I seem to remember that post.
Having recently taken a bunch of weight off, I am also shooting to do part of the AT. The other end of it though in Georgia.
From what I have learned here getting out and walking would be the first thing. Add biking to your training plan to build yourself up. One thing that I learned from my marathon training is to go slowly and try not to exceed a 10% increase in anything. So if you start walking an hour with no weight, don't try to walk 5 hours with 40 lbs the next day.
I am trying to build up a training plan for my AT hike. I plan on starting in March or April hiking against the flow of traffic.
I use a training plan for my marathon training and I think it will be helpful to others like us trying to get back into the hang of things. I will post it here when its done for comments.
The boots question is an interesting one. For my marathon I know I want to run in the shoes I train in, but I don't want to exceed 400 miles on the shoes, and I want to run the marathon in broken in shoes, not new shoes. With Hiking boots I would assume the break in process is just as important, however good hiking boots are designed to help you support the weight of the pack. If you don't have a pack on, walking in the boots is probably going to be awkward. This is probably a good place for trail running shoes, or lighter weight trail boots.
Someone mentioned clothing. Well one thing I learned in a couple of weeks back during two back to back 5 mile hikes is I like to hike in my running clothes.
I sweat a lot and the moisture wicking materials in the underwear and the shirt make a big difference in comfort. I literally hiked the first 5 mile hike in all cotton and the second day in my running clothes. It was a big difference.
Good luck getting going.
Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation. It is better to be alone than in bad company.
George Washington