This article was first published on The Trek on March 16, 2025.

Oliver’s Journey to the Arizona Trail

In case you’re just tuning in, my name is Oliver and I am a Canadian Armed Forces chaplain.  I am going to leave to hike the Arizona Trail in 9 days. A lot of conventional wisdom out there seems to suggest that prepping isn’t that important – that you don’t get your “trail legs” until a week or two in anyway, and the only way to truly prepare your body for thru-hiking is by thru hiking.  That’s great if you’re in your 20s to 30s and you’re a handful of pounds from a healthy weight. It’s another if you have spent the last 30 years since high school raising children and riding a desk. 

Overcoming Health and Fitness Challenges

Of course, my story includes a few more challenges than that – last year I had a cardiac event which left me in a hospital for 3 weeks straight, and health-related anxiety that had me questioning whether my heart was going to stop every time I started breathing hard. Since then I have been working hard to trust my body again, slowly building my capacity up to be ready to hike on March 26.

My plan, as I outlined earlier, was to work on averaging 10 thousand steps per day in January, 15 thousand in February, and 20 thousand in March.  I hit my goal in January, and in February.  Here we are halfway through March, and I thought I would give one more update.  I plan to go into rest and recover mode by next Saturday, and give myself 3-4 days before hitting the trail to let blisters and chafing heal up, before tackling Miller Peak day 1. 

The event was the end of June. I am really proud of the trendline ever since and the total steps I have put in the last few months – some of the biggest non-hiking months of my life.

Dome Mountain Training and Loaded-Pack Hikes

The first week of March I got into a routine of pushing hard for 25 thousand steps, then the next day slowing down to 15 thousand. This worked well for the first week, then week 2 I tried to include more 25 thousand step days, culminating in Saturday, where I have made it a habit to climb Dome Mountain (the only height of land around here with elevation gain and a trail that works in most weather). 

In January I was only doing the mountain itself, 9km (6 miles).  In February I started walking up with a light daypack, some water and snacks, and beginning my journey at the start of a 2 mile stretch of road to the base, making the total distance 13.5km (8 miles) up and back to the car. In March I strapped on my loaded Durstongear Kakwa 55 and carried that up the 13.5, then yesterday I took it even farther: I hiked from my house up the mountain and back for a total of 22km (13.6 miles)! 

I was in rough shape last night, pretty tapped out but I think I was worse off than I could have been because I planned to have a Mountain House meal at the summit for lunch… but realized that since my pack was loaded with trip gear the stove didn’t have a gas canister in it (because I have to fly with it, I didn’t have one packed). 

So a handful of cookies was all the calories I was fuelling with up and back, and I think that was a mistake. But doing that kind of distance with load was a huge confidence builder because that’s the distance I expect to do on day 1 up close to 9500 feet on Miller Peak (albeit with a lot more elevation gain… but on trail I’ll have all day to get it done, whereas yesterday I did the whole distance in 5 hours!)

Final Preparations Before Hitting the Trail

All in all, I am feeling very good about the prep I have managed to get in.  I feel confident in my body for this trip, barring unforeseen accidents. All that remains now it to finish out this week, plan out my first week’s meals and snacks, pack them up, and wait for my flight!

This last week of training will be still aiming for 20 thousand steps per day, but I won’t be pushing for more.  And I may wind up doing it in the gym on the treadmill as we have two warmup days forecast, which may turn the roads and trails into ice sheets.  That isn’t the worst  problem to have though… I have some Icebug shoes that can deal with traction.  But with two rapid warmups it is also likely to be very windy, and windchill is miserable.

In any case, my next post will probably be on the 26th about my journey to the trail!  See you in Arizona! 

Watch the final preparation video in Oliver’s Arizona Trail series:

This article was first published on The Trek on February 2, 2025.

Getting Back Into Shape Before the Arizona Trail

It is super true what they say about how people my age feel like they are 20 inside… until they do something physical with a 20 year old… then they KNOW they are no longer 20!  That’s definitely the thru-hiker world!  Lots of 20 somethings on the trail, mountain goating, hiking into the night, up at the crack of dawn, and drinking their faces off in every trail town. I won’t be one of them.

Staying in shape has been a challenge to me at the best of times – if I am honest, I prioritized my kids over my own health for much of the last 20 years. Thankfully, back in 2010 I began to focus on my cardio, and started doing running training for 5, then 10k, then half marathons. But every year it was the same – start whipping myself into shape from January, get to the summer, take advantage of a reasonable amount of fitness until September then give it all up and become a slug until January again. And when I say a reasonable amount of fitness, I mean lose about 10 pounds but still be a good 20 lbs overweight.

