Training for the long road

The #1 Long Trail Training Shakedown

It’s been a couple of full weeks continuing my training to hike The Long Trail. I’ve been working steadily in the gym to get a comfortable baseline for the start of my 2026 hiking season. I have a solid weight lifting routine with days dedicated to cardio (incorporating a ton of stair climbing and incline treadmill). Additionally, I dedicate recovery days where I use stretching foam rollers and functional movements. Most of my physical preparation has involved fine-tuning existing routines to accommodate walking.

Physical preparation is an important factor, although it has not been my only objective. I’ve been doing a lot of mental work. Try harder, go further, be more disciplined and let go of things that don’t align with my goals. Being alone or being self-sufficient has never been a struggle for me. It is the responsibility towards myself that needs constant refinement. When YOU are all you have in a remote wilderness, you NEED that responsibility, self-confidence, and focus.

My years of training in martial arts have made doing difficult things much more enjoyable for me. Steady work and slow, precise progress really sets a precedent for how I choose to handle any daunting task or activity. Pushing my limits on the mats has seeped into every aspect of my life. Leaving me open to new challenges and even accepting a failed plan as an opportunity. It is important to be able to turn and roll with it.

Making hay while the sun shines

The weeks leading up to spring brought great excitement for the seasons to come. Anticipation builds daily, with the constant feeling of overflowing. spilling into every thought. April rolled around and it finally started to look like it might be on its way sooner rather than later.

The April forecast continued to look bleak for the first few days. Then I noticed a break in the rain and colder weather. I kept my eyes on the forecast for April 10-12. On Friday, April 10, everything happened aligned and I decided that Saturday the 11th would be my first shakedown of the season. Also my first night of shoulder season in the White Mountains.

I made an intentional decision to do something out of the ordinary. NH 4000 Footer List which did not offer a notable view of the summit. Part of me wanted to save other, more notable peaks for better days. A big part of me wanted to focus on pacing, settings, and nuanced details. These small details are important when hiking hundreds or thousands of miles. I didn’t want the reward of a summit, I needed to stay focused. I wanted a challenge, some adversity and to know perfectly well that I could face the conditions of the white team at the beginning of spring. Have you ever heard that saying: “You get what you ask for”?

Friday April 10, 2026

Tomorrow

«That’s all»! I yelled at myself looking at the weather for the next three days. Wish granted!

I was grateful that I had been preparing (obsessively) for weeks. All I had to do was restock on food and finalize my clothing for the trip. I had to teach four martial arts classes on Saturday morning. Planning to start mid-afternoon on the Olivarian Brook Trail to Passaconway Cutoff made sense. I estimated a generous 3.5 hour walk. With two side quests totaling 6.7 miles. The mileage was not a problem, nor was the gradient. I was liberal with my estimate of familiarizing myself with new micropeaks and walking on unpredictably stable snowpack.

The weather was a concern, if I started around 15:00 I would be setting up camp in near dark conditions with a predicted 30mph wind and temperatures would quickly drop to the free range or below. With that in mind, I decided to ask my trainer and the gym owner if they could skip after the two morning classes that would get me on track closer to 1:00 p.m., which I believed was more than enough time for everything to happen.

Late

On the way home from work, I did my normal pre-hike grocery restock run to try snacks, candy, ramen, tortillas, peanut butter, and anything else that looked good and I could pack. I purposely packed enough food for four days to get close to actual weight during the hike. My plan was to leave many items in my backpack that I wouldn’t normally carry for a night, this would give me a better idea of ​​my current physical condition and allow me to fully examine my setup.

The rest of Friday was spent memorizing the trail and surrounding topography, reading trail reports, keeping up with the MWOBS Upper Summits Forecast and packaging. My backpack fully loaded with 2.5 liters of water weighed 34 pounds, 6.2 ounces. The weight surprised me. It had a lot of extras and gear that aren’t normally in my backpack. Somehow I was still within my comfortable maximum carry.

Evening

Later that night, my wife took me out for a great meal at a local Mexican restaurant. I ate my fill of French fries and enchilada sauce. At this point, anticipation was growing. The only question in my head was what time would it actually start. This lurked in the far corner of my mind. My typical trips mostly start early in the morning. This would not be typical to start so late in the day.

Evening

As is typical for me before an adventure, I went to bed early to rest and get as much sleep as possible before the 04:00 alarm on Saturday morning. While I was there, I reviewed the options for each timeline, considering mileage, pacing, calculated side quest times, and added buffers for putting on or taking off my mouse-beaks and/or alligators. The more I thought about every detail, the more confident I became. «You’ve done this, you know what you’re doing. You’re just doing it a little early.» I kept telling myself. not wanting to admit anything other than the utmost confidence in myself. He was confident, although he knew he would still face challenges. The cold is the biggest obstacle. As I mentioned before and if you know me you know how I feel about anything below 45 degrees.

Soon the well-organized thoughts faded away, giving way to a deep and necessary sleep.

“Here and now, where everything begins.”

Until next time

Minuteman

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