Not sure of your fitness or body type, but I tried to gain 5-10 lbs prior to my hike knowing I would lose quite a bit of weight. After my first 30 days of hiking, I lost about 25 lbs and lost a total of about 35 lbs by the end of it.
I’ve spent the last two years consuming information, acquiring gear, and doing overnights/long weekends. Longest trip was completing the Knobstone last November over 4 days. Planning to start at Springer next February. After years of buildup, I expected to have more to do in these last months but feel blank when I try to make a list. What am I missing?[/QUOTE]
11) Develop a deep caring knowledgeable relationship with with your feet as a runner does. Liken the depth of the relationship to the relationship people have with their face or personal anatomy. Faces don't get us to Mt K; it's our feet. It's fundamental to a LD hike. While developing cardio or familiarizing with what's in our pack or how well we set up in the rain or how strong our mind are all great aspects of joyfully experiencing hiking if we ignore fostering a caring relationship with everything going on with our feet it feeds into injury, mental anguish, physical pain, etc and ultimately an aborted thru hike experience. Get professional assistance if needed from a higher end qualified running store. Bring your hiking shoes with you. Go to a store that is willing to have a knowledgeable walker, runner, hiker spend time with you analyzing and then recommending.
http://www.runnersblueprint.com/8-wa...-runners-feet/
Don't wait until on trail to start developing this deeper relationship with your feet! Do it proactively so you'll less likely to need this knowledge: https://www.amazon.com/Fixing-Your-F.../dp/0899976387
Still, learn basic blister, callus, heel cracking, nail, fungus, etc treatments.
Wear those AT shoes off trail at home, around town, to the grocery store, up and down flights of steps, etc. Be aware what's going on longer term than four day on trail treks. All this gets you into the zone. For a LD hiker or runner it's literally where the rubber meets the road.
Physical prep: lots of long day hikes with loaded packs in any conditions you can tolerate. If you can mix in some leg workouts, running, etc that would be a nice plus.
Gear prep: get used to your gear and use it ahead of time. Camp out in your backyard and learn your comfort limits with your particular gear.
Mental prep: family ready for you to be gone? Home, pets, mail, bills, job? Watch some of the thru hiker videos to learn from their experiences.
Have fun!
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If you haven't read Appalachian Trials by Zach Davis, I highly recommend it. It's part thru-hike memoir, part how-to guide that focuses primarily on mental/psychological preparation. A lot of aspiring hikers get obsessed with the physical prep and gear selection, but neglect to prepare for the emotional stress of the trail. The book encourages you to really define your motivation for the trail so that you have a solid defense when you experience frustration, boredom, "the Virginia Blues," etc.
Other than that, I agree with what everyone else has said: get as physically fit as you can and as comfortable with your gear as you can. I'm lucky enough to live really close to the trail in Virginia, so I was able to do 80 miles over three short shakedown hikes (9 days total) all in the two weeks before I flew down to Springer. Because there were so few thru-hikers already in Virginia in early April, I was alone most of this time (including my first two nights ever camping totally alone), which gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to safely and enjoyably hike the A.T. by myself. This meant that when I started at Amicalola, in addition to having a head-start on the trail-legs-acquisition process, I never felt pressured to go faster or slower to stay with a "tramily" formed early on just to have a safety net. I was comfortable enough in my own company that I could take my time getting to know people and see who I matched paces with naturally instead of purposefully trying to hike with a group early on. I saw a lot of hikers struggling in the beginning trying to "keep up" with the first few people they got along with, but that just makes you more likely to get injured (or, if you're the faster person, you'll just get frustrated at being held back). The relationships you build on the trail are truly one of the best parts, but it's important to hyoh, especially at the beginning!
A.T. 2018 Thru-hiker
Follow along at www.tefltrekker.com
All good advice
But also :
http://nighthikingtomars.blogspot.co...ional.html?m=1
Train. Good advice above.
Work. Save as much $ as possible.
I'm not a big fan of Feb starts. For any prospective THs on a limited budget, starting a couple months later is a chance to accumulate more $ and reduce costs (less gear, less on-trail expense).
