Booked my flights last night, so I'm now fully committed to the trip! It feels good to have an actual departure date set. I'll be heading down to London Heathrow on the night of the 16th March and jumping on a plane to be in Atlanta by 2pm on the 17th. From there I'm going to get a shuttle to somewhere I can get food and gas for my first leg and find a hostel close to the trail head. Then it'll be an early night to sleep off any jet lag and time to hit the trail!
Prices weren't as high as I'd been expecting; only £510. I opted to book a return flight as it was a lot cheaper than two one-ways or an open return. It's a bit of a gamble but I'm confident that I've given myself plenty of time to finish. Any later my visa will expire anyway! Altogether I'll be in The States for 156 days, a maximum of 150 of which I can devote to being on the trail.
As for getting back from Katahdin, there are plenty of (surprisingly cheap) options available which I'll look into closer to the time. Exciting times!
