Training For The Laugavegur Trail In Iceland: Interview With Amy

In this episode, I interview Summit Strength graduate Amy, who recently came off a successful hike on the Laugavegur Trail in Iceland. 

Inside, she shares some insights about how training and preparations, and also talks about her experiences on this amazing trail. 

How To Train For The ​Laugavegur Trail

Want to learn about the hiking in Iceland tour company Amy used? You can check out 'Viking Women Tours' here: https://www.vikingwomen.is/​

Want some help with your training for hiking? Check out the Online Summit Program: www.summitstrength.com.au/online.html




Chapters:

Chapters0:12 
Welcome to the Adventure
2:07 
Amy's Hiking Background
5:00 
Training for the Iceland Trip and The Laugavegur Trail 
7:02 
The Decision to Seek Personalised Training For Hiking 
11:47 
Customized Training Experience
17:06 
Overcoming Training Challenges
22:32 
The Iceland Hiking Adventure
30:54 
Unexpected Challenges on the Trail
32:20 
Celebrating the Accomplishment
37:14 
Future Hiking Plans
40:36 
Advice for Aspiring Hikers
43:59 
Final Thoughts and Encouragement
​
Episode Transcript:

[0:00] Right, hello, hello, ladies and gentlemen. So in today's episode, I interview Summit Strength graduate Amy, who's recently come off an amazing

[0:09] hiking adventure in Iceland. And in this episode, she talks through a little bit about her training, her preparations, and shares some of her experiences hiking in this amazing country. So if you've ever considered hiking in Iceland, I think this is going to be a fantastic episode for you. So, with that being said, let's get into it. All right. Hello, hello, Amy, and a big, big, big welcome to the show. Thank you. Because I'm really looking forward to chatting through things, because as I was saying before we just started, I don't think I've had anyone on the podcast to talk through your particular trip before. So, I think it's going to be very, very interesting. So, I guess to kick things off, do you just want to give us a quick overview? Who are you? Where are you from? What do you do? and what is your background in hiking?

[0:57] Okay, my name is Amy Maxwell and I am a licensed clinical social worker and a doctor of psychology. So I am a mental health clinician and I work currently, I have a private practice in psychotherapy and I also work for an organization that provides mental health services and peer coaching, peer support specialists to individuals primarily who are seeking to overcome substance use disorders. I specialize somewhat in addictions, whether they are chemical addictions, alcohol addictions, but also what we call process addictions like gambling or gaming or other behavioral addictions and I live in incredibly beautiful Boulder Colorado but I was born and raised in New York City New York which is very different from Boulder Colorado and.

[2:07] And I really started to hike, you know, when I was a kid, I was lucky enough to go to sleepaway camp starting at the age of eight, I think. And it got me out of the city and up into the beautiful woods of Maine. And I really loved walking through the woods as a kid around the camp and sort of the quiet stillness of that experience. And then as an adolescent, I spent my summers in Tyrol, in that portion of Austria. And I started hiking in earnest and I hiked almost every day. And that's certainly an incredible place to do that.

[3:07] And then I just sort of, you know, kept at it. I moved out of Manhattan when I was 27 years old. To, uh, to upstate New York, um, and lived on three and a half acres and sort of realized that I was no longer a city person and, um, and really needed to be outdoors more. And, um, and so, you know, throughout my life, I've been fortunate enough to live in places where I had the proximity to some great, great places to hike, whether it was state parks or nature preserves. And, you know, for anybody that knows Boulder, Colorado, we are right up against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. So I can be, you know, in an incredible sort of landscape pretty quickly from my house. Um, and it's just, I think as I've matured and especially with the work that I do, it's my reset button. Um, it's often how I process things and it's my time, um, for my, it's really the primary thing I do for myself. I'm a, I'm a wife, I'm a parent. Um, I have friends, but.

[4:33] I would much rather go on a nice long hike in terms of, you know, self-care than really doing anything else. So I hope that's the brief bullet point answer you were looking for. Oh, that's great. That's great. And I guess next question is then,

[4:56] before we started working together, obviously you've got this background in hiking and all of this. Um before we actually started helping or working together what was your typical approach to to training or physical preparation for these types of things so um you know so i would i ski in the winter season and you know we get a fair amount of snow here so it's not impossible to hike um occasionally i'll snowshoe although that's a very different animal um so i would kind of come out of ski season and say, oh, goody, right? Like after the mud has gone away, because in Colorado, we have what's called mud season, where it isn't really snowing anymore. But there's so much snow and ice that it's just horribly muddy. So by the time June, you know, maybe mid June rolls around, things are dry. And then I would go out for my first hike and realize how incredibly out of shape I was for hiking.

