I've been getting emails and inquiries about my planning process for the Appalachian Trail. I will surely get more detailed posts up in a couple weeks about my updated gear (not much) and the logistics of planning for the AT (also not much, ha!). It WILL happen, I promise! I've blocked out time and written it on my calendar to make it happen.
I start on April 17th and it's really snuck up on me. Just one more month! The training hikes I've been doing have been perfect for the AT. Lots of elevation and RAIN, ha! Many people have asked me why I feel the need to train for the AT? My endurance isn't a problem, but I know I'm prone to ankle problems and shin splints on steep ups and downs, so I'm doing it to hopefully prevent injury early on. The AT does not start out flat. I want to have my body accustomed to carrying a full pack with lots of elevation change. Those of you on my Facebook Page have seen many of these pictures as I've tried to post as I train.
Below are the slideshows of my training hikes so far. I only have Sundays as my full day off to hike, so I've been doing 16-18mi hikes with lots of elevation and ~24lbs of pack weight. During the week, I tend to have a couple evenings open and I've tried to do shorter hikes when I can fit them in. You'll see why I LOVE living in Portland, OR so much. There are never ending choices of hikes with pretty great scenery....even in the RAIN! I'm going to the coast for an overnight along the Oregon Coast Trail this weekend. LOVE IT!
If you're an email subscriber, you'll need to click on the title in the email to redirect to the blog to see the slideshows below. The slideshows DO NOT show on emails. So here are the beautiful pictures...
Forest Park on the Wildwood Trail from Lower Macleay to Council Crest and back on a COLD and RAINY day.
Larch Mtn in the Columbia Gorge on another RAINY day.