I have a year of downtime, following the end of July.
I'd like to hike the Appalachian Trail from January-August. My Aunt did it in her late 30s and it was a life changing experience for her. I'm in shape (a long distance runner) but don't have much experience hiking because I've lived in Nebraska and Missouri my entire life. I have a savings of about $10,000 now and intend to earn an additional $3,000 over the summer, so I think I can swing this financially. My questions are, specifically:
1) How do I train for a hike like this when there are few places to hike? Should I just go on long walks with my backpack?
2) I have a lot of the equipment I'd need for this already--but equipment aside, is it feasible to keep the cost below $3,000? I understand I'd need to stay out of towns, etc. I'm OK with that.
3) Is this very safe for a woman? Should I recruit a hiking partner?
4) My Aunt hiked in the fall-winter, so I assume that's doable. I should ask, however: is a January-August hike OK? (It might not even take that long.)
4) Is there any other advice you would happen to have?
Thanks, everyone! I'd love your feedback, and if anyone would like to talk to me PM/via email, I'm open to that. I think networking will be very important in this goal of mine.