Physical and Mental Preparation

Planning is important but there is no substitute for being in good physical and mental condition BEFORE you start the thru hike.

Our physical and mental preparation had two major components:

1) Weekly work outs. This involved a set of hiker specific resistance exercises 2-3 times per week (a great workout option is on REI's web site) and long distance workouts the other days. Given my knee issues, my off days were on the trail bike usually doing 20-30 miles.

2) Practice hikes with full pack weight. We started these early with short 5 mile Saturday hikes that eventually stretched to 15 miles with significant climb. The final test was a two day back to back across 25 miles and 7,250 feet of climbing. That is typical of what we will see as we get into the White Mountains of New Hampshire so was a good test.

#hiking #AppalachianTrail #Preparation #Mental #Physical