Manning Mountains.

So, the second leg of my three part journey - Norway - is now complete and was an absolute thrill for me. Seeing everyone again and exploring the beautiful city of Bergen was never better. Now, after a 26 hour travel day, I am in Lynchburg, Virginia, where I am staying with some old friends - Joey, J. Forland and Mr. Listor. Today was spent resting and preparing myself for the final part of my journey, my wanderings through the Appalachian Mountains.

My parents sent a box to Virginia for me filled with many good things that will help me one my journey - rice, oatmeal, hiking poles, coffee, vitamins and tons of snicker bars. It was a tough thing to fit it all into my backpack, and for the first few days of hiking I think my pack will be much heavier than anticipated. But, I am pretty sure that will just motivate me to eat more food to lighten the load...

I am excited to hike. It will be quite the transition from busy Europe to the solitary wilderness, but it is a transition I am prepared for, probably more mentaly than physically. I believe I will lose some pounds, although I was hoping to, at this time, have more pounds on me to lose. Probably I will just become a thin stick of a person with a rather hairy face. I have a lot of reading and questions on my mind that I am hungry to ponder, and 8 or more hours hiking a day should give me plenty of opportunities for thoughtful ponderings.

So yes, my Europe trip was great and I have a small desire to go home to show off some video footage and be in my own bed again, but that desire will have to wait for another 45 days. I wont have internet access for the most part, but I will perhaps stop at a few libraries to check my email once in awhile and will have limited cell phone use, so hopefully I can keep you updated once a week or so. We are starting tomorrow at 6 o'clock, since David will be driving us a bit north to drop us off at the trail. I better get to bed...I still have to make sure I have all of my sweet gear ready...

Oh, and I made a back-up stove out of two soda cans 'welded' together. Its pretty neat...