I'm ready.
More than ready.
Maybe too ready.
(Too) Ready to Go
I'm not sleeping well. Each night is more restless than the previous. It doesn't feel like anxiety is keeping me awake, though. I'm not reviewing lists of things in my head or spending time worrying about the unknown.
I think I'm just keyed up and ready to get moving.
I can tell Kim is keyed up too. This morning I awoke around 5:30 and discovered she was in the kitchen throwing away old food from the refrigerator.
My days have been spent with a lot of small details. At this point, most of what I've been doing is working on little things to dial in my gear. I'd still be fine without these changes and additions, but they're worth doing, and I have time to do them.
One of the additions I made to my pack was a small sewing kit. It only contains some safety pins, a small amount of thread, and a couple of needles. That's all I'll need and will probably come in handy. I'm glad I had extra time to think about assembling the kit.
I also sprayed my clothing with Permethrin, a chemical that will help to protect against ticks and mosquitoes. To keep the effectiveness of this product, I will have to repeat applications about once a month.
One of the last things I did was finish preparing two boxes of food, which I described in my last post. I then took them to the post office to be delivered to me on the trail.
Sending boxes of food to myself can be expensive, and for the most part, this isn't necessary. They might be the only boxes I will mail, but I have prepared some notes and set aside some in case I need to ask my wife to mail me some.
The highlight of the week was when I talked to fifth-grade students at Jefferson Middle School about hiking the Appalachian Trail. They asked a lot of good questions.
I feel like I'm now running out of things to do. I guess that means I'm as ready as I'll be. There are a few items remaining on my to-do list, and they have more to do with me being away from home for several months. For instance, I plan to replace batteries in all of the smoke detectors before I go.
The hike begins Monday. That day is not coming soon enough.
Lay down last night, Lord, I could not take my rest
Lay down last night, Lord, I could not take my rest
My mind was wandering like the wild geese in the West
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