Physical fitness. Well, I have been working at getting in better physical condition over the past months. Today, I went for my first 5+ mile hike. Nine mile hike, in fact. Boy will I be in pain tomorrow. I digress.
So, today, I went hiking the Appalachian trail in northwestern NJ. An area, should I be hoofing it to PA if in an ‘on foot’ bug out situation. What did I learn?
– I learned the terrain is much rougher than I had expected.
– I learned that with a 15lb pack on my back, I was under much more strain than I had expected
– I learned that I would be moving at a much slower pace than I thought I would, and that I may have to rethink my plan to do so on foot, if I had to.
– I learned that while my BoB has a lot of ‘essentials’ I may need to learn to live without some of them.
– I learned I am not 25 anymore (41).
– I learned that I would not be the only one hoofing it through the trails.
– And, I realized that I am more out of shape than I thought I was, but yet, have more endurance than I thought I did as well. My muscles in my legs after a nine mile hike are going to be killing me for the next two days. Maybe three.
The point, I need to get into MUCH better physical shape (I hear P90X calling my name) and to become more familiar with the territory I may have to be walking, and certainly refine and replan.
I do not want to over emphasize the urgency of physical readiness. I am in ‘reasonably’ descent shape, but know that I could be better in better shape.
Great observations! I try to get out on hikes when I can too, and everything you say is true! I found that a supportive pack helps a lot as does good footwear. Feet that hurt make things worse! What else. I pretty much follow the trails, but in a bad situation going off the trials might make more sense and so being able to navigate with traditional, non-electronic methods would make sense to know.