Appalachian Trail Adventure 2013 – Connecticut

My stuff is packed, and tomorrow I board a train to upstate NY.  I will meet my cousin Brendan for a 6 day backpacking trip through the Connecticut portion of the Appalachian Trail.

Last year I did a trip on the Virginia portion of the AT in Shenandoah National Park, and I hope to do sections each year until I have completed the entire 2,000 miles. At the present rate it will take me until I’m 90, so I’d better not leave the hardest portions to the end!

There was supposed to be three of us.  Lisa, my hiking partner last year had to drop out due to a family emergency.  After a week with me in Virginia, she continued on for three weeks on her own.  We will miss Lisa and I was hoping to learn from the experiences she had on the trail.

I do hope to learn from my own experiences last year.  When I finished I wrote a post called 10 Lessons Learned.  I have reviewed those definitely made some changes.  My pack last year was 50 pounds.  It was unnecessarily heavy.  This year I have lopped 15 pounds off that!  This is thanks to packing less stuff, and getting lighter versions of many items.  On Father’s Day, my wife presented me with a new 2 1/2 pound tent!  That made a huge difference!  It also highlighted another of my 10 lessons, appreciating a loving support network!

We have also set a more modest goal for daily mileage.  Our plan is to enjoy the hike and if we get to a beautiful spot, we will stop and enjoy it and not worry that we have 7 more miles to go for the day’s goal.

I will keep a journal, and take some great pictures so stay tuned for the blog posts to follow!

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