Temp. 34 degrees, No wind, Light snow last night but melting away.

For me, the first day of a long distance hike is a stomach-churning event. What did I forget? What did I leave behind? Am I walking in the right direction? Why is this backpack so heavy?

On and on my brain cycles through that kind of stuff. Not unlike an athlete at the kickoff, the tipoff, or other challenging events for which we carefully prepare ourselves, but still have last-minute doubts.

I walked out of the hotel this morning onto a thin, melting snow cover—maybe an inch. The trail is about a half-mile from my hotel. Soon my feet will be walking on dirt. It begins.