On the Hike Plan page of this blog, you can find a detailed breakdown of my preliminary strategy to hike 2189.2 miles in under 5 months. As explained in the introduction, I know pre-planning can seem taboo, as things will certainly change once on the trail. But, I feel one of the best ways to prepare oneself for this trip – mentally, strategically, financially, logistically, not to mention for the sanity of friends and family – is to have a detailed plan in advance that I can best hold my myself accountable to.

Over the next few months, I will walk through each “section” of this hike, as broken out by the by Map Man and labeled in Column A of the Hike Plan spreadsheet. The purpose of each of these preliminary posts will be to provide 3 valuable assets to me and my followers before hitting the trail:

1. Expectations.  By doing a descriptive walkthrough of the trail section, I can try to understand (and share) what to anticipate during that section: Difficulty of terrain, towns to pass through, sights to see, festivals to participate in, trail milestones to look forward to, budget to account for, etc.
2. Timing.  This baseline will act as the barometer for all logistics planning to my support network: When to send mail drops, when to expect me off-trail (for pre-planned events such as a wedding in June), and when to join (if interested) for section hiking alongside me. Many friends and family have shown interest and (if they can keep up) would be a great addition to the adventure.
3. Safety.  If for some reason I am unable to post daily updates from the trail, you will know where to expect me next. If (god forbid) I don’t show up, you’ll know where to go look for me. This is unlikely to happen – but better safe than sorry.

Future AT Hike Plan posts will break down each section of the Hike Plan (1-11).