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The Adventure
Hello fellow trekkers. First, I want to thank The Trek for allowing me to be a Blogger for the 2022 thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Hopefully, everyone will enjoy my posts as I traverse the trail.
The Reason
Grayson Highlands State Park, Virginia. Part of the Appalachian Trail.
So why do I want to be a blogger? I have been following The Trek Bloggers for several years and have noticed that most of the bloggers are young individuals. There are very few bloggers over the age of 40. Being 68 years old, I wanted to hear from older hikers to find out what their challenges were, how they adapted, what their concerns were, how they trained, their health conditions and other topics. Hopefully, I can help other current and prospective older and younger hikers with my blog.
About Me
My name is Galen, and I will be starting my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (AT) on April 4, 2022 NOBO from Amicalola Falls State Park. During my hike, I will be turning 69.
Some of my major health issues are Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), Sleep Apnea, Narcolepsy and moderate depression. Since I have the three major sleep disorders, quality sleep is one of my biggest concerns.
Another concern is recovery. Everyone knows that the older a person is, the longer it takes to recover from exercise and injuries. From my research physical preparation is important. Therefore, I’ve been training since August 2021. Time will tell if my training has been sufficient.
For me, depression is not one of my biggest concerns. The reason is that being outside in the sun and active helps improve my depression. I also have great determination when it comes to completing my goals. Plus I have been preparing mentally for the challenge by reading and watching videos about hiking the AT, Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) and the Continental Divide Tail (CDT) on how to mentally approach and conquer the mental challenge of thru-hiking these trails.
The Future
In my future blogs I will talk about my physical preparation, the gear I will be starting with and the final preparations before my start date.
Thank you in advance for following my blogs. Galen
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Comments 2
Hi Galen!
At 60, I’m right there with you regarding different concerns than many of the Trek bloggers, though I enjoy reading them all! Look forward to following your journey. I’m still a “wannabe!”
Happy travels!
Love hearing your perspective, and the honesty with which you share it. You can do this!! I’m in my early years of reading, planning to hike the AT someday. (Year still TBD, but it will happen!)