Shakedowns!

I've been working on getting out there and testing the winter gear. Tuesday I attempted a night hike in Catawba, but the mission was aborted due to Dan's sickly-ness... Though we did stop at John's Spring Shelter and cook some ramen on my camp stove (With chunks of beef jerky in it. Yum.) Thursday morning I got up early and headed out to Angel's Rest in Pearisburg, which is just a quick 5 mile hike. It was a steep climb all the way up, but the view of the new river was incredible.



I met a 2X thruhiker, "swift" and we had some trail chat. SO cool! Always nice to meet a thruhiker. He's starting attempt number 3 in late February, so I may run into him along the way. He had some great advice.

I'm considering making reservations at the Hiker Hostel, which would provide a place to stay the night before my first day, breakfast in the morning, and a ride to the southern terminus for a reasonable price. The only real reason I'm holding off is because I may get eager and jump the gun on my start date.. March 7th feels so far away.

New boots! I bought them at Gander Mtn. and I've been breaking them in over my last couple hikes..



I wanted to get a size bigger than my actual foot to leave room for thick socks, so I went with a mens shoe, but I'm pretty happy with it so far. That Gore-tex should come in handy for a rainy spring.