My previous posts have mentioned how I’ve been preparing for the PCT. I thought I’d also mention what I’ve been doing to physically prepare to hike 2,650 miles. In everyday life, I’m fairly active and I run regularly. Even though I have a lot of endurance and my body is accustomed to running long distances, it isn’t the same as backpacking. In order to strengthen my muscles, I’ve broken down and gotten a gym membership (only for 3 months!). I mostly use the gym to strengthen my back, core, and leg muscles. The more weight my body can get used to holding, the better. I expect my pack to weigh 25-30lbs with food and water (possibly more in the Sierra). In order to prepare my body for carrying all that weight, I’ve also been doing regular training hikes whenever possible. There really isn’t anything that can prepare me more than just getting out and hiking. When I go on hikes, I’ve been using my backpack and adding extra weight (~20lbs) to my pack. If I’m really motivated, I’ll wear the weighted pack around at home when I’m making dinner or going to the grocery store. The more time I can spend with the weight on my back, the better. If I can’t get to a trail, walking around town works just as well. In Portland, I fit right in with the backpack and no one even thinks twice about it. Here’s a video from one of my training hikes.
 
In the video above, I used the StickPic. It is a small ring-shaped object that attaches my camera safely to the end of my hiking pole. I LOVE this product! I want to give a quick shout out to Adelaide for getting this for me and Rockin’ for giving me the idea to use the videos in my journal. I can use it to take pictures and video without having to bug anyone else to hold the camera. My hope is to be able to post videos regularly from different sections of the trail as I hike. I like to take pictures, but it will also be great to bring the trail to everyone so you can get a real feel for what it might be like to hike on the PCT. Hope you all enjoy it. Get psyched!

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