Date: 2016-10-16
To: Lessons Learned from 2015 Attempt
Miles today: 0.0

Thanks to Debra, from Texas, and her post to our guestbook, we would like to share our lessons learned from our first attempt in 2015, along with how we plan on factoring them into our next hike.Lessons Learned :I wished we had: - Trained longer; this go around, we will have 8 months to train (vice only two) and we have more realistic surroundings to train in, including hills with steep inclines, and local Florida trails that provide more of a challenge than the flat terrain of Slidell, LA. We have also joined the Florida Trail Association to help us get more guidance, suggestions, etc., while we also have an opportunity to volunteer for some trail maintenance activities. - Known about the hiker hunger not kicking in the first week, it would have saved carrying so much food to be just given away in the end. This time we are taking less food and doing less mail drops (only to key locations)¢¦going from about 32 mail drops to about 10, and incorporating a bounce box, with things like toenail clippers, extra meds, etc., that you we do not want to carry.- Where the sections of the trail were that were lacking in water sources such as Sassafras Mountain. This time we will plan for more water capacity, such as a platypus 2-liter and two smart 1-liter bottles each¢¦we will only fill the platypus(s) when and where we need it. - Not taken the Surface tablet and all of the cables that came with it. This time we are just using the iPhones for journal entries, as well as the photography; we do plan on taking an Innergie PocketCell Plus 6,000 mAh battery bank with us.We were not sorry that Bushy took the Nikon D80 camera because we got some fantastic photos! However, we have changed to iPhone 7¢s which have better cameras built in (as well as more storage capacity) and might get the telephoto/wide angle lens attachment for one of them. Also, as an addition to our training, we have added Tai Cheng Tai Chi to our daily regiment; this is helping a lot with our balance and body range of motion. Between the walking and the Tai Chi, we both have lost 30 lbs. of body weight, which is 30 lbs. less that we have to carry on the trail¢¦and have converted it to muscle. We were happy in how well our legs and feet stood up to the conditions, so the Chi walking and warm up (we did this every morning before we hiked, and still do); we only used Motrin the last night out after the ten miler. We did not have any blisters because we used toe-socks, shoes that promoted tightening of the heel, Sparks used toe sleeves, purchased in Walmart, for preventing the big toe from rubbing the next toe, and most of all, Glide or Gold Bond chaffing product (it looks like a deodorant stick that you put on hot spots and heels before you hike). It can also be used for ¢monkey butt¢ or chaffing thighs and other places. And, most importantly, this time, we are BOTH in the right mindset to hike the Appalachian Trail, vice only one of us! Last time, Bushy was in the proper mindset, but I (Sparks) was not. Additionally, from a mental aspect, we have also gotten back into our meditation practice, and listen to guided meditations that we downloaded for free from DharmaSeed.org. I¢m sure that there will be more as we go along because we are constantly reading other¢s Trail Journals, and articles, trying to learn as much as we can to make this a successful thru-hike!