So you want to take a stab at the Appalachian Trail? How do you prepare for months and months of backpacking?

Don't take anything you don't absolutely need because you will feel every ounce on your back.

"A really big tip is to lay out everything you think you are going to need on your sofa or living room floor," said Peter Greninger, outreach specialist at REI in South Side Works.

Save weight by taking just what you absolutely need. Test all your equipment ahead of time. You don't want to be hiking miles into the trail before you realize you left your tent pole at home or your stove is out of gas, he said.

Greninger will give a talk on backpacking essentials at 10 a.m. Nov. 15 at Jennings Environmental Education Center at Slippery Rock University. There is no registration. Greninger will also give a Leave No Trace lecture on how not to disturb the environment while backpacking. For information, call 724-794-6011. The lecture is on all backpacking adventures, from a weekend trip to a six-month odyssey along the Appalachian Trail.

For those taking a shot at the Appalachian Trail, go easy in the beginning, said John Fletcher, information assistant for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

"The trail gets you into shape. You just have to take it easy at first," he said. "Don't go out and hike 20 miles the first day. Some people hear that true hikers do that. That's true. But don't do it at first. You can injure yourself."

Learn as much as you can about the trail ahead of time so you are mentally prepared for the many challenges. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has 2,000-miler correspondence lists for people who have hiked the trail, over-55 hikers, female hikers and other categories. Talking to people who have spent six months on the trail will give you a realistic picture of what it is really like.

Or read an online trail journal, such as www.trailjournals.com, to get an idea of the ups and downs of such a momentous hike.