We're Off

This is not a real post, just a quick note to say that after two of the most intensely anxious days I’ve ever had in my life, we are finally in Millinocket and we head into Baxter this morning. I may have underestimated how difficult it was going to be leaving my family for what should be at least six weeks, initially. We’re planning to meet up with everyone in the Berkshires in August, but Mica and I have more than six hundred miles of big mountains to walk before then.

We’re expecting to finish the hundred mile wilderness and arrive in Monson circa July 11th, so look for Today on Trail to return to your inbox beginning Sunday, July 14th. In lieu of writing you an essay today I have a grab bag of news and reminders.

Thank you so much to everyone who subscribed! Without even paywalling anything yet, I’m pretty close to the number of paid subscribers that I have been mentally calling the “we’ll be ok number.” This is incredible and it’s erased a huge amount of potential stress from what has already been a pretty stressful few weeks.

If you like the ToTs, there are still stickers available, for which my dedicated spouse and partner has taken over shipping duties, along with the care and maintenance of the whole rest of the household and her own full time job. None of this would be remotely possible without her support and courage.

Anyway, I meant to be promoting stickers here. They’re $10 for all three plus a surprise bonus sticker. If you order some, leave Christina a thank you note!

If you live near the Appalachian Trail and want to offer any kind of assistance I have a Google form you can fill out:

No obligations and no promises but I would love to meet some of you.

And finally “some personal news” in the journalism cliché sense: I am apparently a Washington Post columnist of some sort now? Over the course of our hike the Post’s Opinions section will be running a selection of essays from this newsletter, assuming I write more that they think are good. The first one, adapted from “Why Am I Doing This?”, should appear on Wednesday. Of course you’ll always see them here first, complete with all of the less advisable jokes, but it’s pretty handy that I can toss around the name of Jeffy B.’s blog for credibility now.

Ok, that’s it, here we go…