Date: 2017-11-10
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Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Truth be told, I am doing very little to prepare for my thru-hike.  There are many hikers, perhaps most, who insist that the only way to prepare for backpacking is by backpacking. I am not one of them. One of my early jobs was in the Department of Zoology at the University of Georgia, and among my responsibilities was procuring cadavers for the course in human anatomy. Do you remember the character Jeremiah ¢Jerry¢ Cruncher in Charles Dickens¢ A Tale of Two Cities? He was a porter by day and a resurrection man by night, robbing bodies from graves for sale to medical schools and students. I didn¢t have to stoop to that, but I did make the rounds of the morgues at the Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta and the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, if they had a surfeit of corpses donated to science, without greater specificity. The corpses were embalmed and in body bags. I never had any paperwork and drove an unmarked state van. Even in winter, I had to drive with the windows down because of the smell of the formalin. I often wondered how I would have explained myself if I had been stopped by the police. I didn¢t do the actual dissections, but I did have ample opportunity to observe the muscular and skeletal system and sometimes to assist in labeling the parts. Never once did I find a muscle tagged, ¢for hiking only.¢  When I started backpacking, I was running about 30 miles a week and I thought that was sufficient exercise. That was in Florida, and we lived at the top of a hill, 14 feet above sea level. Especially with the pack weights in the 1990¢s, I was unprepared for mountains and would literally count paces, stop and huff and puff, and remind myself that mountains are of finite height. After two hikes like that, I joined the YMCA, eventually finding a genius of a trainer, Won.  At first, I would meet with Won before and after a long hike, so he could see how my body changed and modify my fitness routine. Surprise ¢ all of the muscles are involved. The need for strong legs is obvious. The core muscles and shoulders directly bear the burden of the pack. Especially using hiking poles, the arms and particularly the triceps get a good workout. Over time, we evolved a series of three routines that I continue to do in rotation, changing them up somewhat every three months or so. Two days are devoted to strength training, emphasizing muscular endurance over the full range of motion. The third day is an intense circuit, alternating two machines (70% of maximum weight, 20 repetitions) with two minutes of sprinting on an elliptical trainer. I use 13 machines so that they pair up differently for the second go around. It elevates my heart rate to 80% of my calculated maximum (220 - age).  I aim for six days a week at the Y and usually manage five. Before walking down to the Y, I spend about 40 minutes at home with various physical therapy exercises for my knees, a Spri Band warmup for my shoulders, dynamic stretching and foam rolling. Then many afternoons, we take a long walk. Burlington, Vermont is a very pedestrian friendly city and most weeks we walk further than we drive. Occasionally we will visit a nearby state park so I can hike up a real mountain, just to be sure that all of my parts are working.I do this routine all year long for fitness, and as a bonus, it keeps me well-prepared for hiking so I don¢t have to do anything special before a hike. If anything, I back off a little in the week before a hike. My objective is that when I return from a hike, all of my muscles, even my legs, are weaker, which is to say, I try to go out with more strength than I need. The results have been excellent and, especially with my knee issues, I can truly say that I prefer hiking uphill now. I find that I perspire amazingly less than before and sometimes feel like the mountain is carrying me up itself. My annual Appalachian Trail hikes have become the carrot to keep me motivated for my fitness routine.Especially now that I¢m retired, I have time for this routine. Do I think it is necessary for all backpackers? Of course not. I¢ve seen many starting thru-hikers over the years, mostly northbounders. Regardless of their initial preparation, the ones that make it to the Smokies are prepared, and by the time they reach Virginia, there is no difference. Also, regardless of preparation, I believe in taking it easy the first two weeks, stopping when I think I could still hike another five miles. The longer the planned hike, the shorter my initial distances.  I keep a spreadsheet of my gear, with everything weighed to the tenth of an ounce, and reevaluate it when I return from a hike. Very little of what I¢ll be carrying for my thru-hike is new: a replacement for a backpack that is worn out, permethrin-treated shirt and pants, replacement socks that I¢ll send off to be treated, and a new external battery for my iPhone.  Starting this journal and announcing my hike to my friends has been a part of my preparation. It helps to make the hike seem like it will really happen. Toward that end, last week I booked my flight to Washington, the train to Harpers Ferry, and my lodging there ¢ all non-refundable ¢ so now I have no choice. And I ordered the few pieces of gear that I need. It¢s always fun to play with new gear!In preparation for the thru-hike, I¢ve also been losing the weight I gained during my first year of retirement. The last few pounds will be off by Thanksgiving. I needed to do that anyway, and the coming hike has been great motivation.  When I retired as a tax partner in a CPA firm that I helped found, I didn¢t intend to ever practice again. The opportunity arose for me to work part-time last tax season and I¢ll be doing it again starting in February. The local CPA firm I engaged to prepare my own return has been unable to locate permanent employees ¢ the local unemployment rate is 2.9% ¢ and I know their tax software thoroughly. It helps them and it works out well for me to have some unplanned income. Each day I work is equivalent to a couple of bed & breakfasts, a luxury I would otherwise have foregone.  I¢ve already gotten clearance from my doctor and will see him again in late August, midway through my hike. We will be curious to see how my lipid panel and blood pressure change. I¢ve also scheduled a dental visit before the hike and mid-hike.  I also plan to see my chiropractor before leaving. I¢ve been fortunate in finding chiropractors both here and in Florida who don¢t believe in stringing patients out. They have both dealt efficiently with the reason for my visit and then taught me techniques to prevent a recurrence. I¢ll miss my foam roller on this hike.I¢ll also make it a point to review the Leave No Trace principles at www.LNT.org and also at http://appalachiantrail.org/home/explore-the-trail/leave-no-trace.  I really like the Don¢t Be That Guy videos on ATC¢s website!There¢s one more thing I¢ll do about two weeks before leaving to start my hike. Don¢t laugh, but I trim my body hair before a hike. I find it makes it much easier to stay cleaner and to spot those damned ticks.