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Thru-hiking: Become a trekkie

01.01.70

In 1988, I quit my job as a reporter and set off to hike across New Zealand and Australia. After a week on the trail with a 50-pound pack, I stopped at a post office and mailed home some of my gear.

A couple of weeks later, my back still hurt, so I dumped another 5 pounds of equipment at a backpacker's hostel. It would take me two or three more weeks to finally whittle my sack down to a manageable 34 pounds.

"I wish somebody had told me," I remember thinking. "I would have saved myself pain and money."

February is traditionally the month when Florida hikers make their summer travel plans. While the Sunshine State has its share of good trails, many Floridians head for Georgia or the Carolinas to hike the Appalachian Trail.

Richard Smith, a local long-distance hiking guru, has coached his share of backpackers looking to log mileage on the nation's wilderness trails.

The most common mistake first-time hikers make on the Appalachian Trail or the closer-to-home Florida hikes, is that they carry too much gear, Smith said.

Source: Tampabay.com