2 - CAN WE DO IT?

These are the looming questions: Are we in shape for this? Are we getting in over our heads? Should we start with a smaller goal?

I had my sixty-second birthday earlier this summer, and my husband Kirk will celebrate his in November. We are pretty healthy and active, but not in the go-to-the-gym-everyday kind of way. I feel great if I get 5,000 steps in per day, and try to never dip below 3,000, but that’s not saying much. I have some degenerative arthritis in my right big toe, and have to be careful with my shoes. I play with and keep up with my small grandchildren often. I ride my bike a few days a week, break a little sweat and get my heart rate up for 30-45 minutes. Kirk is a general contractor and is in constant motion, but he needed to lose 20 pounds. We eat out a lot but when I cook, it’s healthful. All that to say - we are very average. This trek we are embarking on has been labeled “moderately difficult” to “difficult.” Can we do it?

A few weeks out: we decided to train a little for this. Since we’ll be carrying packs with what we’ll need for four days on the trail and 3 nights in the rifugi, I wanted to make sure my back could handle it. My core needs some strengthening. I have worked up to a 90-second plank, and try to do that daily. I’ve been lifting a little weight, doing some girly push-ups, and trying to walk more. Kirk started an extended fast to get a kick-start on the weight loss (he is hard-core this way - he fasted once before for 22 days and is currently at day 23 on this one). And we are riding bikes, walking and hiking together.

We started to gather gear: my podiatrist recommended Altra shoes and a friend told me their Lone Peak hikers were great. Got some for us both. They are amazingly comfortable on the first wear. I ordered wool base layer shirts, rainproof jackets, and hiking pants, and borrowed water-proof frame packs, other clothing and am taking all advice.

We have some trails in our hometown of Chapel Hill for both biking and hiking, but nothing beats the North Carolina mountains for the serious elevation gain. The first day of our Dolomites trek is 6.8 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation gain. In the past month or so, we’ve ridden our bikes along the New River in Todd, NC, the Bolin Creek Trail in Chapel Hill, and on the American Tobacco Trail in Apex, NC. We’ve hiked Roan Mountain, Flat Top Mountain Trail, Boone Fork Trail, Otter Falls, Cascades Trail, Tanawha Trail, Elk Knob, and the road to our mountain house, all in the Boone, NC area. The road to our mountain house is 1.5 miles with 557’ of elevation gain. I did that one with a 15# pound pack on a hot day and felt pretty good about myself.

This nature-girl is loving all of this, and I am thrilled to say that my husband is fully on board. He has watched me enjoy the outdoors for 38 years, and has participated because he loves me, but I think he’s really getting addicted!