Hello, just registered here after a few weeks of reading posts. I have enjoyed reading posts from the older crew.

I'm 69 and have hiked a great deal, in many places, foreign and domestic, but only a little of it has been backpacking. Mostly day hikes, though I did try to make them challenging and adventurous.

I stopped serious hiking several years ago for a variety of reasons and then, for no reason at all, decided to try the GA section of the AT this fall.

A lesson I learned in my youth from sports and the Army was to ignore pain and just push through it. Always worked before, but not now. Not being one to let facts get in the way of a goal I embarked on an ambitious conditioning program, ignored all the warning signs, and ended up with bad knees, bad Achilles' and blisters all over both feet.

So, any AT backpacking is off the schedule until next spring. As soon as I can walk again I will try to get into hiking shape with some restraint and begin day hikes.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying this forum immensely and welcome any tips on how to get into hiking shape in a responsible manner.