Originally Posted by
garlic08
I was a fit cyclist and hiker (and volunteer firefighter) when I started hiking the long trails in middle age. Physical strength wasn't an issue, and I lived in Colorado so neither were hills or altitude. But I'd done a few longish (100 mile) backpacking trips, and knew I wasn't going to be able to hike thousands of miles with my current set-up. My training consisted of shake-down trips with less and lighter gear, learning how to manage consumables (food, water, fuel), and finding the right footwear. You're coming in from a different perspective and may have different training needs.