The FINAL Final Countdown

It's finally here! I can't believe I start my thru-hike tomorrow morning. I've been planning this trip for a year and a half. During that time, there was only one night when the thought crossed my mind, "What am I thinking?!" Besides that one moment, I was totally excited and eager to begin my hike. That changed a bit over the past couple of weeks once I left my job. I was still excited, but the gravity of what I am doing began to sink in. Honestly, I think printing the trail map for my going away party triggered the "OMG! That's a heck of a long trail" moments. The map was 6 pages long and spanned the length of one of the doors in my parents' house. As I began to look for landmarks along the way (like Damascus, VA where they hold Trail Days or McAfee Knob, the most photographed spot on the trail), I noticed those were only on page 2 of 6. Seriously? How could that be. Then I began to think of my day to day life on the trail. I'll be sleeping in the woods for the next six months? Pooping in a privy or a hole I dig in the ground? Going without a shower for days on end? Doesn't sound very fun. I knew I just needed to get to Georgia and get this show on the road.

Now that I'm in Atlanta and have all of my gear safely packed away in my pack, I'm excited again and ready to hit the trail. There's no more planning I can do. No more gear adjustments to make. It's just time to get out there and do the best I can. I'm FAR from an expert on backpacking and am totally open to learning from others out on the trail. It will take a few weeks to fall into a routine and understand the best order to do things in and the best ways to use my gear. Once I get into a groove, things will be much easier and setting up and breaking down camp each day will get quicker. I'm so excited to start my hike tomorrow and am eager to meet some great new friends and trail angels along the way.

Before I leave, I want to thank everyone that has offered their support during the past few months and even years. I can honestly say that I have not met a SINGLE PERSON who has had anything bad to say about my journey. Sadly, not every hiker can say that. Everyone is excited for me and many people tell me they wish they could do something similar themselves. So many people have offered to send me packages along the way (I'll post a list of post office locations as soon as I get a better grasp on that), meet me along the way, pray for me, or just follow my blog and live vicariously through me. Those offers and sentiments mean more than you'll ever know. Knowing I have such a huge support system behind me will make the tough days much easier and will keep me going when I am feeling overwhelmed. This trail is NOT EASY and many, many days will suck. I'll be wet, smelly, hungry, and covered in bug bites much of the time. I wouldn't be undertaking this journey if I didn't think the good would outweigh the bad, but I can't dismiss the fact that this will be a tough hike, both mentally and physically. Thanks for your encouragement so far. I hope that by reading my blog and following my journey you'll be inspired to take big risks and follow your heart. Life's too short to not be doing what you love.

Here goes nothing! I'll post as much as I can during my hike. Follow me on Instagram at StaceyinTX to see the most photos. I'm trying not to overwhelm my Facebook friends and I won't be able to put them all on my blog. Talk to you soon!