For as long as I can remember, I've dreamt of adventure. Not just any kind of adventure, but the *really grand *kind. The kind of adventure that changes you, where you find yourself.

Well, with the sudden and unexpected discovery that I'm not yet immortal, I realised it's now or never. I've decided to go off on an adventure...

Next year, 2013, I am going to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. The oldest and best known of the world's long-distance hike, this trail stretches some 3500km through 13 states along the USA's eastern coast. Almost the entire length of the trail is through wilderness regions.

I will post more details over time, but here are answers to the most obvious questions:

At 30km per day, I'll hike for 4 months
My starting date is 1 May 2013
I'll hike it alone, but am sure I'll get to know other hikers along the way
Friends and family are welcome to visit me on the trail
I'll take the time off work. Hopefully people will want me back afterwards ;-)

For more about this amazing trail, Wikipedia's a fair start. Bill Bryson wrote a book about the Trail, which provides some useful background. For a visual overview, watch this absolutely incredible video. Lastly I'm far too eager to bore people talking about it, so give me a shout if you're interested.

I can't really describe how excited I am. It is possibly the first thing in my life I've been absolutely, completely convinced I should do.