Ready(ish)

I am currently sitting on a large comfortable couch in a large beautiful house on Anna Maria Island. Absolutely nothing happens here other than the occasional apricot-themed-wedding ceremony at the beach. I am surrounded by some of my best friends. We hang out by the ocean all day, drink rosé, eat too much, and there really isn't a care in the world. When I lie there all fat and lazy, I picture myself passing by, wearing all my hiking gear since that is exactly what I will do in about two weeks time. I'll be tackling the 90 mile beach walk, which marks the beginning of a 3000 km journey through New Zealand. I honestly can't wait to get back into my routine. Hike - eat - hike - eat - sleep - do it again. I love the simplicity of a thru-hiker life. My pack is ready (I think...) and so am I (I think...). I was so busy working for the past months that I didn't really get a chance to read up on anything about the trail, so I am going to handle this in good ol' Dom fashion which means winging basically everything. I also didn't get the chance to really get in shape, so I will once again start this trail with mozarella legs as I always do.

There are a couple of things that worry me. First and foremost: The sandflies. Apparently they are super bad all over NZ. That is a problem, since I always hike in shorts. Sand flies supposedly attack the ankles and bite their way up the legs. As long as you keep moving they can't really bite, but as soon as you stop they'll eat you alive. This means that I:

A: Will have to switch to long pants which I do not see happening.
B: Will have to spray Deet on to my legs all day every day which will ruin my skin make it look all patchy.
C: Will have my rain pants ready at all times to put them on, as soon as I stop which will make me look like a idiot and will be sweaty.
D: Will just let them bite me and go crazy.

Great options all around.

The second thing that worries me is the mud. The TA is sometimes referred to as the "muddy trail" and I don't think someone just made that up for fun. I only hike in trail runners so that could become difficult. But worrying about it won't change anything, so I might as well not worry about it at all. If there's one thing that I learned on the PCT it’s to not give a damn. Everything will turn out just fine as long as you have a positive and open mind.

So here I am. Open minded and ready to hike. I am flying to NZ on the 4th and I am planning to hit the trail by the 8th of November. Fingers crossed for good weather.