AT's AT Hiking Training Plan, Week Eight

Week: May 19 - May 25 (7 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 5.75
Miles Hiked (May): 27.00
Miles Hiked, (May Goal): 30
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 54.50
Pounds Lost: N/A
Percentage to Next Milestone: 0%
Pounds Lost (Total):  0.2
Weekly Goal Met: No
Nights Camped (Week): 0
Nights Camped (Total): 2
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

Because I didn't get back to town until this morning, I did not weigh in on either the official Monday or fallback Tuesday slots, so the weight report will have to wait until next week. It probably wouldn't have been too good of a weigh in, what with another holiday weekend. However, it wasn't as bad as it could be, all things considered. I made some relatively responsible choices, and still got 5.75 miles of hiking in over two days. Not great, but not too bad.

This leaves me with one day left this month to get three miles. That should be hard to achieve, as I've hiked at least three miles almost every day that I've hiked this month. However, my hope is to get much more than that in.

Next year, at the bare minimum I'll need to hike eight miles a day. Actually, it will be more 15-20 miles a day, but especially early on eight miles is a reasonable floor for mileage. I've only hit eight miles a couple times over the past four years, and only once (The Cades Cove Loop Road) did I do it in one hike. It won't be a full simulation of the challenges I'll face, as I won't be hiking with a full pack, and the terrain will be a bit more forgiving than the Appalachians. However, it will still be a big step forward for me.

Looking towards the AT: North Carolina to Fontana

Note: Over the next year, we'll be sharing our thoughts on the sections of the Appalachian Trail that we will be walking next year. Only a few do we have any even remotely significant experience with, but we still have thoughts on them that we'd like to share. After we finish our hike, we'll be able to look back at these and see if we were pretty astute with our thoughts, or way off the trail. Although many of the sections are broken down by state, some (such as VA, NC, and TN) will be broken into smaller portions due to length of trail and special circumstances. Next up is North Carolina to Fontana Dam. 

Section: North Carolina (to Fontana Dam at the entrance of the Smokies)
Region: South
Miles of trail: 86.2 
Highlights: Standing Indian Mt, Winding Stair Gap, Wayah Bald, Wesser Bald, Nantahala River and Outdoor Center, Fontana Dam


I have a confession to make.

I know very little about the Appalachian Trail.

Oh, of course I know what it is and the general where, of course. I know the states it goes through, and the types of topography and ecosystems I'll be hiking through. Unlike Andrew, though, I just don't have the mind for memorizing information about the trail that I haven't experienced first hand. This means I have a whole lotta learnin' in the year ahead of me.

AT's AT Hiking Training Plan, Week Seven

Week: May 12 - May 18 (7 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 9.75
Miles Hiked (May): 21.25
Miles Hiked, (April Goal): 30
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 48.75
Pounds Lost: 2.4
Percentage to Next Milestone: 0%
Pounds Lost (Total):  0.2
Weekly Goal Met: Yes
Nights Camped (Week): 0
Nights Camped (Total): 2
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

There must be something about odd numbered weeks, as they go better than my even number weeks. A lot of the success for this weekend was courtesy of the good weekend I had hiking. Without going overboard on my meals during the two days, I hiked almost ten miles. This total is my highest for the year, and the highest since last October. Because I hit that number, I'm sitting in a comfortable place for hitting my monthly hiking goal with four potential hiking days left in the month.

AT's AT Hiking Training Plan, Week Six

Week: May 6 - May 11 (6 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 3.85
Miles Hiked (May): 11.5
Miles Hiked, (April Goal): 30
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 30.25
Pounds Gained: 0.2
Percentage to Next Milestone: 0%
Pounds Lost (Total):  0
Weekly Goal Met: No
Nights Camped (Week): 0
Nights Camped (Total): 2
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

So this wasn't as good of a result as I had hoped, especially after the previous week had been so good. However, it's not entirely bad. Despite the weekend being a light one for hiking* and including a trip home (always a potential problem) I effectively broke even. I made some good choices over the weekend, although clearly I have some room for improvement.

Why I'm Hiking the Appalachian Trail

I've been putting off this post for quite some time; not because I doubt my sincerity in hiking the Appalchian Trail, but because I wasn't sure how to accurately express why I felt I needed to complete this hike. I'll do the best I can.

There are the "easy" reasons - the ones that pop into my mind every time I think about writing this post. I'm young and not tied down; I crave adventure and want to be surrounded by nature. It's there, and frankly I don't have much else going on in my life.

AT's AT Hiking Training Plan, Week Five

Week: April 29 - May 5 (7 Days)
Miles Hiked (Week): 7.65
Miles Hiked (May): 7.65
Miles Hiked, (April Goal): 30
Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 26.40
Pounds Lost: 2.8
Percentage to Next Milestone: 0%
Pounds Lost (Total):  0
Weekly Goal Met: No
Nights Camped (Week): 0
Nights Camped (Total): 2
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

Now that is better.