Counting down the days!

The countdown has begun and I am so excited! I can't wait to get back on the trail! I have lists of things to do, still a few items to buy, a few items to make and food that needs to be repackaged into ziplock bags before we leave. Everyday I cross another thing off the list and get a little bit closer to being back on a trail! I'm pretty vocal about things and can't contain all this happy energy, Michael on the other hand has been fairly quiet even as his new gear was arriving. I was starting to get a little worried that I was dragging him in way beyond his comfort zone but I have seen a drastic change in the past week. He's been talking about our trip to everyone we see, he made a walking stick and right now he is working on our beer can pot. I can tell from his comments that he has been daydreaming about how this hike will play out and now I'm concerned for other reasons! Last year before the AT I told myself how hard it was going to be and promised myself I wouldn't give up, it appears that Michael has the exact opposite approach! He is making comments about being able to "run up mountains by the time we are done," and that he "is the picture of perfect health and Men's Fitness will be at the end wanting to do a photo shoot." Oh and there's more! "Canadian Geographic is going to want my pictures" and "publishers will want my journal." I am laughing my head off! At the same time, I totally acknowledge that most of hiking a long distance trail is a mind game. I am sure I had it easier back in Georgia last year than some of my fellow hikers who ended up quitting. I had psyched myself into thinking that it was going to be so hard that it actually seemed easier than I had imagined. I'm sure that a lot of the hikers who left the trail uninjured left because the trail wasn't what they had pictured at all and couldn't adapt to it. Will Michael make it on The Long Trail? I think so. Will he enjoy it as much as I do and be looking forward to the next trek the day we get back home? I hope so but what if he doesn't? Then what? I met some amazing couples on the trail last year that I could tell were loving every minute of being on the trail together but to be honest I met a lot more hikers whose spouses were at home. I guess I will just have to wait and see.