AT's AT Hiking Training Plan: Weeks Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen

Weeks: June 17 - July 14 (28 Days)
Miles Hiked (June 17-30): 15.25
Miles Hiked (June): 30.50
Miles Hiked, (June Goal): 40
Miles Hiked (July 1-14): 17.3
Miles Hiked (July): 17.30
Miles Hiked, (July Goal): 40

Miles Hiked (Yearly Total): 105.30

Pounds Lost: 3.4
Percentage to Next Milestone: 56.60%
Pounds Lost (Total):  6.0
Weekly Goal Met: Yes
Nights Camped (Weeks): 3
Nights Camped (Total): 5
Nights Camped (Backpacking): 0

As you can see from the title of this post, I didn't keep up with my weekly recaps. This was due in large part to failing to do official weigh-ins on either Monday or Tuesday, preparing for a vacation in early July, and actually going on that vacation. However, that trip is finished, I'm back on a pretty regular schedule, and it's time to get these back on track. And things almost entirely to that vacation, things are looking pretty good.



As noted above, I didn't hit my ambitious goal of 40 miles in June. In fact, I barely hit 30 miles. In retrospect, it was unwise of me to set this goal, as the available number of weekend hiking days was too low to do it unless I unexpectedly hit high numbers on the days I actually hiked. Thus, despite hitting 11.4 and 13.5 miles on two weekends, I wasn't able to hit my goal.

July has started strong, but I'm stuck with only two weekends remaining to hit the 40 mile mark. Fortunately, I'm at a better position here with two weekends to go than I was with one at the end of June. Thus, a strong final weekend should be enough to put me over the top, provided I get some miles in this weekend.

I ended up hiking only 4 of the 8 days I was on the trip, but two of the days I hiked more than five miles. None of the five hikes I completed were flat, as each had parts that went uphill and downhill. One (the 6 mile hike up to the AT and back at Lake Winfield Scott in Northern Georgia) was notably steep and difficult, and another involved walking down ~500 steps to the floor of Tallulah Gorge, and then walking up another 500 steps to get back to the top. It was a fun, yet tiring experience. It was also a humbling experience, upon which I'll elaborate in a future post.

While I can't say I ate well on the trip, I certainly didn't go overboard. With a few exceptions, the calories I ate during my meals were fairly limited, and I didn't engage in too much snacking, a problem that can often occur on road trips. As such, I was able to report a positive outcome this week for my weight. Here's hoping I can continue to build off of this success.