New Subscriber with questions

[MaryAnn May]

Dear Jessica,
Welcome to this wonderful list. Isn't it great?!
I'd like to encourage your "portly" friend to go for it. My fiancé and I will
be taking the journey in October  (after our wedding). We are in our 50's and
I am definitely "portly." Or as they say in Yellowknife: "Stout." I think
"fat" is really accurate (at least 60# overweight).  Anyway, to the point.  I
teach 5th grade here in the states and every fall I walk 15 miles through
mountains with my students on a one day trek with covered wagons. NO...I NEVER
ride in the wagons, so that I'll   prove to my students that I understand
their whining and complaining. (The kids do get to ride quite a bit).
When we finally arrive at the "fort" (a campground on a lake) I feel as if I
could walk miles more...if it weren't for the blisters which are always the
ONLY problem I have. Others on this list have mentioned that blisters have
interrupted their journey.  I should be in better shape and I'm not. I stopped
exercising 10 years ago just due to laziness: Hence the weight gain. (sigh).
So I've never worked out for this annual trip.

It seems that walking is the most natural of human locomotion and it just
doesn't matter what kind of shape your're in. One year we had a grandmother
with us who went the whole route too. I do have a friend with hip problems
(arthritis)  who has had to decline this event. I myself have a "bad knee" but
walking NEVER bothers it.
I might add, that the trek we take each fall is not a "stroll."  We have to
hustle to keep up with the wagons.

I'm usually a bit foot-sore the next day, but something in my heart want me to
get out onto a trail again. It's a great feeling.

I encourage your friend to try it!
Sincerely,
MaryAnn May