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I walked 4 miles today just to buy some coffee creamer. That's how I roll now! 
Pretty soon I'll probably start doing walks around the city with a full pack, because training can't just happen on the mountain.
The John Muir Trail is less than 6 months away...
Now it's getting real!
If approved, I'll head out on the JMT between August 31 and September 6!
(For those who don't know, there are a limited number of wilderness permits for any given day, in an effort to control foot traffic, reduce damage to trails, and reduce the impact to wildlife and wilderness. This also helps make potential search-and-rescue situations more manageable)
Another swing and a miss 
And you know what? I'm actually annoyed now.
Recreation.gov is happy to take your $10 every time you want to spin the wheel for a chance to step foot on a certain trailhead. It will never roll over to the next try. It will never be refunded. You could apply 20 times in a row, get denied 20 times in a row, and you'll give them $10 every time.
I really wanted JMT to be my first thru-hike, but I think it's shaping up to be Oregon Coast Trail now.
@killyourfm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. and shareholders thank you very much for your patronage. (It's criminal that a private company runs that website.) https://archive.ph/SpzOj
@elaterite Well this is new information to me. Now I've graduated from annoyed to angry. I honestly had no idea.
@killyourfm Indeed. Twice now I've been at a Nat. Pk. trying to buy a pass at the information counter, with rangers standing around, and was told the only way to get the pass was through the website. That forced me to drive--in one case 20 miles to get a phone signal--so I could buy the pass. It's criminal.
@elaterite You shouldn't need data access and a debit/credit card to access public land!
Also, this, from a friend: "I've had camp hosts express frustration that they cannot make site swaps or allow FCFS after people don't show up because everything is done through the website -- they have no ability to accommodate folks in front of them."
It doesn't just feel criminal, it feels borderline predatory.
@killyourfm I totally agree. I want our parks back (from ongoing efforts to privatize them), I want them funded, I want rangers, I want maintenance workers, and I want billionaires taxed.