Even as a child hearing about Ponce de Leon's search for the Fountain of Youth, I thought the whole idea seemed a bit silly, and I wondered how a grown man could expect to find something so contrary to 'common sense'. Yet here I am holding some small expectation of rekindling some of the fire of youth with our latest endeavor, that is, attempting a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

My wife and I, hereafter Plowboy and Poli-Poli (our trail names...a tradition of the AT), are neither exceptional athletes nor avid hikers. While Poli has not seriously abused her body in her 50 years of opportunity, neither has she pushed it to develop particular abilities or strengths. I once attained, thanks to lifting baled hay in the early 1970s, some modicum of physical fitness I would not otherwise have attained. I also did some 5-15 day bicycle trips that developed a type of fitness beyond 'brute' strength. On the other hand, in the intervening years, cigarettes, chocolate, and a host of other vices have reared their ugly heads and the joy and confidence experienced in feeling physically fit have gradually been replaced by a certain wheezing, shortness of breath, and some serious extra poundage.

So why are we doing something so drastic? Poli has been a lifelong traveller, beginning with her parents attempting (and succeeding) to take their children to every national park in the lower 48 states. That drive, apparently genetic, has taken her to as many destinations as she has been able to accomplish during her summers free from teaching and other occasional breaks. For myself, though I've been less continental, I was the only kid in our small town that I remember riding his bike out to visit friends in the country, often the first to befriend the new kids in town, first among my limited peerage to buy a motorcycle for serious travelling, and first to hitchhike any great distance. In short, I was, apparently, also born with a taste for change and travel.

I could probably rattle on for several paragraphs on any of these details, but I wish to keep this readable. There will be few updates as we will only do so when we can find the opportunity.
Our start date is April 1, 2009.

Y'all come back now....hear?