GA -> ME
'86 -> '89
Lots of great advice here! I'd say set up your equipment outside when it's cold, wet, and raining, and get used to packing things up in a timely/neatly manner. For example, i pack everything in my pack the same way, every time so I can grab and go if I need to. Don't overthink the gear list. There's way too much info and it can get confusing. Use what works for you and there's plenty of spots along the way to send things back, hiker box, or purchase something that'll work better than what you may have. Watch what others are using for cooking, food they buy, etc... That helped me a lot get out of the eating the same thing every day rut. Lastly, I say take this last few months to get in shape. You'll lose weight along the way most likely, but no sense on carrying any extra right from the get go like I did. I lost 46lbs overall in my 133 days (I had a bit to lose at the start you might say. Haha).
- Trail name: Thumper
I like your approach to preparing your feet. I would've never thought to callous my feet before I hit the trail. I've been breaking in some trail runners but might try them without socks to see where they are causing hot spots.
Yes, educating my family has been interesting! When I first brought this up 2 years ago, they were very worried. But after getting them hooked on various Youtubers (shoutout to Early Riser and PeeWee), they're much more supportive.
Thank you all! You've provided a lot of practical and logistical things to be doing these next few months. Here’s the start of my list based on your advice:
Dentist appointment (have been putting this off for months already)
Set up gear in the rain/snow
Hike with pack in rain/snow
Stairs at work (building has 36 floors)
Treat clothes with Permethrin
Start eating trail food
Gain 5-10 pounds
Read Zach Davis’s book (been meaning to get to this – going on the Christmas list now)
Talk to friends/family about post-trail plans
Buy AT maps for family (good Christmas gift idea)
I really appreciate your thoughtful responses!
12) Assemble music that inspires, drives, gets you to follow through, puts a laugh on your face, brings peace, directs your psychology with intention of empowering with energy, energizing, helps to fall asleep, when you're struggling, etc...geared towards LD backpacking. You might think it terms of categorizing in terms of having songs for when waking up in the morning as a LD hiker backpacker, night hiking, it's raining to appreciate experiencing rain, getting you to the summit of a hill or mountain, making you feel unstoppable, loving life, enjoying Nature, having a sense of wonderment and adventure, appreciating opportunities for a more self directed LIFE, staying warm walking in the snow, achieving greater connections with yourself, the rest of humanity, and a wider environment. This is a tool for dealing proactively with the mental side of LD hiking.
Some people like Stair Masters but living in Florida for years, getting on a treadmill with a steep incline for 10 minutes, 3xs a week, kept my legs in excellent, uphill walking shape.
Be Prepared
EO. There are some seriously good suggestions in this thread. I won’t try to elaborate or add. I just wanted to congratulate you on doing the Knobstone! A true southern Indiana butt kicking trail. When anyone from Indiana asks about AT prep, I tell em to head to the KT, learn early about all day PUDs, and a dry trail ( summer).
You’ll do fine. Refine these many ideas, select what works for you, be flexible when you begin, and have fun, even on the hard days!
"How can something this hard be so much fun".
The Nordic Trac and Proform elliptical machines with the elliptical hand poles come about as close to backbacking with trekking poles as hiking/backpacking training gets on a machine and indoors. What's highly admirable is that it's low impact on the joints so great for people not already in decent physical condition starting their hiking training. It's just as good for those already in a higher state of fitness.
This. I'm starting NOBO March 11, and I've been quite strict with my budget the last few months. It helps that I've accrued all of my gear over the last year, and I have one or two things to still iron out, but I feel very set and can just pile money into savings.
I'm leaving my job (not taking leave, quitting) March 1, so all money from here on out goes towards saving for the trail and bills in the interim.
Crushed grapes I’m starting March 11th too! What made you pick that day?
Why don't you try to earn some money? I am always amazed when I see people in their 20's or 30's long hiking trails. Not that there is anything wrong with it but when I was that age, all I did was trying to carve out a career in life. I guess I am just a bit jealous.