Nothing Prepares You for Thru-Hiking Like Thru-Hiking

How I Prepared (or Didn’t) for my Past Thru Hikes

Thru-hiking has typically been a learn on the job, train on the job situation for me. I’ve done some pre-trail preparation for each of my hikes in terms of physical training and gear selection/shakedowns. But if I’m being honest, not a whole lot. 

AT Physical Training

For my first thru, the AT, I’ll admit I hardly trained physically at all. Unless you count the two times on the Stairmaster at Planet Fitness. I figured I’d start slow from Springer and build up mileage as I went, the first few weeks functioning as training for the rest of the hike. And that’s pretty much what happened. In hindsight, I would say this is definitely doable, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it. It took, roughly, close to 500 miles before I had trail legs, and around 900 for trail lungs. 

AT Gear Shakedowns

Gear-wise, I was reluctant to do many shakedowns pre-AT. I had a hunch that I wouldn’t really be able to discern if a piece of gear held up on a thru by testing it on a day hike or one-nighter – especially from a day after day usage durability standpoint. I did my research and made the most informed gear choices I could. Anything that didn’t work in practice I planned to swap out while on trail.

Photo evidence of my one gear shakedown hike pre-AT. January or February 2020 on Mount Tom in MA.

I’ve done quite a bit of gear experimentation during my three thru hikes. I never had a huge problem swapping stuff out. Yes, you sometimes have to suck it up and deal with an unideal piece of gear for a leg or two. But it’s pretty easy to replace things by 1) designating someone to send you gear from the homefront, 2) ordering things online and sending them general delivery to a post office or to a hostel, or 3) picking something up at an outfitter in town. I tend to do a combination of the three. 

Mental Prep > Physical Prep

What I instinctively did well before the AT was mental prep. I had a keen awareness that a strong mind would get me through any physical hardships of the trail. Immersing myself in trail memoirs and following current thru hikers on Instagram gave me a realistic glimpse at trail life. I managed my expectations by imagining myself in shitty scenarios and accepting them as a thru-hiking reality. My go-tos: pooping in the rain (enough said); or putting on cold, wet, smelly clothes after crawling out of a warm sleeping bag.

5,000 plus thru miles later, I still stand by this statement: mental preparation is more important than physical. Most people quit because thru-hiking is not what they expected. If you go in expecting to be hurting, dirty, smelly, wet, cold, hot, sweaty, exhausted or some combo of those most of the time, your expectations are reasonably managed. If you’re strong physically but can’t mind over matter the daily discomforts of the lifestyle, there’s a high probability you won’t make it far. 

LT & PCT Prep

For the LT, my husband Andrew and I trained minimally. We did some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) videos on YouTube and one training trip: the 30 mile Pemi Loop in the White Mountains. For the PCT, we had a more established workout program. This included weight training with a heavy emphasis on leg days. We also did some heat and cold training in the form of hot yoga and cold plunges. This was intended to acclimate ourselves to the temperatures we might face in the desert and frigid creek fords of the Sierra. Lastly, we did some winter day hiking in the Whites to get in hiking shape and to test out our snow gear in preparation for 2023’s record-high snowpack in CA. 

Andrew and I on our pre-LT training hike of the Pemi Loop during the summer of 2021.

Practicing with our ice axes on a training hike of Cannon Mountain in NH prior to the PCT in the winter of 2023.

Ice bathing in our makeshift 55-gallon Sterilite storage bin before the PCT in the winter of 2023.

My Preparation Goals for the CDT

The cool thing about being an experienced thru-hiker is that I’ve done it before, so I know I can do it again. Maybe I’m doing things a little backwards, but this fourth time around I’m focusing more on the tangible aspects: physical fitness and gear testing. My overall goal for the CDT is efficiency. I want to be capable of hiking more miles earlier on and be dialed-in on gear. There are a couple reasons for this:

1. 3,050 miles is a lot of miles

Per FarOut, the CDT red line is 3,050 miles long. That’s about 400 and 850 miles longer than the PCT and AT, respectively. I look at thru hike time frames mathematically. It’s a simple equation: if you want to hike X miles in Y days, then you need to average X/Y miles per day. Ideally, we want to start the CDT end of June / beginning of July, and finish by Thanksgiving. So let’s call that 150 days. 3050 / 150 = 20.33 miles per day. And that’s an AVERAGE, which will be significantly lowered when nearos and zeros are factored in. Between starting out easy (read: not being fully in shape) and the #highsnowyearprobs causing some slow going on the PCT in 2023, our overall average was only about 13.2 miles per day. That discrepancy scares me a bit.

One of the aforementioned #highsnowyearprobs on the PCT in 2023: postholing up to your crotch and utilizing a half-buried pine tree to extract yourself.

From a numbers perspective, it makes sense for us to be comfortable doing bigger miles (20s or near-20s) from the get-go. I know the CDT is a “choose your own adventure” experience, so 3,050 is far from a rigid, exact figure. It will likely be a few hundred miles less in actuality depending on which alternates we end up taking. But we’re going in with the conservative assumption that it will be that length, at most.

