Training to hike the Appalachian Trail

I only have a few months left until I leave for Springer Mountain. My preparations are underway. I have given my notice at work. Most of my equipment is purchased. I’ve even found someone to rent my apartment while I’m on my big adventure. But I’m missing one thing: I’m not physically ready for this. And I don’t think it is.

How I’ve been preparing so far

I admit it: I haven’t done everything I couldn’t and shouldn’t have done to physically prepare for the AT. However, I’ve been up to some mischief:

Hiking

Although not often enough (never enough), I have taken a few hiking trips. I am very fortunate to have ample hiking opportunities where I live. I can walk from home to the nearest mountains for afternoon and day hikes. Additionally, it is only a 1.5 hour drive to the nearest trailhead that goes into the “high mountains.” There I can make trips of several days, walking between cabins. I usually do it whenever I can, and the weather makes sense (where I live it rains between 200 and 240 days a year…).

Swim

The pool is my favorite place. Once my head goes underwater, the world disappears. In addition to being a lot of fun, I swim as part of my preparations for the hike. For the last year I have struggled with plantar fasciitis. One of my big fears is that my feet will get stiff before my hike and I will have to endure a lot of pain along the way. Swimming is a great way to get some exercise with injury prevention built in.

sleeping in the forest

Honestly, this has been mostly for fun, as I typically spend 10-20 nights outdoors each year. But getting outside in worse weather than I would normally have chosen became a bigger priority. Take what sucks, they say. Maybe I can prepare for it too?

I woke up to a cold but beautiful morning after camping during a storm with (literally) freezing temperatures. Fortunately, my equipment did its job and I spent a comfortable night in my hammock.

Long distance hiking

Over the past year I was able to take two longer distance trips around Scotland (4 and 7 days). It sounds a little strange, but hiking in another country, even if it’s not comparable, has given me more motivation to tackle the AT, and I realize that I love adventures.

I had great weather hiking in Scotland. Exploring the Affric Kintail Trail in the Scottish Highlands awarded me with the most impressive wild camping site I have ever stayed at, as shown in the header of this post.

Develop outdoor skills

During the fall I was accepted into a Norwegian Hiking Association course to become a summer mountain hiking guide. I’ve been a hiking guide for shorter trips locally (no overnight stays) for about two years, so this was a big step for me. For two weekends we carried out training in leadership, navigation, trip planning, road risk assessment and handling unforeseen situations. I hope that what I learned during the course will help me make AT safer and even more enjoyable.

Into the sunset: As part of the training, we had to navigate off the marked path, in the dark. Here we are, walking into the sunset, hoping the weather stays with us through the night.

I should have done it

In Norway we have an expression: “Burde burde”. It literally means «should» and refers to the many things we tell ourselves we should do, but never do. Although I am generally active, I know that what I have been doing is not enough to prepare my body for the challenge of a hike. I should have done more.

Ideally, I would have loved to lose more weight. I have lost about 30 pounds. for the past year, so it’s not bad at all, but the less I weigh, the less the load on my joints and tendons. There’s not much to do about it except start slow once on the trail to let my body adjust. And rumor has it that the road will soon release some of that repressed energy I carry around.

I also wish I had started working more on mobility. One of my fears on the trail is falling and hurting myself so much that I have to abandon the AT. If I had done more yoga and been more aware of developing mobility and a greater range of strength, I would have greatly improved my chances of staying injury-free. But alas, I still have a while to get started.

There’s still some time left

I still have some time to prepare. Winter has arrived in Norway and my opportunities to go to the mountains are slim because I don’t ski. It’s also very dark and I’m barely an hour after leaving work when it’s pitch black outside. That greatly limits my walking opportunities (even if I am somewhat comfortable walking with headlights on). Luckily, there is rarely much snow where I live. Therefore, I can do shorter day hikes and occasional overnight hikes on the weekends. And I will keep my hours in the pool. Fingers crossed it moves a little further into preparation.

A photo of a mountaintop break during a training hike last week. The sun rose three hours earlier and here it is preparing to set. That’s the reality of winter light in Norway.

I will never be physically ready

I’ve learned enough through blogs, vlogs, and trail memoirs that I know that no matter how well I prepare, the trail is sure to kick my butt. Even if I were in the best shape of my life, my corresponding speed and mileage would make the hike difficult. So maybe, in the end, the best thing I can do is accept that it’s going to be difficult. And a part of me even wishes it were. If it’s difficult, it will feel like a real challenge. Like I was doing what I set out to do.

Oh, how I will regret those famous last words when the miles laugh in my face in a few months!

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