I should have been more suspicious when the guy started driving back down towards the town I had just come from

I tied my boots together, threw them on my pack, and hiked the remaining miles in my sandals.

Of course, shortly after I had mentally written and edited my one star yelp review, the trees dropped away and afforded us 360 degree views.

However, when I turned in around 8, I felt anything but normal. There was something wrong. Perhaps some sleep would help.

Sadly, as we set out from the NOC, or trekking poles pathetically clicking behind us, nature was giving us a free shower.

They tell you that getting to NC is an awesome feeling. What they don’t tell you, is that the climb immediately afterwards is the most difficult one of the hike so far.

My pack weighed in at 40 lbs, and I weighed in at 128 lbs. I’m looking forward to seeing how that changes over the next 6 months! I officially started my thru hike at approximately 9:00 AM on April 4th.

While I love shrugging and saying “why not” and seeing the reactions to that, here I will attempt to *seriously* answer that pesky question in as much depth as I can.