Date: 2015-03-22
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Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The best things I did to prepare for my AT Hike:1) Hiked! In the past 10 months, I hiked approximately 225 miles of the AT in North Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and New York for 3 to 10 day periods in addition to hiking many miles on other trails in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the Florida Trail. I wished I could have done more practice hikes, but I am glad to hike the ones I did especially in PA and NY. And walking through a freezing NY stream in December when I thought I might lose a couple toes to frostbite and then wading calf deep in dark murky swamp water on the Florida Trail for a quarter of a mile helped me accept the elements of the trail and just go with it. The first time we encountered swamp mud water, I confess we turned back. A couple hikes later, and we were trudging through who knows what for 14 mile at a time without even thinking twice about it. I had to wonder, ¢Who / what am I becoming???¢2) Attended Dr. Warren Doyle¢s Appalachian Trail Institute in Tennessee. Dr. Doyle has hiked the AT 17 times and will complete his 18th traverse with his 2015 Expedition group. He has an amazing passion and perspective as he has hiked the AT for several decades. The information you obtain from his institute is invaluable and will help you prepare for hopefully a more successful AT Hike. He recommends you attend the institute at least a year before you plan to hike the AT so you have time do more practice hikes. Many of us in my November ATI class were already planning a 2015 hike so we did not fully benefit from his recommendations given our short preparation window. I highly recommend attending and participating in at least one of his Smart Hikes as soon as you start thinking about hiking the AT.   One of the most valuable tools he arms you with is a pacing guide which will help you plan a realistic and achievable hike.   http://www.warrendoyle.com/ATI.html3) Talked to people who hiked some or all of AT. Read trail journals and blogs of recent thru-hikers on the AT Trail Journals and Appalachian Trials websites, as well as books (e.g. AWOL, A Walk in the Woods, Barefoot Sisters¢ Southbound & Walking Home, Becoming Odyssa, Called Again, 46 Days, A Child¢s Walk in the Wilderness, Grandma Gatewood¢s Walk, etc.). Some of the best information comes from the experiences of recent hikers who are both successful in making it the whole way, as well as those who had to leave the trail early for various reasons. 4) Visited multiple REI store locations and other outdoor retailers. The gear options are overwhelming and can be expensive. Each sales person has his or her own recommendation for gear and long distance hiking, which can be very confusing. I felt like I was drowning and continuously going back and forth getting so many different opinions. However, the different perspectives were helpful since each person is different and what works for one person, may not work for me or you. So it¢s helpful to understand the spectrum of what is out there. What I wish I had done more of to prepare for my AT Hike:1) Hike! While I was fortunate to be able to do at least 2 hiking trips that were at least a week or more long, I needed to hike more especially on more difficult terrain, especially in New England. One of Dr. Doyle¢s recommendations is to hike the Vermont Long Trail in 21 to 25 days as the best indicator of whether you can hike the entire AT in one hiking season. It was already Winter when I learned this so it was too late for my 2015 hike preparation.2) Talk to more people who recently hiked the AT.   You can never get enough from hearing about other people¢s first hand experiences and what they did well and what mistakes they may have made on the trail. 3) Camp! This is an area where I am the least experienced since I was not able to do much camping to prepare for my hike. Although I have had my tent for several months, I have not used it outside yet. This is definitely one area where my inexperience may cause me more discomfort than it should. 4) Survival skills class ¢ While I believe I have basic survival skills, I intended to take a more formal survival training before my Thru-Hike but will now confess I never did. [Gasp!] While the AT may not typically require the same survival skills as other trails do, you never know what can happen and I should have taken a more formal survival skills session if nothing else, to give me more confidence about surviving a worse-case scenario should it occur. I am sure there are numerous things I should have done more of to prepare for my hike. Does the preparation really every stop? Now I just have to get out and hike with an open mind and be flexible knowing I will have to make adjustments and remain focused on my short-term goals and not get overwhelmed by the end goal. Hopefully some of this is helpful to anyone considering or planning an AT Thru-Hike or other long-distance hike.