Guide email 14
"Is this goal realistic?" (New tool to help you find out)
Planning a big hiking goal can be challenging. Planning for it when you are recovering from injury, illness, or setbacks can be overwhelmingly. Maybe you're eyeing a 4-day backpacking...
Planning a big hiking goal can be challenging. Planning for it when you are recovering from injury, illness, or setbacks can be overwhelmingly.
Maybe you're eyeing a 4-day backpacking trip this fall, but right now you're only comfortable with 4-mile day hikes with no weight. Is that realistic? Should you pick something smaller? Or maybe you could actually aim higher?
That uncertainty can keep you stuck - or worse, lead you to either give up on goals that were totally achievable, or jump in too fast and end up with a setback.
Here's what I see happen a lot:
→ You start feeling better and get excited about a big goal → You're not sure if it's realistic given where you are now
→ You either hold back (and miss opportunities) or overdo it (and flare up) → Either way, you lose confidence in your body and your ability to plan
So I built something to help with this.
It's a backpacking training calculator that lets you input where you are now, where you want to be, and how quickly you want to build up. Then it shows you exactly what that progression would look like - and whether your goal is realistic with your timeline.
You can explore different build-up rates and see how they impact what you can achieve. If your goal seems too aggressive, you can adjust. If you're being too conservative, you'll see that too.
The idea is simple: give you a clear, methodical path forward so you can build confidence instead of second-guessing yourself.
This calculator is part of a larger app I'm testing that includes a complete wilderness readiness assessment and personalized action plan. If you're interested in being a tester, just reply and let me know.
I'll send you access and you can explore how it works.
See you out there,
Jeff