Short answer: Lots and lots of walks!

As mentioned earlier, we were planning to go on this hike early next year. But the stars seemed to have aligned in such a way that it made sense to leave this month and head southbound.

So, since we’re accelerating our plans, that means we’ve had to reevaluate our training strategy too. We had hoped to get in a few weekend overnighters and more day hikes up and down Mt. Wachusett, but we’ve had to resort to daily walks up and down some local hills near our house.

Click here to see the latest video, about our training walks!

I had planned to add some pictures in to this post, but apparently after I created the YouTube video, I deleted them from my phone without backing them up! And I now know how photos are tied into everything within my Google phone. Thank goodness I realized that now and not while we’re hiking! I’d hate to lose some valuable footage.

Since we’re not able to get up and hike a mountain every day (can’t always do that with a 3 year old and expect to get in a good workout), we walk every day (or really try to every day; it’s been so hot lately!) for about 2-4 miles each time. There’s a couple of routes near our house that take us up some significant hills so we’re able to test out our gear and get our legs in shape.

I do have to say, the walks have done wonders for getting myself into shape! I’ve always thought that running was the best way to burn calories and get stronger, but woo-wee, you can really see the progress over the last few months. I also joined Noom, to help me better understand why I eat the way I do and to improve my diet so that I can continue to get healthier. Since starting in April I’ve only lost about 10 pounds, but the pictures definitely show that a number on the scale is not the only thing that matters.

Ok, back to training! In addition to working the hills, we also have the double stroller that we push up and down. I like to think that it helps with us getting stronger. We’re going to need the upper body strength in order to manage those boulder scrambles in Maine and New Hampshire. These walks are also a great way to get the kids to go to sleep.

Overall, although the walks aren’t exactly what we had anticipated in terms of training, I am absolutely seeing the benefit in them and am confident that I’ll be able to make it through the hard stuff. I’m in no way saying it’s going to be easy, but *crossing my fingers* it’ll be manageable. I’ve done difficult hikes before (Mt. Washington, Killington) so just having those experiences in my back pocket should help with my confidence, too.

In upcoming posts and videos, I’ll be sharing what’s in our food bags, as well as an overview on our gear.

Stay tuned!