I read an interesting article today about Adam LaRoche’s decision to walk away from baseball and 13 million dollars guaranteed. He choose quality time over money.

We only have so many years to fulfill our dreams. I’ve been dreaming of walking from Georgia to Maine on the AT since I was 11 years old. While on my first overnight with my dad in Maine in 1988 we met a thru-hiker and the dream was born. Tomorrow my dad will accompany me on the first few steps of my 2000+ mile journey back to Maine.

I started re-reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. I’m on the chapter about bear attacks. Nervous? A bit. But not so much about bear attacks. I’m most nervous about a sore knee that I thought would feel better than it does right now. I’ve been idle since my last hike finished on March 29th in New Zealand, but I guess my 39 year-old body has stiffened up a bit since then.

Instead of being active the past two weeks I’ve tried to eat pretty much everything in sight because I’ll soon be burning six to eight thousand calories a day. I’ll need the extra fat, particularly through the cold temps of the Southern Appalachians in spring – it’s supposed to be chilly and rainy the first few days on the Appalachian Trail in northern Georgia.

An April 14th start date places me near the back of the pack of the thru-hikers traveling north, but I hope to make up some time (if the knee holds up) and get to Gatlinburg, Tennessee by the end of April to attend a college buddy’s bachelor party. I’ll also be jumping off the trail later for his wedding, my parents 50th wedding anniversary, hopefully a graduation to see former students, and my best high school friends will join me for four days on the trail in August. I also hope to make new friends while on the trail.

I could be working right now, but there are plenty of years left to do that…although life offers no guarantees.

Choosing quality time over money…

Let the AT adventure begin!