Day 1

Burn the ships!

Day 1: 17 miles

Cortez did a lot of bad things but I do love the “burn the ships” story. History lesson for the day for those that don’t know. Cortez was a Spanish explorer and when he landed in Mexico he had his crew burn the ships so they couldn’t return home. Failure was not an option.

No turning back now. Said goodbye to my family for the next 9 months on top of Springer Mountain. Lately I have been wondering when the reality of this journey was going to hit me. I haven’t really felt that different. Even the last couple days my friends have been asking me if I’m ready or if it’s hit me yet and it really hadn’t. It didn’t until I was saying goodbye to my family.

As I was walking away, there was no wind, no rushing water, no creaking trees. The silence of the forest became so loud. Then the reality of the situation set in. After that I spent way too much time thinking big picture which I cannot do. With a goal of this magnitude, if I think like that it instantly becomes overwhelming and seemingly unattainable. I need to think like I always do and just break it into small chunks and focus on one day at a time.