group in starting at Springer Mountain, Georgia and heading straight north to Maine. What that means is that I will have the company of other hikers as opposed to being mostly alone, as I would have been for the first half of the hike under the original plan. I will now target late February / early March as the start date, depending on the weather. The approach to Springer is being closed today due to the winter storm passing through.
Patience, patience. I get the feeling this trek is going to involve some improvisation.
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