Training Hike #2

I've been feeling a little anxious about my training for the hiking adventure I'll be starting in two weeks. So as soon as I saw this week's topic on the Fit for Hiking podcast, I opened it. Brewing my morning coffee I listened to Bradee Felton, who blogs at Ponytail on a Trail, talk about preparing to climb a big mountain, or just for "bigger hikes than you have done in the past."

I've actually done some bigger hikes in the past, but it was the distant past. And I didn't train much then. In two weeks of backpacking on the Appalachian Trail in 2019, I saw natural wonders such as Eastern mountaintop vistas for the first time and met delightful people who do amazing things I never imagined, but ... physically the hiking was grueling. I want the hiking I do in Arizona and Utah to be joyful, even fun. And that means my body has to be ready.

Felton defines three areas of training focus – muscular strength, muscular endurance, and cardiovascular endurance – and gives doable routines and tips for each. "It doesn't have to be something where you're beating your body up five times a week," she says. "Doing one or two cardio sessions a week is so helpful. ... You really don't need to overthink it." Whew.

I'm confident of my strength training; the daily classes I take emphasize both strength and endurance in all the muscle groups. I'm probably overemphasizing that training, at the expense of what Felton calls "time on feet" – miles and hours of walking, plus hiking on trails as much as possible in conditions even a tiny bit like what I expect to encounter in the Grand Canyon and southern Utah. Daytime temperatures there will top 100 degrees F, with strong sun, rocky ground, and elevation – for instance, over 9,000 feet at Bryce Canyon and climbs (up and down) of 5,000 feet in Zion National Park.

I live close to sea level, with elevation gains in the low 100s of feet on the hills nearby. Lately the temperatures have been in the upper 80s with characteristic Mid-Atlantic high humidity and heavy afternoon rains. You have to drive a couple of hours to get to the nearest mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, which are gorgeous but, as they are part of the ancient and worn-down Appalachian Mountains range, the highest point of the Blue Ridge in Virginia is Mount Rogers, at 5,729 feet. Although this would be an ascent that I'm not sure I could handle today, it's tame compared with the young, majestic peaks of the Southwest.

I think my discouragement about not being able to train for the conditions has been both a cause and an effect of my spending too little "time on feet." I haven't been walking and hiking more because, why bother? and the result of this is that I don't take advantage of the training I can do.

So, I'm upping my daily miles in the sweltering afternoon heat. A few days ago my walk included five reps of a short, steep hill, with a total elevation gain of 283 feet – better than before! In the days remaining I'll add more miles, longer hills, and weight to my backpack. I'm confident that Mother Nature will help by adding more heat and humidity.