Date: 2018-04-11
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Miles today: 0.0

Preparations continue as I decide on a final gear outfit and start putting together a few mail drops for the beginning of the hike. I had a nice diversion from hike planning over the past couple of weeks by heading to the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota for some ice fishing and also going to the Twin Cities to watch my alma mater, the U of Mn Duluth, play for the NCAA hockey championship. After a great season last year and a second place finish, the Bulldogs did one better this year and won it all. The championship game against Notre Dame was a classic with the Bulldogs prevailing in front of a raucous crowd at the Excel Center in St Paul in a tight checking defensive game. It was fun to share the experience with my daughter and to spend some time at her place. We also attended a Twins game that had a temperature of 27 degrees at first pitch ¢ the coldest home game in Twins history.    I¢ve been planning my food strategy and have done some research to make sure I get the fuel and nutrition I need. One term that jumped out at me was skeletal wasting. This can happen when you burn through your body¢s store of fat and you begin to burn muscle. I don¢t think any of us who are attempting a thru hike want this happen. My research on thru hiking nutrition led me to an article (https://thesummitregister.com/nutrition-for-thru-hikers-part-1-food-for-fuel/) that references research by Dr. Brenda Braaten who has a Ph D in nutritional biochemistry. The gist of her research says that thru hikers need to eat plenty of calories but also make sure your diet has a balance of carbs, proteins and fats and it doesn¢t matter as much to the thru hiker if it¢s a healthy diet since you are burning those calories so fast. She talks about the Snickers Bar diet since they have a good balance of carbs, protein and fat. You wouldn¢t last long with a Snickers only diet since variety is important. She also talked about the need for Calcium, Vitamin C and a probiotic in your diet to help you absorb necessary nutrients. Thru hikers are known for eating huge amounts of food and insatiable hunger. Eating so much can cause the body to flush foods through too fast to absorb needed vitamins and nutrients. Part of my strategy is to find a good variety of foods available along the trail and have a good balance of carbs, proteins and fats. I will also be attempting to eat healthier when I¢m in restaurants in trail towns. And I will be taking supplements of calcium, vitamin C and a probiotic. Hopefully these steps will help me get the nutrition I need to maintain energy and prevent the dreaded skeletal wasting.I carried too much food on my SHT thru hike last fall and will try to carry less at the beginning of this hike. From what I¢ve read, almost all new hikers on the AT carry too much food. Its hard to think about walking all day when you are concerned you won¢t have enough fuel. Its a delicate balance of minimizing weight and having enough fuel and nutrition. With more resupply opportunities on the AT compared to the SHT, minimizing weight should be easier.Its two weeks until I start hiking and my training has come to a premature end. I went to a podiatrist last week because I had a broken little toenail and he suggested removing the entire toenail. Its been a week and its still very sore but I have two weeks to heal before I start hiking. Unfortunately, I won¢t be able to do anymore pack hiking or running before I leave. I will continue to go to the gym for strength and core training to compensate. I still feel good about my fitness level and am ready to go. I¢ve been reading other journals on this site and am excited to get started and hopefully meet some of the people I¢ve been reading about.