Hello everybody! I've been hoping to find a good discussion board for hiking and this looks great.

I am actually *not* completely new to backpacking. Approximately 18 years ago my husband and I took our last backpacking trip together in Red River Gorge, KY, hiking up to Eagle's Peak with friends and primitive-camping for the weekend. It's a challenging hike for those who are in mediocre physical shape and I've never been better than that . . . lots of fun though. We did this several times, and before that I had plenty of other outdoor adventure type experiences. Hiking, canoeing, rappelling, spelunking, etc. My high school class voted me "miss outdoors."

But yeah, it's been 18 years. Since then I've given birth twice and had sedentary jobs. I'm now 45 and about 40 pounds overweight, which is a lot when you're only 5'2". Now that the babies are teenagers I'd like to get this part of my life back.

Hubby isn't interested because he's a mail carrier and already walks a lot. He says he'll do the AT with me (a part - I'll never be able to do the whole thing) and of course he thinks he's still in prime condition, because walking a few miles with that mail bag is plenty. Part of his route is in the truck too, so he's not working THAT hard

The teens have their own things and aren't interested so it's just me. And I feel a little vulnerable hiking these trails by myself. I sometimes bring my German Shepherd along and that's a definite option - but is that really protection? If he were to actually defend me (unlikely) I'd probably get sued for having a vicious dog and have him put down. OTOH he could definitely be trained to help carry stuff. But seriously, has any woman here ever encountered a scary situation while hiking on her own? Should I get a CCW license and pack heat first? Carry pepper spray?

I would join a local hiking group but I've looked into them and they're intense! Today's trip they had was 7.5 miles at about 3.5 mph. I am such a wimp. The most I've walked at a time so far (recently) is 4 miles (I'm sure I could go farther if I had a break) at a brisk 2 mph. I'm short. I've always been slow!

Plus I've got issues with high blood pressure and one time I had a very painful back injury that frightened me. Boo hoo. But I love this and I know it's good for me.

I guess I just need some encouragement. I love the outdoors, I love camping, I love hiking, but I'm out of shape. My main goal right now is to day-hike the entire length of the Little Miami Scenic Trail (SW Ohio) which is a paved 75 miles. Next I want to take on the Buckeye Trail bit by bit and actually camp while through-hiking.

Trying to decide if I want to day-hike that trail in two-way sections (up and back, then start off where I turned around next time) or ask someone to come get me at the end of the day! Seems like that would take forever, but it doesn't really matter -- it's all training for something bigger.

The actual camping part doesn't bother me at all. Nowadays we camp as a family with a luxurious 26' RV, but I can primitive camp anytime. Got most of the stuff already, know how to use it. I actually think I'd be a great asset to the group if I didn't slow them down getting there.

The spirit is willing but the legs and back are weak! LOL!