Things to Ponder Before Hiking the Appalachian Trail
Posted By drsao on November 1, 2015
Now that HIKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL is on my bucket list, I need to get serious about getting prepared! This has to be a successful experience! I think that Michelle and I have already established that the Appalachian Trail is preferable to the Pacific Coast Trail because neither of us likes to be hot, so perhaps avoiding the deserts in California might be a good plan! Michelle pointed out that two postmenopausal women in the desert might be a danger to the wildlife.
I need to remind myself that Michelle and I may be the inspiration for other middle-aged-postmenopausal women to try something new, so once we embark on the trail, quitting is not an option (cutting the longevity of any given hike on any given day IS an option) and breaks for happy hour and high tea are probably great boosts for mental health!
When teaming up with a hiking buddy, I am thinking that it would be good if our strengths were varied so that we can handle a multitude of situations. So far we have shared, on Facebook, a few of our preferences and least notable strengths and Michelle thinks that we will make a great team! She loves flying insects, except for bees, and I REALLY do not like moths or butterflies at all! I can handle all of the bugs except for the moths and butterflies – so we are good to go on bugs (ALMOST.) Michelle isn’t a fan of snakes, bears and skunks, and I am OK with those critters – as long as I have a big yellow whistle from REI that will make the bears and mountain lions retreat.
Here is my FIRST TO DO LIST!
- buy hiking shoes and train in them (my friend Jennifer said that hiking shoes are better than hiking boots)
- NOTE TO SELF: Research the pros and cons of hiking shoes vs. hiking boots BEFORE buying those hiking shoes
- buy a lightweight backpack and fill it to wear while training
- NOTE TO SELF: Research what one should put into the backpack
- NOTE TO SELF: Research the best way to get skunk smells out of people and camping equipment should one of us scream or accidentally blow the big yellow whistle and hence upset the skunk and put it into attack mode
- walk everyday
- do weight training everyday
- NOTE TO SELF: Find out what to do about the bees.
- pack Benadryl in case of bee stings
- pack (preferably decorative) masking tape in case all of our bandaids blow away
- memorize some jokes in case we need to have our spirits lifted at the end of the day
- memorize some motivational quotes in case we need to encourage ourselves to keep going
- pack some bourbon (because it weighs less than wine) in case the jokes and quotes aren’t effective
THINGS TO ASK MY HIKING BUDDY, Michelle Martin
- Are you OK with not finding a Starbuck’s every day on the trail?
- I read on your Facebook post recently that your ARBNB was not a great success because of varmints coming into your open window – so is the zipper on your tent sturdy?
- Are you OK with hiking MORE than 10 miles? ……I am laughing so hard as I ask this question?
- Are you OK without a hair dryer? I included a photo of my air-dried only hair (drilling holes in my pumpkin – a bit scary – but true!)
- Do you know how to start a fire?
- How much does your tent weigh?
- I am directionally challenged, are you good at sensing which way is N, S, E, or W (or can you read a compass?)
- Are you OK with rain and snow? I have been known to “SING” in the rain. Are you OK with this?
- Do you think that we should have a name for our hiking team?
My Appalachian Trail Buddy
sao using a power tool
My daughter and son-in-law do not have confidence in the success of our plan to hike the trail. I am just SAYIN’ that this is really motivating me. The last time I was told that I couldn’t do something, it was a magical motivator (I was taking a university level algebra class as a returning-to-college-as-an-adult student and the professor told me that since I hadn’t learned the new math – which is now outdated, I might add- that I would NOT be able to keep up. Well, telling me that I COULD NOT KEEP UP insured the spectacular outcome. I got the highest grade in the class and scored the only 100 on the final exam!)
And SOMEONE I know said that we BOTH looked more like Barbie Dolls than hikers. I am not mentioning any names here because it is SO POLITICALLY INCORRECT – but the bottom line is, “WE HAVE TO DO THIS!” “WE WILL DO THIS – IF I CAN USE A POWER TOOL TO CARVE MY PUMPKIN, THEN I CAN HIKE THE TRAIL!” You can do it too, right? Please feel free to lie to me at any point along the way if you think that it will make me happy ……like, for example, that you KNOW how to wrestle a crocodile! I am pretty sure that if we can survive writing a dissertation that we can hike the AT!
Let the training begin! I think I am going to find a course to take in backpacking….
Follow Michelle Martin’s Appalachian Trail preparation at
http://www.agingnaked.com/hiking-the-appalachian-trail
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