[at-l] mental preparation

[kahley@ptd.net (kahley)]

At 10:38 AM 3/25/02 -0500, AHuthmaker@aol.com wrote:

>     So, here is my question.  What can one do to mentally prepare for a long
>hike?

Heya MudButt (i love that name <g>)
Let me preface ....my hike has been on hold so I have no idea if
what I did to prepare would have been of any use or not.
Also,it's really too late to do this, should you be inclined,
unless you are SOBO.  How do you get to ready for
anything...practice, practice, practice.

I read the journals and saw that many people complained
about how hard it was to get started every morning.  So,
since I was already training daily with a full pack, I started
pretending I was actually backpacking as well.  Training my brain
in addition to my body.

Although I have been hiking for most of my life, I had never
gone for mileage.  If I lingered in camp for two hours in the
morning, it was no biggie. But I knew, that with my pokey
pace, I would need to get going in the morning or never
make it to Maine.

For a month, I'd hike up my training trail, stop and set
camp, pitch tent, cook a meal, clean up and then break camp.
Granted, my chores were more extensive than most since,
at that time, I thought I would be hiking with two fourpaws.
This was also a type of training for them...a time for them
to learn a routine and know what was expected of them.

All the little things, all the routines and habits that many
people need to develop after they start, I had already
refined to a great degree.  Then I did it in the dark,
just to make sure.

I'm sure that this may seem silly to people who have done
week long trips but as Rick said, it really is a different
world.  A looooong trip has to have aspects of "a job" that
weekenders don't need.  If you wanna get to Maine,
it helps to be efficient in your daily routines.  So,
knowing that the whole strangness of the Trail....
of being away from Mike for more than four days for
the first time, of missing my home and the rest of
the fourpaws, the whole STRANGENESS would be
enough for me to handle without needing to learn
how to manage getting set at night or going in the
morning in a minimum of time with a minimum of
effort.
Every day, well five out of seven and sometimes 21 days straight,
for six months, we trained with a full packs.  I did the set/break
camp thing, probably 30 -50 times.  I cooked every meal
I thought I would cook on trail.  It did it all in the rain and the snow.
I learned a lot and developed good routines that I never
use now cause now, I'm back to my old 'no place to go and no hurry
to get there' mode so it doesn't matter if I linger in camp for two hours <g>.

But in my heart, even though the thru didn't happen as planned,
I don't regret a minute of the "practice" cause I think it would
have given me a leg up if I had been able to go.  YMMV