Taking it One Step at a Time: January 2014

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

This is the year! This is the year?

For 9 months I've used the phrase "next year" to the point that I could make that statement without a second thought. Now, I must pause in realization that I have less than 4 months of preparation time left before I head out West to hike THIS year.

I recently completed a half marathon without any serious physical preparation. IT SUCKED! In comparison, I have completed halves in the past that included preparation and I realized how physical preparation is important for success not just physically but mentally as well. I plan on applying this lesson to my PCT thru hike preparation. I will be focusing my efforts on fitness these next few months, more specifically, my trail fitness compared to finances and/or gear.

7 mile prep hike with ~1,900 ft elevation gain/loss at base of Grandfather Mountain. 40 lb pack weight.

Once a week I have set up a plan to hike double digit miles with a pack on. Yesterday I covered 10 miles with 10 lbs. My goal is to increase my pack weight up to 40 lbs over the next two weeks and gradually increase my mileage to 30 miles in a single day. I'm fortunate enough to reside in an area where I have the ability to hike these big miles practically in my backyard (less than 3 miles from my apartment).

8 miles at Moses Cone. 3 hrs. 43 lbs.

6.3 miles at Moses Cone. 2 hours. 38 lbs.

I do have to admit that I don't have the ability to adequately prepare physically for desert hiking especially during the winter months. Any suggestions for an East Coast environment?

It has been two years since I have completed any substantial hiking trips and almost 5 years since I stepped foot on the approach trail of the AT. It's been way too long...

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How to describe myself… I can do it in three words: teacher, farmer, and backpacker.

This past fall marked 10 years that I have been teaching college level introductory biology. Honestly, it doesn’t feel like it’s been quite that long. I never saw myself as a teacher during my younger years. I always thought I’d be a field technician of some sort. I was forced into teaching during graduate school and I LOVE IT! It felt natural and rewarding. I think everyone should be as passionately interested as I am in biology from the food you eat to the climate you live in.

Having an intimate relationship with the food that I eat was developed from birth. My parents were farmers, my parents’ parents were farmers, and so on. Simple concepts, such as, the joy and satisfaction of knowing exactly where my food came from, the labor that went into it, and the sacrifices made for meat instill a sense of appreciation for farming. I am a farmer. Even after I left my childhood farm, I continued to find ways to farm. In college, I worked at a cow dairy farm and in graduate school I worked at a goat dairy farm. Recently, I have had the opportunity to raise chickens and garden. I currently have herbs growing in windowsill containers. It’s in my blood…

…so is backpacking! My father carried me on his back through the Great Smoky Mountains before I could even walk. He taught me everything I know about backpacking in a time when external frame packs were the norm and base weights were well over double digits. He is also responsible for the obsession I have for the Appalachian Trail. I was fortunate to hike this entire trail in 2009. He followed along with me through my online trail journals. He passed unexpectedly in 2012, but his passion for the outdoors is still alive within me. I will continue to backpack. Backpacking, especially over long distances, provides me with a ruler to measure “life” and puts things in perspective. I now approach life like I do with backpacking: I take each day one step at a time.