Hiker BFF Family Day

Hey y’all!

It’s almost here! We’re almost there!

Today we are going to be finalizing gear and packing! This is the real pack because we will be leaving tomorrow!

The morning started off with Hiker BFF’s mom making an incredible breakfast of French toast on brioche with real maple syrup from Maine and bacon from their pig! It was so delicious!

After breakfast, we went into town so we could go to the post office and get boxes, and do a supply run for Hiker BFF at Walmart.

When we got back to our AirBnb cottage, Hiker BFF’s mom made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, and she even cut them into triangles!

Hiker BFF took a “nap” (ha, she was too nervous, we all knew it!) and I started making all my boxes and finished packing.

For dinner, Hiker BFF’s mom made another delicious meal – I believe it was pesto or tomato chicken with rice and sautéed vegetables. I had tomato. It was very tasty!

We stayed up that night chatting. It was a fantastic time! I can’t wait to have them all visit me and mom!

Okay, I should move on to Day 1 since I’m behind.

Thanks for joining me on Expedition Elizabeth!

Expedition Elizabeth is Officially at Amicalola Lodge

Hey y’all!

Well, after a long day of traveling on the Greyhound, I have made it with Paxley to Amicalola State Park!

My bus started in Memphis at 10 am and went through Tupelo and Birmingham. We got to Atlanta about 6:40 pm. From there, I took the MARTA Red Line for $3.50 to the North Springs Station. Just outside the gate, I met my crazy shuttle driver (haha, just kidding!) Survivor Dave! I highly recommend him! He drove me from the North Springs Station to Amicalola Lodge and on the way let us stop at Kroger for food.

When we were driving up, it was dark and I have got to say, you should check out Amicalola Lodge at night! It is an incredible sight! I highly encourage you to do that!

Today, I have to check out by 11 am. I’ll just be waiting for my hiking partner to arrive and pick me up. While I’m waiting, I might hitch a ride down to the Welcome Center to sign in and get my tag.

We’ll that’s all for now. More updates to come!

Thanks for joining me on Expedition Elizabeth!

Valentine’s Post

Hey y’all!

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday, not really a whole lot happened – just casual freaking out. You know, no big deal.

Big News First

I will be catching my Greyhound bus today at 10 am to Atlanta! Oh my gosh, it’s like scary, exciting, nerve-wracking, everything all in one. Okay, I can’t write too much right now because I still need to pack, and I have an hour.

Valentine’s News Second

I had two Valentine’s yesterday.

Jonah

Alfie

I am going to miss them so much, but I cannot think about that right now.

I’ll post again later today!

Thanks for joining me on Expedition Elizabeth!

How do I already have a trail injury?!?…

Hey y’all!

So as you can tell from the title, I already have a trail injury… and I haven’t even stepped foot on the trail yet!

Today, I had to make an emergency trip to… my dentist! Yep, the dentist. I noticed I really haven’t been sleeping well the past week (despite my Ambien) and concluded I’m stressing more about my trip than I thought. Yesterday, I started feeling the pain, but didn’t have a reason to think more of it. However, this morning I knew! I woke up with an ulcer between the base of my tongue and jaw bone. Knowing I was going to be hitting the trail on Sunday, I wanted to get this taken care of ASAP! I have only ever gotten an ulcer in my mouth that required medical attention once before… in college… and I was taking physics and organic chemistry (read: torture!). At that time, I happened to be home in Collierville and my dentist treated it for me. Thankfully, I also happened to be in Collierville, so my dentist Dr. Jerry Midyett at Schilling Farms Dental worked me in and treated my ulcer again with some silver nitrate so that it shouldn’t bother me on trail!

Right now, it’s only bothering me when I eat. I’m thinking it won’t even hurt by tomorrow!

Diagnosis: mouth ulcer

Treatment: silver nitrate application

Prognosis: good

Huge thank you to Dr. Midyett for getting me in completely last minute!

Thanks for joining Expedition Elizabeth! If you have any questions, comment below or send an e-mail to Elizabeth.erin.coker@outlook.com.

The Details

Hey y’all!

I know I haven’t provided a lot of details about my journey, so I’m hoping to answer all the facts today! For simplicity, I’m not going to talk about my emotions or current thoughts in this post – just The Details.

The Big Picture…

is to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail beginning February 18th, 2018 at Springer Mountain, Georgia and ending on September 17th, 2018 (my 26th birthday) at Mt. Katahdin, Maine. I’ll be backpacking 2,190.9 miles through the Appalachian Mountains of 14 Eastern states.

You aren’t going alone, are you?

Yes, I am going solo. I am hiking for myself, so trying to hike with someone else or a group is a huge distraction when I’m trying to focus on me.

However, I will be starting with someone that I met online. We both planned initially to go by ourselves, but after a lot of pressure from family and friends who did not want us to hike by ourselves, we made the decision to start the trail together. We both have set boundaries so that we get what we need from the trail. Even though we are starting together, we both agree that we will not hold each other back or expect the other to hold back – we want each of us to do what is in the best interest of our own individual hikes.

How are you getting to Springer?

I will be taking a Greyhound from Memphis to Atlanta. Then, I will take the MARTA to the North Springs Station where Survivor Dave will pick me up and shuttle me to Amicalola Lodge.

Are you going to hike the Approach Trail?

No, I will not be hiking the Approach Trail. I will be starting at the Springer Mountain parking lot, back tracking 1 mile to the summit, then officially start my thru-hike north to Katahdin.