Schedule!? I'm on my own time!

This blog is a not-so-sly reference to a work discussing Time as the temporality of Being; as an active, cumulative, ever-present constant that accompanies it. However, given that, for better or for worse, someone once decided to map out days and weeks and hours in equal segments for the sake of convenience, it makes sense that quite a few people have been asking where we expect to be and when. So friends! In short, I am not sure. I have outlined a sort of tentative schedule, but so many factors will determine our pace that it seems silly to even pretend that I can guess where we'll find ourselves in a month's time. Included among these factors are weather, injury, illness, general lollygagging including but not limited to: Sarah is taking too many pictures, Sarah wants to stop and write something down every ten seconds, Pat is running low on cash and has started a poker game with some poor unsuspecting and soon-to-be-broke hikers, etc. etc. etc. I could be back on my couch in a month for all I know, ha. So, I will present the Possible First Half (question mark), according to a conservative estimate. By 'conservative estimate' I mean that I tried to guess acccording to a slow-to-normal pace. So, particularly in the later Virginian parts of this, we may be [quote] ahead of schedule [unquote]. So, if you're planning on sending something/meeting us, the best option would be to call my phone and leave a message. Bear in mind (Bears...oh my.) that I won't be able to check messages until I actually can call my voicemail in a town, so shoot for way early, please, thank you. Now then.

We are starting in Blue Ridge, Georgia, at Springer Mountain. My good friend and general All-star of Life, the lovely and talented Miss Homer, has agreed to house us and transport us to the mountain, which is approximately 2 hours from Atlanta. I am eternally grateful. And after that we'll just be...you know...walking. Northward. Here are my guesstimations:

Georgia to North Carolina
Springer Mountain: March 15. RIP Caesar. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.
Franklin, NC: March 25ish
Fontana Dam, NC: March 28ish
Great Smoky Mountains & NC/TN Border
Gatlinburg, TN: April 2-3ish
Hot Springs, NC: April 9ish
Erwin, TN: April 15ish
the Virginia quarter, incl. Shenandoah National Park
Damascus, VA: April 25-27ish
Troutdale, VA: May 1ish
Pearisburg, VA: May 10-11ish
Glasgow, VA: May 25ish
Waynesboro, VA: June 1-2ish
[bit of a stretch w/ no P.O. stops, though we'll be by Front Royal, VA in here]
The Unoffical Halfway Point and A.T. Conservancy headquarters
Harpers Ferry, WV: June 15-17ish

And thus concludes the psychological first half. Although, due to constant re-routing and lengthening and battles with landowners and conservation efforts, etc., the actual halfway point is about 3 miles south of Rt.233 in Pennsylvania. But you celebrate in West Virginia I guess. Meh.

Alright, I won't go beyond that- I'm too superstitious.

I hope you are healthy and well, dears.
Also thank you thank you thank you to my beautiful friends for the dinners and drinks and goodies. Undying love showerings to: Teenie, MK, James, Dan, Moon, Janine, Alysha, and K. Rems. And Mom and Dad. Thank you for my extra 7 unplanned pounds to carry... not in my pack. Hahaha. But more importantly, thank you for the conversation and the connection. It means a lot to me. You all are my heart.


2 days until departure for Atlanta. Apparently it's going to rain all next week. Oh well... welcome aboard, I guess.
I have been spending inordinate amounts of time with my guitar, which I will miss dearly. And though I always spend inordinate amounts of time with my books, I have been doing that too.

And I am so nervous that I am finding it difficult to swallow.