However, I am the kind of person that works well with a goal.  A thru-hike will be the most physically demanding thing I have ever done over 45-50 days in my life… outside of basic training (which I did at the tender age of 40 by the way…)!  With my eyes on a flight date, March 25 2025, I am determined to prepare more carefully for this than for pretty much anything else I have ever done – including the half marathons I have run! 

Building a Training Plan for the Arizona Trail

Now, I do have one advantage over many prospective thru-hikers.  Because I am in the military, we have fitness instructors to consult, and they have helped me customize something to prepare me for the rigors of the trail. They have me doing a bunch of strengthening exercises for those small muscles in my lower body that get taxed on irregular ground like trails, for stability and to keep my footing. The last thing I want is a twisted ankle or knee to take me off trail!

For my big muscles, I have decided to focus on just increasing my walking, and as I get closer to the start I will be adding in a weight vest to simulate the backpack. I don’t want to use my actual backpack because where I live the temperature varies from 32F down to -30F.  I don’t want to risk a plastic buckle cracking in the cold or the fabric of the pack getting compromised because of the cold, or any of the gear I throw inside for ballast.

In January I planned to walk a minimum of 10 thousand steps per day. That will be a little over an hour a day of walking.  I have a trusty sidekick to motivate me named Watson, and he doesn’t care how cold it is either – he has a double coat and is happy as a clam in any weather. Come February I plan to ramp up to a floor of 15 thousand steps per day, which should be about an hour and a half of walking per day. Then in March, I’ll move up the floor to 20 thousand steps per day which will definitely require more than 2 hours per day walking. I hope by then the sunrise will be earlier and I’ll be able to get most of those steps in before the kids go to school so it doesn’t take over my day.

Training for the Arizona Trail in the Canadian Winter

Depending on the amount of snow we get I may shift over to snowshoeing. If I do, my total steps expectation will drop but my time goal will remain the same – snowshoeing is definitely higher intensity than walking!  Preparing for a thru hike outdoors in the dead of winter is definitely giving me an excuse to put to use everything I know about layering and frostbite protection. Not to mention teaching me about perseverance!

And the last element will be getting some vertical in.  Most of my local walking trails are fairly flat, but one: Dome Mountain!  The site of an old radar station, if I hike up the access road to the top it’s about 6 miles return, with a gain of about 850 feet. I hope to start doing that once a week, moving to a double go in March (up, down, then up and down again) once a week. My hope is with all of this prep, the trail won’t be quite as shocking as if I went in cold… I’ll already be going in “cold”, but cold and unprepared? I plan to be ready for 15-20 mile days once I reach Patagonia, and to be pushing 25s when I reach the vicinity of Pine. If I can do that or better I will finish on time!

January Training Results

So, how did I do in January?  Seeing as how it ended just a few days ago…

The beginning of January I took a week or so to work on healthy relationships, taking a flight out to see my family and old friends out west. Unfortunately, that trip proved disruptive to my goals – I only met that step goal twice in those 9 days.

On the bright side though, on my return, my trusty sidekick Watson and I built some solid pattern in January the rest of the time!  My average steps per day over the month was in excess of 10 thousand, in spite of the lull. And we did Dome Mountain three times. The last time we added in an extra mile and a half before and after, doing about 8 or 9 miles along with the elevation profile.  The snow on the road was fairly even due to snowmobile traffic, and the fact we haven’t had any major dumps of fresh snow.

I have also been able to add in some work at the gym, working on strength and stability of feet, ankles and knees, as well as some “Jacob’s Ladder” and the stairclimbing machine.  The treadmills have been helpful, as they have variable inclines, so I can get some more glute work in. 

The best part of all of this additional training is it has fit into less than 2 hours per day. I typically do an hour in the morning, just after the kids go to school, and an hour after they return. With the late sunrise (around 8am) and early sunset (around 4pm) this is safest, so I don’t have to worry about reflective vests.  We don’t have plowed trails, so all our walking is on roads!

It hasn’t all been wine and roses.  I have been watching carefully for signs of wear – blisters, chafing, etc. I have had some achiness on the back of my right heel, but it seems to have largely resolved itself.  I have also had what feels like a puffy spot on the ball of my left foot, that gets a little achey and sensitive, but when I walk on it, there is no pain.  I thought it might just be some inflammation, so after my big push up Dome early last Saturday morning, I resolved to take “36 hours” off. I put off my 10k steps on Sunday until the evening, giving me all day Saturday, all night, then all day Sunday as rest.  It seems to have worked and I kept up my streak!

Lessons Learned and Motivation for Fellow Hikers

As the days get longer I plan to move my morning hour to before the kids go to school and more into the supper hours, to leave more time with family. I hope that this is an encouragement to anyone who is trying to figure out how to make time to train for a thru-hike whilst still doing “normal” life. You can do it!