JMT Training

I run 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons. Once I had run my final half for the year I started to train to backpack w a 30 lbs pack. I would load my pack up the night before and then set out at 4:30a for an hour or two around my neighborhood. We have a lot of hills. My goal was to go up and down the biggest ones. I wore my new Ahnu hiking boots to test them out as well as all of the clothes I planned to wear on the trip. You never know what's going to bug you when you have your pack on, i.e. A sports bra that rubs or shorts that ride up. 

Monday, Wednesday, Friday I took group power and group active classes at the gym. They are great! Tuesday and Thursday's I took an abs class. Carrying 30 lbs on your back requires a strong core. 

On weekends I would go for a 20 mile hike w a day pack to test out food and endurance. I knew that I lost my appetite due to exertion on previous backpacking trips so I wanted to see what my body would crave. I don't drink soda but my body craved it! I knew it was the sodium that my body wanted. Soda is full of it. That's what makes it so sweet. I started looking for electrolyte drinks. I bought a lot of them but didn't like any of the flavors so my first mistake... I didn't take a sports drink. 

I tried trail shoes instead of boots since that's what everyone online was talking about. I am so happy in the end that I took my boots. I am on my third pair of Ahnu Montara hiking boots. I love them. They were perfect for me. I didn't get blisters. My feet were happy. 

Three weeks before my trip I went out every morning at 5a with my pack on. 15 days straight. For an hour or two. I wanted to see what my body would tell me. I still went to Group Power classes at the gym and evening walks w a friend. I really wanted to be fit for this hike.

Read the John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America's Most Famous Trail

Also used John Muir Trail Map-Pack: Shaded Relief Topo Maps (Tom Harrison Maps)

The only book you need on the trail is the John Muir Trail Pocket Atlas