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Great video looking forward to following along

You’re off! Good luck and stay warm!!!!

Woohoo. Happy safe hiking.. Looks like being flexible and being able to keep a good attitude about it is key.

Keep on hiking brother. But you need to look at your timing because you don’t want to be up there hiking the Smokes when they get snowed in.

Do you always hike solo?

Crazy start to your hike !! Safe hiking !!

Those are call very solvable problems, & you will work it out. Looking forward to seeing more of your adventure. Stay warm!

Thanks for taking us along with you. Good call on waiting for warmer weather. I would ditch the filter until above freezing at night. Try the drops or tablets. Andrew Skurka has a video on the drops. I’m wondering if you went to bed with sweat still in your clothes? That will chill you to the bone. Take care and hope to see you soon!

It’s always better to retreat & think things over in a warm environment than keep pushing through and work yourself in a mess, or worse. I’m positive you will find a way that will work for you in a bit. Thanks for taking us all with you on your shakedown, will wait patiently on new footage. Stay healthy & safe! Greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱

I've been section hiking the AT , I will do my third week in June. I section hike because I can't leave my elderly father long enough to do a through hike. I am 62 and although I would love to through hike , it just won't work out. Be proud of yourself for getting out there , so what if you section?

My first objective is trail days in Damascus, VA. I wanted to start Mar 29, (Springer) so this also worked in well with avoiding hopefully the extreme weather. 007 you can always come back. Good luck!

Good choice to keep the miles down at first. Stay warm.

Health first. All electronics, water and filter stay inside your sleeping bag. I start early March. Come back then!

Wow! What a day! Well done!

Good call

Good call on leaving trail with everything that happened and I totally get not wanting to buy new gear. Have you considered a Flip Flop starting at Harpers Ferry? Working your way south first then jump back up to HF and work your way north? You'd be back on trail a couple with most NOBOers that way for the latter half. Wishing you well!

My plan is a flip/flop starting at Rockfish Gap NOBO to Katahdin. I probably will flip down to Springer and hike NOBO to Rockfish Gap. I'm thinking mid April to mid November with a break of 2-3 weeks between sections. Thank you for sharing your adventures. My one son is Type 1 which is manageable while hiking with good prep. Press on to your dreams.

Hooray! So glad to see you on trail again! And you got some bonus miles haha nice!

I always admire your fortitude. Don’t get discouraged. I believe January was just way too early IMHO. March worked out good for you last year. Stick with that. Go home - get that bag fluffed up and continue with your original flip flop plan. Did you sleep with blood sugar monitor (and all electronics) in sleeping bag?

Since you asked, I'm thru hiking this year as a flip-flopper also - except I'm doing it as a series of 5 LASHs. Starting in March, in central VA, I'll hike for about a month, then get of trail for roughly the same amount of time. I do that 3 times to reach Mama K. then 2 more LASH from Central VA to Springer. With luck, I hope to cover 400-500 miles per LASH, I should finish up in Nov/Dec down at Springer. It's really the only way I could figure out to a through hike, because I'm 64, recently retired, and I have significant obligations back home that cannot me put on hold for 5-6 straight months. This also lets me hike the Smokies in the Fall (which has always been a dream of mine), and after more work gets done on the Helene Damage Areas. I was in the area south of there last year when Helene blow us all off trail.

You asked for options / thoughts. At 65 YO, I don’t know that I can handle 15-mile days, day after day. So, if I want to get it, all, in one, calendar, year, and, since I live fairly close to Damascus VA, I’ve thought of : - Beginning, in early January, at the Virginia state line, near Damascus. Would day hike, northward, heavily using home as home-base, as long as reasonably possible. Then, complete VA, WV, and MD, the standard way. Then, drive back, south, to Springer in, say, April. - Then, do Springer, to Damascus, the standard way. Upon completing that, drive north, to Pennsylvania line, and proceed northward, as far as I can, or to completion. This is just a dream. Not likely to try it. But, I sure do admire others, who give it a serious go! All the best! 🙂

Your shakedown was a success! They are for learning and that happened. My husband and I started section hiking the AT in April of 2022, he retired last month so we plan to finish with one long LASH this summer. (We are currently as far as Harper’s Ferry and hope to be at Duncannon by our May 1 start date.) All that being said…..we sure have loved section hiking…..and then going home! 😊 We are nervous but ready to finish this year! Whatever option you choose will be right for you!

007, I had the same experience in 2023. Froze my 1st night on trail at Stover Creek. Didn’t sleep all night. Got up the next morning and my cereal bars were hard as a rock! I am diabetic as well. My wife had to drive from Ohio to get me after just 1 night! My family insists that I abandon my AT dream.😢. It’s all I think about. 69 years old and in pretty good shape.

Yikes! I’m sorry it all seems to be going wrong but it is a bitter cold winter. I used my puffy on some nights when I started in February.

Guest of luck, regardless. 🙂

Certainly sounds like you were prepared with your sleeping system. The weather has been so crazy this year. I hope you can get started again soon. Third times the charm.

007 you did not mention your sleep ware, thermal base layer for sleeping makes a huge difference. Jasper here class of 22. I realize you must be safe, however maybe a bit too much over thinking. Hike on .

keep on walking and enjoy the beauty of the wilderness...always some good medicine!

I'm excited for you!

Great start!

Beautiful day. Great start. Happy Trails!

Bond, James Bond roll on! Dont push to hard this early in the year. Take in the hostels as your on an early start.....dont kill yourself b4 its warm.

Nice job on being agile Rodger - proud of you!

Yay, keep on trekking

Man, sorry that happened to you. That road is a rough drive, but I bet Ron Brown would have gotten you up there. Ron is the best shuttle driver in north GA and NC.

Nice video. I plan to follow. Last year, I followed Grayman, Mad Hermit, Bandit & Bluegrass, and MoJo. Look forward to what you have to say about blood glucose, and diet. You appear happy. Glad to see. Onward! 🙂

Wow. Well, that's the excitement of the trail, the unforeseen and spontaneous. You can plan, but the trail dictates. What an exciting first day.

Stover creek has cool windows and cute little mice in the privy. Does the roof still leak?

Excellent! I’ll be following along to see the trail conditions, getting on trail in about a month. I think you did great for day one 😅

I’m drinking my hot chocolate! 😊

Glad to see you back.

Git it brother!!!! Cant wait to see you up here in Vt at the Kelly Stand trailhead at Stratton Mtn The Lost Sloth🥾🔥🎉❤️💪✌️

Best of luck to you!

Good for you 007, starting again!!!

Hope ya NAIL IT this time!

Good luck 007!

Hope your first day went well and that your 2nd day is just as good! 😊

Sending good hiking karma your way. Enjoy the experience

OK. I'm going to follow you. Hike on!

Hope you have a great hike 🍀🥾 Stay warm & safe!! 🙏🏼 I’m watching from The Netherlands with my hot choco 👍🏼