Hi all, I tried the search function but didn't get much help, so sorry if this has been addressed before. I will be attempting my first section hike next May (Springer to Bly Gap), and I'm currently pretty much a middle-aged couch potato living by the beach. I've started walking a couple miles two times a week carrying my full pack (25-30 pounds), but there are no hills around here and I really have no point of reference to know what I'm getting myself into once I get dropped off in Georgia. I've hiked in the Appalachians before, but just day-hikes to see a waterfall or something.
What I do have is a nearby bridge that crosses the intercoastal waterway. It rises 80 feet over a span of roughly 1000 feet and then 80 feet down again over the same distance. If I can walk back and forth across that thing for five miles, do you think that will be just enough to get ready for the trail, is that complete overkill, or will I still not be ready for the hike up Blood or Tray Mountains? Or would it just be better to find some stairs/bleachers and walk up and down those.
Thanks in advance for any help and insight. I just don't want to get out there and find out I'm completely unprepared.