Whoa, thanks for the replies! Good to know I’m not alone on this (Thanks phat).

I was a little surprised that the backpacking books didn’t cover this. Lots of good info on what to buy, wear, eat…but little to nothing on preparing yourself physically.

I have not walked with a pack but it does seem like an obvious thing to do. Thanks for the tip! The only time I thought about the pack was when one of the books suggested setting your maximum pack weight as a percentage of your body weight. Then I thought “Hey, if I drop 25-30# it would be like carrying no pack at all!” (Don’t bust my bubble on this one).

I had not considered getting separated. I know NOTHING about navigation (time for another book?). My wife has a GPS she uses for geocaching – I took it on the practice trail once but it was next to useless in my hands. Well, I guess I always knew the general direction of the parking lot.

Glenn, my friend isn’t as hard core as your example. He does do triathlons & is always threatening to sign me up for the next one knowing that I couldn’t complete any leg…not even close. All in fun though.

Thanks again for the tips and encouragement. Going to lunch with the hiker today – will bring this up again & I am going if he’s still up for it.

Edit: Posted while I was replying - Great idea on the water weight!