First Impressions

1. This is fun, really fun. A great match for my interests. Excitement is quite high that I get to do this for so long.
2. 15 miles per day has felt extremely manageable. Confidence in the body holding up is high.
3. It feels a bit like the beginning of college:
   1. I am a member of the (hopeful) class of 2026. I’m number 1104. There will likely be ~2000 more folks getting started this year.
   2. People ask and answer the same set of questions “when did you start”, “what brought you here”, “how did you make the time” akin to “what’s your major” and “what clubs do you think you will get involved in”
   3. People that work on and near the trail, volunteer, support hikers, etc are nearly exclusively “alumni”
   4. Everyone is a little bit unsure about what they signed up for, but there is an air of general excitement 
   5. There’s an orientation session that lays out the rules, but doesn’t really give much practical advice, unless you are genuinely clueless
   6. Everyone manages to both overpack and forget something essential 
4. The social scene is pretty cool. If you want a solitary experience, easy. If you want to talk to other hikers, also easy. Nowhere else have I seen folks so willing to engage in conversation with people they just met. Some memorable interactions:
   1. A 60 year old dude from Florida who started his hike in Florida! He smokes a lot of cigarettes, and dislikes most brands because they aren’t strong enough. 
   2. A fellow big finance employee who is currently “on vacation” but is quitting his job virtually next week
   3. A fellow runner also concerned about doing too many miles too early 
   4. A recent high school grad starting pilot school whenever he’s done
   5. Multiple folks that have said “I’m hiking till I run out of money”
   6. Another Aaron from Boston, but strangely hates being called A-A-Ron
   7. The list goes on, but it’s been a consistently fun and interesting to chat with folks. And I’m not a big chatter with strangers generally!
5. Weather has so much power. It’s been perfect so far, and will continue that trend, miraculously, but boy it can turn things around. 
6. It’s all a bit of shock, and I have struggled to calm down/feel settled/relax/read/watch anything. I’m sure that will come. 

To start, I’m writing this in a bunk room I’m sharing with 7 folks on average 25 years older than me that I just spent a pleasant evening with.

I’ve received what is now 5 free meals from folks providing “trail magic” - this is the practice of cooking food at road crossings and giving it to hikers. Due to this, despite eating a lot of food, I’ve been doing more accumulating of food than eating it, at no cost. I’ve tried, and they won’t accept donations.