"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Benjamin Franklin

How does ones start to prepare and plan for a 2,200 mile, 5-7 month hike? The thought of preparing for such an expedition can be very overwhelming. Since this is such a huge topic, I am going to break this down into a couple of different posts focusing on different aspects of preparation. At least, when you prepare well and at times over prepare, not only are you going to be physically ready for the trail but mentally as well. Being mentally prepared is a large part of this process, for me it is even more important than the physical. It is said in a survival situation that a person will not last more than 3 seconds without a positive attitude and being well prepared gives a hiker the confidence that is needed to scale Mt. Katahdin and complete their Appalachian Trail thru hike. To me, there are several areas of preparations that need to be made before attempting a any thru hike.

1) Physical and Mental training. The 2,200 mile hike is not just a straight walk, there needs to be some physical training that needs to take place in order to be ready for everything the trail can throw at a hiker. There are some schools of thought, believe it or not, that state you can use the start of your thru as preparation for the rest. Meaning, start slow with your pace and mileage, then gradually increase this over a matter of weeks. The other school of thought is to train ahead of time so you are physically ready when you start at Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia. I feel a good balance is important, start slow but not too slow. Be ready for that start to be significant miles, especially if you want to maintain a pace and schedule. A hiker needs to maintain their own pace, not a pace set by someone else. Trying to go too fast will cause fatigue and injury, too slow means your hike will take longer (there is a time where Mt. Katahdin will be closed to all traffic, leaving you short of your thru hiking goal.) If you are lucky enough you will have a hiking partner that can maintain the same pace and help push you when needed, but whether starting your hike with a partner or meeting one along the way it is inevitable that at some point you will hiking solo. Be prepared to do some of these miles completely alone. Being alone in nature gives a hiker a great opportunity for self reflection and thinking, but sometimes that solitude can be a negative rather than a positive. Being prepared not only physically, but mentally will aid a hiker in their success.

2) Gear. This is an area that a lot of people focus a lot of time, effort, and finances on. There is an infinite list of gear that can be used for an expedition such as a thru hike on the Appalachian Trail (AT). Every hiker has their preference when it comes to gear. Regardless, there are some real considerations to take into account. Odds are, most hikers are going to be hiking in two maybe three different weather seasons. Clothing and shelters have to be up to the task of protecting you during the cold temperatures, hot temperatures, high winds, different precipitation falling from the sky, and all weather in between that thru hiker will inevitably encounter on their 5-7 month journey. Gear must be durable, waterproof, and insulating. With that, most thru hikers are also concerned about weight. Keeping a pack weight low, but also having everything you need to be successful without excess is the balance that thousands of thru hikers strive to reach. The good thing, as weather changes hikers can send unneeded gear back home to friends or family, or donate it along the way. In the same vein, as the seasonal weather changes you can purchase new gear along the way or have people back home send it via a mail drop ahead of where you are going to be along the trail. This way a hiker does not need to carry everything with them for all seasons, keeping the pack weight low during the entire hike.

3) Meals. One of the first questions I feel potential thru hikers get is, "How will you eat?" It is a serious dilemma since we know we cannot go more than three weeks without food. And that is in an extreme survival situation, where you are trying to conserve as much energy as possible, thru hiking is the complete opposite. A hiker may want to average 15 miles a day and when hiking that much, the hiker is really going to want to consume AT LEAST 2,500-3,000 calories per day. Calories and protein are the fuels that are going to keep hikers going and help them hit their daily milage goal. There are a few options for the thru hiker to obtain meals needed to sustain them, one is going into town when they are able. This could be a short walk, shuttle drive, or hitchhike, but going into towns along the trail gives hikers the opportunity to resupply by purchasing backpacking meals and snacks and/or allows them to eat at restaurants to get those much needed calories. There are plenty of opportunities along the trail to go into town. Another option is to make or purchase backpacking meals and snacks ahead of time and have people back home mail them to you ahead of where you are going to be. Common places for mail drops are post offices and hostels along the way. Big meals are important, but just as important are snacks that can be munched while you are hiking. Snacks that are high in protein and calories are just what the hiker needs to fill in the calorie gap between meals.

These are the three big categories when it comes to preparing and planning for a thru hike. This is not a comprehensive list, but places that I feel a lot of effort and energy go towards when planning. In separate posts, I will tackle each of these larger topics, breaking down how I am preparing and planning for them. I am not an expert by any means, so thoughts and ideas that may work for me may not necessarily work for you, but it is a start. Of course, when I have completed my thru hike I will reflect back on these posts and let everyone know which plans worked, which needed tweaking, and the others that did not work at all. Look for more posts coming soon!