Okay, so I have almost all my gear, going through the food preparations, gathering all relevant details… but being a solo NOBO around the end of February/start of March… is anyone else as rattled as I am? I’m sure it will all work out, but right now, it’s all ‘Will I make refill stops’ and ‘What will I do if…’. I’m getting a lot closer to just carrying a bit ATM card rather than try to coordinate bounce boxes and food drops and all of that… sigh
JustMe
You will not be alone. March 1st is a very popular start date, as I am sure the following weekend will be too (3-5th). And you are not the only one thinking the way you are now…You have plenty of others to learn with and make mistakes with…that, or they will find the remains of your skeleton in six or seven years, identifiable through dental remains only…So, anyways… 
There are threads abounding of places were maildrops are highly recommended, I believe the first heading NOBO is Fontana Dam PO. TJ’s is a wealth of info to find all this out.
Enjoy your hike, meet people, make mistakes with them, learn, have fun…
-xtn :boy
airferret
You are going on vacation. Nothing is going to happen. There are thousands of people with you and the worst that can happen is you wait around for a package or have to buy some unexpected supplies. If you want to be scared about something fear the current administration and the unprecidented errosion of our freedoms and privacy. Fear its foreign policy and stance on environmental issues. The AT will be unrecognizable in the next 20 years. Hike it while you can.
bully
No worries, it’s the AT.
But, if you liked bully’s post above, check this out:
http://haveskunk.blogspot.com/
Hike on friends!
have skunk
JustMe, this might be of help to you. here is a resupply article written by baltimore jack and posted over at whiteblaze.net. you will also hear different opinions about mail drops vs. buying along the way. read through b. jacks article, it is geared towards buying food along the way. if you are interested in mail drops, the thru-hikers planner has all the post office info, worksheets, and other helpful planning stuff.
jerm
If you haven’t already done so, order The Thru-Hiker’s Handbook. As much as people, including myself, love to dump on Wingfoot, his book contains a wealth of knowledge and is the best guidebook currently available.
I carried this and an ATM card last year. Ended up sending myself 1 mail drop (to Fontana Dam PO) throughout the whole trail. So really, very little pre-planning is required of a successful thru-hike. For better or worse, the trail corridor is littered with little towns and grocery stores.
ENJOY!
Loki
everyone’s ignorance of the Trail and every other new thing that lies ahead is scary at first, but after a short time meeting with the unexpected is part of what’s so fun about the Trail. it sounds cliche but it’s still true.
0101