Prep hike: do I have what it takes?

I decided to do a prep hike to test out some new gear and get some miles under my belt before winter. So, early wednesday morning, Nov 14th, I set off for Amicalola Falls State Park. 2 hours later, I parked the car and opened the door to a blistering 30 degrees and immediately started to rethink my great idea. I decided if I could handle this though, I could handle conditions on the AT. So I set out for Springer Mountain, determined to spend the next 5 days and 4 nights hiking to Blood Mountain and then back again by Nov 18. the next few posts are from this hike