Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Prep Series: Training

Intro

Part 1: Gear

Part 2: Food and Water

Part 3: Training

Part 4: Planning, Navigation, and Permits

How do I train for thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail?

The unavoidable truth is that thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail is simply hard and nothing can fully prepare you for it. No matter how much you train, you will experience a lot of pain, you will likely get a good amount of blisters, and you may get injured. BUT…

Failure to Train is Guaranteed Pain

But please do not do what I did. I barely prepared physically for the trail and my life was hell for a good three weeks before I started to get my trail legs under me. Horrendous blisters, hot spots (red and raw patches on your skin that burn horrendously), and even a big goose-egg on my Achilles tendon that I probably should have had a doctor look at…

All this was part of the daily anguish that accompanied hiking. In addition to the fact that I was carrying WAY too much weight in my pack, I should have trained more and I may have avoided some, and I repeat SOME, of this pain.

If I were to do it over again, I would make sure to stick to a robust hiking regiment that included full pack weight and longer mile days on weekends (15-20 miles). The best training for hiking is… hiking (hard to believe, right?!)

Squats and lunges are great too. But even the beefiest legs are no match for the plunge into trail life. I remember one particular evening on Standing Indian Mountain where the day was cut short because my body ached so horribly in so many places that I had never conceived of. My marrow seemed to ache. All this because I did not have my trail legs yet.

Calluses Are Your Friends!

Ramping up to your hike with daily walks and long hikes on the weekends will go far – it will let your trail legs start to develop and your hips/torso will start getting used to wearing a pack as well. Another major benefit is allowing your feet to begin hardening. If you start the trail with calloused feet, you will avoid some of the blisters and other foot issues that plague beginning thru-hikers.

Try to give yourself several months to build up your mileage and make a program that works for your schedule. I would recommend hiking/walking for 3-5 miles with full weight 2-3 times throughout the week, leg workouts, and a longer hike on the weekend. Try to put in at least 10 miles on these hikes and increase the mileage every week. If you don’t have many hills to hike up, I would also recommend doing flights of stairs with a fully weighted pack to build up your strength and cardio. If you are putting in 15-20 mile days towards the end of your training, you’ll be sittin’ pretty when it’s time to hit the trail.

Sample Thru-Hike Training Program

Below is a sample 12-week thru-hike training plan that I would consider to prepare for another thru-hike:

While there is no universal thru-hike training plan that will work for everyone, finding a plan to get in shape will go a long way. You will hear people say that thru-hiking is more of a mental challenge than a physical one. That is true, but it’s pretty darned physical too. Having some level of physical preparedness when you hit the trail will make the mental game a lot easier to deal with.

I hope this was helpful in giving you a better grip on how you can train for your Appalachian Trail thru-hike.

As always, please leave any thoughts and questions in the comments below.

Stay tuned for more posts in our Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike Prep series!

Happy Hiking!

— Motown