Getting ready for a long walk
Physical condition
There’s no question that when you’re preparing for a hike like the Appalachian Trail, fitness is a major concern. Physical fitness in preparation for a difficult and simple 6-mile hike is not what most of us would consider when we think of being fit. The main differences are:
-The weight of the backpack loaded on your back. – Shorter multi-day hikes with a loaded pack will help tremendously with your trail conditioning, the longer the better.
* Non-stop hiking days with that backpack on your back. – I have yet to discover a means of doubling the conditioning required day in and day out from 10 to 20 miles per day with the pack loaded. (I found out the hard way what no real condition resulted in starting a 9 day hike on the Appalachian Trail)
WHAT TO INCLUDE WHEN PLANNING YOUR LONG HIKE
Items to include in your pack include, may be where the heaviest weight resides. Such items are:
– Your backpack: a principle of nature is that if there is space available, it will fill up. That will be true with your backpack. So determining what size packet you take is your choice. Again, from personal experience, I started with a 6,000 cubic inch capacity backpack. That pack did about 200 miles until I realized the load was more than I wanted to handle. I look at backpacks and bought a pack with a capacity of 3,850 cubic inches. I have never looked back and have used that package for many 9 day trips on the AT.
– The size of the tent: it largely depends on how many hikers there are on the trip. With two hikers, a two person tent would work well if the configuration of the tent would lend itself to being able to split the weight almost equally. If not, two stores become the answer. How the question becomes how little space do I need. I MUST be able to set up directly at the store. All the answers to these questions will largely determine how much the tent will weigh. The decision is personal.
– The Sleeping Bag – The main factor to determine is how low will the temperature get? The next factor is the type of filling. Synthetics are usually heavy. Down-filled sleeping bags are lighter. I have heard some complaints about wet sleeping bags. I lugged a 20 degree down filled sleeping bag for over a hundred miles and through 7 days of continuous rain. I still carry that sleeping bag.
-The Stove and Utensils – The weight of the stove is generally how much the fuel weighs. Propane stoves are great and I have always carried a very light stove and propane cylinder. Alcohol and solid fuel stoves are lighter. I have seen hikers on the AT using a soda can cut in half and alcohol. This again is a personal question. Today’s dry foods allow eating out of the package. I’ve found that a small titanium pot with a lid works well and acts as a convenient place to pack the stove and cleaning towel.
After making these decisions, the decisions are what else do I want to make.