Day 1, 19 March, 8.2 of 2184 miles complete. 19 March 8.2miles Hawk Mtn Shelter - Day one on the trail was AWESOME...even though I spent the last four miles singing "it's heavy and I know it wiggle wiggle wiggle" as my pack was topping out at approx 55lbs which is pretty heavy for 8+ trail miles...but all good. Had a nice drive to the trailhead accompanied by my sister, Mom and her friend, my aunt and her husband and brother in law. To get to the start of the trail we had to actually backtrack one mile. Everyone made the hike so I made the first official mile with family which was great. The rest of the day next 7.2 miles was just getting used to the pack and plodding along. The boys got used to their packs pretty quickly. Mojo discovered that if he stopped quickly on a downhill slope the pack would slide over his head and come off...cheeky monkey. After the second time he pulled that little trick, the straps where tightened up a bit. Their packs were 17lbs a piece and they seemed to have had no trouble with that weight.  Have met lots of folks already...everyone really great and the all love the boys which is good. There is approx 30 folks at this shelter, many in tents and a few in the shelter so spent the evening around the campfire and chatting. All in all an excellent first day!