Meryln,

I am the poster doing a section of the Arizona Trail that Old Mouse posted about. Great post Old Mouse. Very informative and interesting. Great stuff.

Before I go into anything else, I just wanted to encourage you on your trip. I realize how difficult and daunting it can be to plan a trip like this. So I just wanted to say stick with it an it will be worth it in the end.

Building on what everyone else said about starting small, if you wanted to join me on any section of the AZT you're more than welcome too. It will be a great time to get out and do some backpacking without having to plan anything. Shoot me a message if that is something you're interested in and we can talk more.

All the best