Prepping for the Mountains

I can’t wait! The travel bug has been biting for a while, but with COVID-19, we haven’t been able to travel. Access to the vaccinations finally opened up for us, so the first shot is down, and the second will be weeks before our first out of state trip in over a YEAR!

During the pandemic, I took up walking around our neighborhood and nearby parks and trails, to help battle the angst and extra pounds the Safer at Home practices introduced. It brought back memories of when I was a teen, wanting to hike the trails, take photographs, and just get away from it all.

Well, with that inspiration and some goals set for future trips out West in the coming years, including wanting to reschedule our cancelled Yellowstone trip, I started on an endeavor to not only get back into some semblance of shape…which I still have a ways to go…but also to prep for the trails.

I found Pinterest to be a fount of knowledge and reference articles. Its search capabilities and predictors based on previously visited pins has really come in handy. Luckily, I also have a few friends who already love to hike and they’ve provided great tips on gear as well. We also already had a few hiking items from a trip to Tahoe a few years ago.

At this point, my hiking setup has the following:

We opted to do a test run of our hiking gear setup at the end of March by exploring the Everglades down in south Florida. We stayed in the Eco-Tents, so a little bit of camping gear was also needed, but not too much. It was a great time and we mowed down seven of the trails while we were there (shorter ones, but still good!)

I didn’t need most of the items for that trip, but kept some of them packed so I could get use to carrying the weight. I haven’t had a real backpack since college, so it was a little strange. However, I will say, the Mira was an amazingly easy pack for me to carry….nothing like those loaded down 2-ton Jansports with all those books for class! I give credit to the frame which helped distribute the weight, moving it to my hips and off my shoulders. Shout out to the person who recommended Osprey — you know who you are!

We will typically do half-day hikes or less on our Tennessee trip, but I think that’s a good start after a year of not really doing much and getting back into trekking about in the outdoors. We’ll be pampered a bit by staying in a cabin for our stay, so warm showers and hot food every day.

Smoky Mountains, here we come!

Experienced hikers, any recommendations on what I need to add (or remove!) before heading out for short day hikes to the Appalachians? I appreciate your feedback!