Final preparations

The days of sitting on the couch, watching TV, and talking on the phone are almost gone. Yahoo! From the looks of my belly in these pictures it couldn't have come at a better time. I will miss these warm Mississippi days though.

MerryCline, cute as can be, ready to get out on the AT!

The packs are packed. My pack with 6 days of food, water, and gear weighs about 32 pounds. MC's pack is about 29 pounds. I know, she is a bad ass.

I know, my hair is AWSOME right now.  If we do the mowhawk before I shave it all off I will post pictures. 

Some of the final touches have been spraying our clothes with permethrin so the mosquitos and ticks won't get us (I am deathly afraid of ticks by the way). Getting all of the music, motivational talks, and audiobooks loaded up on our iPods. We made sure all of our tax stuff is taken care of. We have packed our lives back up so that we don't invade any more of the Pickenpaugh's space (and yes, it all fits in the attic). They have been angels dealing with us and all of our stuff spread out all over the place while we have been preparing. The weather is not looking great for the first couple days of the hike, but I figure the sooner we get used to the rain and cold the better, so why not break us in right. I recently read a passage from Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth" that says "the primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it". I hope that I will be able to apply his teachings through the tough times on the trail. My dad would translate that into "Focus on the positive". We have been fortunate to have been surrounded by so many wise and unique people over the last few years and I am sure there will be many more to meet on the trail. Well, until the next post.....