We're spending the holidays on the Outer Banks in North Carolina, which is on the outskirts of the "Blizzard of 2010", so any training will have to consist of going up and down two flights of stairs. We did manage to get outside and walk a few hundred feet up the beach before we couldn't feel our extremities.
So, I've been reading Bette's book about the trail to get more familiar. She mentioned a method of estimating effort that I hadn't heard before. The hiking center at Longmire suggests that you add a mile for every 1,000 foot elevation gain and add half a mile for every 1000 foot elevation loss. Thus, the typical Longmire to Devil's Dream is 5.9 miles and 2,500 foot elevation gain, basically equivalent to a 8.4 mile hike. Although it doesn't begin to estimate the amount of effort required, it is a good start to give me an idea how much stamina I'll need to have from a training standpoint.
As part of the planning, I have to plan a route to take. Given that it'll change over time and depending on capacity of the campsites, I'll be updating my Itinerary frequently.
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