February 22, 2018
Today was a busy day of chores, but a beautiful and unexpectedly warm day in Atlanta. Temperatures reached the upper 70s and it truly felt like the end of spring. It was enough to push the red buds (a type of tree) on my street to coyly show signs of blooming. Lucky for me, most of my chores were prepping the yard for my absence, so I spent much of the day outside in the balmy air tending to plants, pulling weeds, and laying down a nice blanket of pine straw. I just love the way a fresh layer of pine straw looks! It reminds me of the pine forests I grew up playing in as a kid in the south.
I answered some more questions about my trip today, one of which was “do you have a trail name?” For those of you who aren’t familiar with this, a trail name is a hiking nickname that is traditionally chosen for you by other hikers while on the trail. Some people choose their own trail names, but the tradition is that it is bequeathed to you. I do not have a trail name yet! I intend to embrace the tradition and let other hikers bestow one upon me on the trail. I’m actually pretty excited about this, but of course i AM hoping it is not something horrible, like Sir Poops-A-Lot, or Night Drooler, or Which Way.
While I don’t have a trail name (yet), I do have a pretty cool hat (i think, anyway) that I am going to wear on the hike. When I was getting my gear together, I wanted a new mesh hat that would be light, well ventilated, and would help keep sun off of my face. My old mesh hat doesn’t fit my head (i have a big noggin…) when I have a lot of hair, so definitely not good for the trail. This new one has plenty of room for my man skull. The real kicker for me was the space cat eating a taco and a piece of pizza. I mean, come on! I love cats, love tacos, love pizza, and if you can put all of that in outer space, well that’s just something special! It may be a little non-traditional, but in a way it is not just my hiking hat; it is also my trail mascot! One way or the other, it’s coming along for the ride. Wasn’t there a movie called “So This is 40?” Maybe I should watch that….
I also spent today finalizing my food choices and prep for my first 4-5 days. I will try and post on that tomorrow. This space cat needs to get to bed.
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