I am scrambling now trying to get my affairs in order before I leave. Last night, Bruce, Christina, and I shaved our mutt cat and well....he still looks like a mutt cat. I am preparing my boxes and maildrops with Bruce's help. I am printing out my 200+ pages of maps. I will make one final stop at The Benchmark for one last glanceover to make sure that I haven't forgotten anything vital. I sold my car, paid my bills, and sent any important legal documents to be retained for safekeeping. Our son made the comment, "Mom, it sounds like you are preparing for your death." Not at all....I am getting ready to live....really live... in a simplified setting of the unknown. I will carry a backpack for 20-30 miles per day so any decision about my hike is important to the fulfillment and completion of my hike. I am completing my writing about my hiking adventures with my co-author and we will move forward with our work in the fall. And, I am studying every night trying to grasp what will be a unique sojourn on the backbone of the United States. As one hiker put it, "Embrace the Brutality!"

I cannot wait!