We also need to be prepared for potentially hiking big days right out the gate in Glacier National Park. Permits there are a hot commodity and from what I’ve researched you have to take whatever wonky itinerary you can get, which could mean hiking 2 miles one day and 30 the next. I’m hoping we won’t get stuck with a 30 in our first week, but that’s out of our control. What we can control is our fitness level leading up to the trail.

2. Gear swapping is a time and energy suck

Although it is absolutely doable, it’s not always preferable to research, order, track, and pick up new gear from the trail. For example, you want to swap out a pair of socks for a different one. You need to get service on trail to order the socks ahead of time, make sure you have a place to send them (post office, hostel) AND potentially send the old pair home, arrange your hiking schedule to make sure you arrive in time to do the former, taking into account the days/times the post office is closed versus the timeframe you will be in town. It entails a lot of logistics and can be exhausting and not the best use of energy and time.

This is why – although it can’t be totally avoided when things break or wear out – I’d like to have my gear as dialed in as possible for this round of thru-hiking. Luckily, by this point I know what works and doesn’t work for me, for the most part. 

All of the gear we sent home throughout the PCT. Includes bear cans only needed for the Sierra, our 7 lbs worth of snow gear (each), and miscellaneous other items we swapped out on trail.

I identify as a SOBO now

Before all you die-hard NOBOs disown me, hear me out. I too never thought I would say this as a proud three-time NOBO, but I’m embracing my new identity as a SOBO. I learned a lot about my preferences and comfort levels on the PCT. There are a plethora of reasons why SOBO makes more sense for the western trails that I won’t go into in this post. For me personally, the number one deciding factor? Snow.

I can’t use an ice axe to save my life (literally)

I’m not a mountaineer. My self-arrest and other related ice axe skills are theoretical at best and my hands-on experience is abysmally limited. I have absolutely no business finding myself side hilling a high-elevation, 50-degree snowy slope aka “no fall zone.” I discovered quickly on the PCT that arriving at big snowy mountains early on in the season = bad.

An example of a snowy slope I should not be traversing. I want to say this was taken while we were descending into Wrightwood, CA in April on the PCT. We didn’t have to go down or across this particular area, thankfully.

Pretending I know what I’m doing finishing an ice axe traverse (top) and a glissade (bottom) in NorCal on the PCT in mid May.

Andrew kicking steps for me – what a guy (left) and Andrew self-arresting (right) on the PCT in NorCal in May 2023. He’s the one with more mountaineering skills of the two of us. 

Manifesting a continuous footpath

I have to learn from my ignorance of the western snow conditions last time. If I could go back knowing everything I know now, I would have started the PCT in late June and gone SOBO. It would have saved us a lot of time, money, and logistical headaches due to all the flipping and flopping. If you have to get off trail and wait for a month mid-hike, or skip / road walk around hazardous areas, you might as well just start later. Taking extended time off trail, while fun (whatup, 20 back-to-back zeros), is not great for overall momentum and efficiency in my experience on the PCT. I don’t care what direction we go. What I do prefer is a straightforward, Point A to Point B, CONTINUOUS footpath.

A couple of the road walks we did on the PCT in 2023 once I decided mountaineering was not for me. Top: walking around San Jacinto in early April. Bottom: walking around Baden-Powell also in April.

CDT Training

Phase A of our CDT training plans entails a custom workout plan created by Andrew. Outside of thru-hiking, Andrew enjoys weight lifting and has done extensive research on the topic. He’s put together a plan that’s strength-based, meaning high weight and low repetitions, e.g. three sets of five reps. The exercises primarily target legs (obviously), and secondarily, core and upper body (mainly back and shoulders). We’ll also be doing some cardio, weekly day hikes of increasing mileage, almost-daily saunas, and possibly some yoga. All of this will be the precursor to Phase B, the main training event…

First CDT training hike on Mount Israel in NH a couple weeks ago.

Strength training workout from the other day. This gym is small and nonaesthetic. But it has what we need, it’s free, and there are only two members so it doesn’t get crowded. Also it’s conveniently located in our basement.

Post-lift sauna for recovery

Preparing for a Thru-Hike with a Thru-Hike

Undoubtedly the BEST way to prepare ourselves for our next big thru hike, is with another thru hike. Specifically, the one right in our New Hampshire backyard, the White Mountains Direttissima. For those who have never heard of it, which is probably most people who don’t live around these parts, the Direttissima is a 230.5 mile continuous thru-hike of NH’s 48 4,000 foot peaks. Although the mountains out west are higher in elevation, anyone who’s hiked the Whites can vouch that they are some of the hardest in the country from a gain/loss per mile perspective. According to All Trails, the Direttissima involves a massive nearly 76,200 foot total elevation gain (link to map here).

To anyone from the west it may look like we went rogue, but this is actually a trail in NH. Inserted here to show how steep and rocky some of the trails in the Whites are. This particular one is the King’s Ravine Trail on Mount Adams. Andrew in the summer of 2022 accompanying me as I finished my NH48.

If that doesn’t whoop our asses into thru-hiking shape, I honestly am dumbfounded as to what will. Hiking 12-17 mile days on the Diretissima should allow for a seamless transition to 20s on the CDT. This will be my first time preparing for a thru with this much actual hiking. I’m curious to see if I have a noticeably easier adjustment period on the CDT. I will definitely report back!