Training and Preparation

When I first started backpacking, I was young and training was not an issue.  As an older thru-hiker, pre-hike training is a requirement.  Unfortunately, my life and my career requires sitting too much.  As I followed older hikers hiking the PCT, I learned that the only real way to train to hike 10-to-12 hours a day is to actually hike 10-to-12 hours a day.  Sadly, that is not realistic.  I still have responsibilities.

On top of that, living in the Midwest, there is no real elevations.  Yes, you can huff-and-puff up a hill, but it is nothing like a twenty mile, 5,000 foot climb, from Swarthout Canyon to Wrightwood on the PCT carrying five-to-six liters as you bake in a 100+ degree sun.  Nothing can prepare you for that.

The SHT will not have anything like this, but it is still 38,000 feet of elevation change over 15-to-20 days.  That is roughly 3.8 base camp to the peak of Mount Everest over a short period of time.  That will be some serious work and I will not have the advantage of hiker legs.

So, I have some work to do.  While every trail here is flat, that doesn't mean this time is wasted.  You can do leg exercises to strengthen you calves and quads.  You can also prepare you feet.  Training hikes with weight does wonders to your feet.  Why not struggle with blisters before you hit the trail?  That is what I did for the PCT and that is what I'm doing with the SHT.

For leg exercises, I try and do 1,000 calf lifts and 500 squats every day.  I also try and hike a nine mile hike with a weighted backpack.  Before I left for the PCT, I was able to maintain a non-stop nine mile hike at a 3.5 mph pace with a 45 pound backpack.  I probably only carried a 45 pound backpack a couple of times on the PCT.  Generally, I was around 20 to 25 pounds.

Now that it is warm out and it is not icy, I've been taking regular walks of 8-to-9 miles and slowly increasing my weight.  I'm up to 25 pounds.  On the weekends, my wife and I try and knock off segments of the Ice Age Trail.

I won't be at that level of shape for the SHT, but I will be good for 15 miles a day comfortably.  Maybe I'll even surprise myself.