Backpacking Starting from ZERO - Fitness First - Post #2

How does a person get ready for a major backpacking trip in the Andes mountains starting from basically ZERO knowledge or gear? Fortunately, I work for Sawyer, and we have several employees that know a thing or two about backpacking.

I had a few hurdles to overcome. The first one was, how do I get myself fit for backpacking? I try to stay in decent shape by lifting weights a few times a week (skipped a few leg days here and there) and riding my bike up hills for cardio. From everything I was hearing, your core needs to be solid, but your legs are what carry you so you have to get your legs ready. The first piece of advice I received was to do lots of walking lunges. Did I say that in the past...I HATED LUNGING! I needed a goal or I would never make it.

I’ve always been a goal setter when it comes to fitness. I like a challenge, I always like a fitness program catered towards my goals, and I always monitor and evaluate my fitness. When I was in my 30’s, I had the opportunity to create a fitness program designed by a trainer who trained several of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Cardinals. That guy changed my fitness future. It was a scientific method that included resistance training, cardio, and diet.

I track everything with a Fitness app. By doing this, it helps me to meet and exceed my goals, especially on days when I really don’t feel like working out, and everyone has those days. If I track my weight training, I know where to set the weight and reps and I make sure I don’t cheat. If I did not track my program, I know I would cheat and not work out as hard.

Adding lunges to my fitness routine became somewhat of a distance challenge for me. I’d lunge as many times in a row as I could, and then do as many sets as it took me to go a certain distance. We live near a green belt that is about 1/4 mile long with a paved path in the middle. Goal number one was to lunge 1/4 of a mile. My first day, I made it about 1/3 of the way doing multiple sets. The next big lunge day I pushed it to 2/3’s of the way, and on my 3rd day, I actually hit the 1/4 mile mark. I was surprised at how quick my legs responded. I got a little sore along the way, but it was a good kind of sore. Now I’m working on getting to 1/2 mile and I’m getting close.

I can feel my legs getting stronger in everything I’m doing, including hiking, and even on my last trip to Israel where we walked a lot each day.

The other fitness piece of advice was to get out there and hike and walk for distance and with elevation gains. People told me that there was no substitute for actual walking and hiking. Those require different muscles than I normally use. They were right! My first hike up Cowles mountain showed me that I could do it, but I definitely felt different muscles hurting afterwards.

On my first few hikes I only carried my water. Everyone was telling me that I needed to add weight and actually practice carrying a loaded backpack. Well that sounds great, but my biggest problem was that I did not have any gear yet. How would I accumulate the gear I need? How will I know what to buy? Isn’t this stuff expensive? How do I best prepare? In my next post, we’ll look at the gear journey, but there’s really a helpful way to learn about backpacking when you are starting out, and I’m going to let you in on the secret!

My Backpacking Trip to the Colombian Andes from A to Z - Post #1

The Colombian Andes...Google it and you will find some of the most beautiful outdoor adventures in the world. The thought of backpacking for several days in the Andes mountains sounds amazing, but also a little intimidating, especially since I have ZERO backpacking experience! Until now, I wouldn’t even call myself an avid hiker. I had not hiked even one of the San Diego trails until recently!

In this series of posts, I’m going to take you on my journey from ZERO experience on the trail, to an actual backpacking adventure in the Colombian Andes with Backpacker Magazine. Here’s the deal...I’m not sure how this whole thing is going to turn out.

So how in the world did a backpacking trip to the Andes even come up? Well, it started at last years Outdoor Retailer Convention in Denver. This is the ultimate outdoor conference with every outdoor company you’ve ever heard of, and hundreds you’ve never heard of. I was a kid in a candy store. I was in the Sawyer Products booth talking with different people along the way, sharing some of our great clean water stories around the world, and somewhere in the mix was a crew from Backpacker Magazine. 

Backpacker Magazine often features Sawyer gear like Insect Repellents and Water Filters in their articles, but the idea of doing a feature article on Sawyer’s philanthropic clean water work around the world became a topic of exploration. The question came up of where we could go around the world where we could participate in Sawyer’s clean water mission to change the world, and combine that with a backpacking adventure in a place where backpackers would want to go?

After a few phone calls we all decided that a trip with our great NGO (non-profit) partner Waves for Water, would allow us a clean water adventure in Colombia, and provide an awesome backpacking experience in the Northern Andes mountain range.

All of this sounds amazing, except that little detail of “I’m a total novice at backpacking starting from ground ZERO!“

Follow me on this series of posts and I’ll take you through my discovery, learning, failures, and wins on my way to this amazing adventure in the Andes! We’ll talk gear, fitness, prep, meal planning, water, and more! Then you can follow me live on the trail in May!