5-mile practice hike

Willie and I took a 5-mile practice hike on this, my first full day of retirement from the Navy! My actual retirement date is the end of this month, but I picked up my retirement papers yesterday, so it's almost official.

So I have just over a month before I start the hike; the big talk and the grand schemes are pretty much done, and there's not a lot left to do except start hiking...yikes! 

By the way, this picture is from last summer up in Maine, not this morning. We were on the bike trail here in Arlington, and everything was cold, damp and gray.  I know there are some (maybe a lot of) people who say it's a waste of time to just walk around town with your pack and your boots, since it's so hard to replicate the difficulty of the actual trail. I definitely understand that, but I think there is still value in the around-town thing; just getting completely comfortable with your pack on your back is worth something, even if you're not climbing over roots and rocks in the middle of the woods. And it gives the neighbors something to discuss over dinner.

Anyway, my plan for the month of March is to do as much walking with my pack as I can. It's going to be a busy month, so I'm out of time to do overnights before I head to Georgia. Walking the bike trail is pretty much all I have left in terms of getting ready. I have to do something, because I'm starting to get a little bit of the pre-hike jitters!