[6:01] And my approach was like, oh, I just, you know, I just have to keep doing it and then I'll get back in hiking shape and I'll go longer and harder and higher. Um, and I didn't give a whole lot of thought to specific conditioning for hiking. Um, I do some specific conditioning for skiing, because of course that uses kind of a, a really particular set of muscles.

[6:32] Um, but you know, I sort of thought, oh, well, you know, I'll just get out there and then, you know, in a few weeks I'll feel really good and strong. Um, so I, I, I just didn't really take it into account to be honest. And then what did make you decide to reach out for extra help? Like what was the inciting incident? What was the goal? And what did you feel like you needed a bit of extra help with? Yeah.

[7:02] So I had come across this hiking trip, this hut to hut hiking trip, a few years ago. And I have a really close friend who I hike with almost every week.

[7:20] And I had said to her a few years ago, I had shown her this hut to hut hiking trip in Iceland. And I was like, hey, we need to do this. And she's rather agreeable. And she's a phenomenal traveler. She traveled all over the world. So she was like, okay, great. So I thought about it and thought about it. And then last September, I turned 60. And I thought to myself you know now is the time I really want to do that trip and I would like, to do it with some girlfriends um I did ask my husband first I just want to say as the disclaimer, I asked my husband first and for a variety of reasons he was like I don't think I want to actually do that trip. And I was like, okay. So a lot of my friends are avid hikers and active.

[8:20] And I thought, all right, I'm just gonna, I'm gonna do this. So I kind of put out invitations to about, I think there were about nine or 10 of my friends. And six of them ended up saying, yes, I want to do this. And the trip, uh, is a hike of the famous Leugeveger trail, which is sort of in South central Iceland. And it's a very well-known trail. Uh, it covers 55 kilometers and you do the actual hike in four days. And then at the last hut, you're in this incredible area called Doorsmork. And we spent two nights there and two extra days hiking around that area. And so as I had committed to this plan, I thought to myself, you know, I'm, I can hike pretty long and hard on a one-off. Like I can do between 12 and 15 miles and, you know, a few thousand feet elevation gain over the course of a day. And then the next day I can come home and kind of lie around.

[9:42] However, I hadn't really done a trip where I was going to be hiking on consecutive days. And the fact that, you know, I was more mature, um, and I feel really good. I mean, I, nothing really hurts me. I'm very, very lucky that I can say that. Um, I also wanted to go about it in a wise and prepared way. Um, cause when you're out there in the wilderness and you're in a hut and there's no wifi and there's no cell service, I, you know, you don't want to have a day where you feel unprepared. So I thought that I would just, you know, be, be practical and really go about this and find someone who knew what they were doing. And, um, I wish that I could remember how I came across you, Rowan, but I, I maybe substack? Is that possible?

[10:50] Maybe. I don't, not me personally, but maybe someone was sharing something on that. Yeah. I honestly don't remember how I came across Summit Strength, but I did. It like entered my consciousness and I looked at it and I thought, oh my God, you know, this is actually extraordinary because you can go to a gym and find a trainer and get conditioned, But it isn't really specific to hiking. And there are things that are different about hiking. And I just thought, I'm going to do this because I want to go out there and I want every day to feel great. And I want to feel excited and ready and more than capable of, you know, taking on every day of this extraordinary experience. And that led me to you.

[11:48] So then tell us a little bit about the training you did, you know, through Summit Strength, you know, what did your program look like? What types of things did you work through? Give us the rundown there. Yeah. So one of the things that I, I mean, I honestly, you know, I'd rather die than do a series of burpees, to be honest. You know, I've always been fit and I value being fit and strong. Um, but I am not a person who kind of enjoys exercise just for the sake of exercise. And one of the things that I really loved about working with you and about how you went about training was that you started by having me do these sort of fundamental assessments of where I was now with very specific movements, strengths of different muscle groups. And, um, it was horrifying and hilarious both at the same time. Um, you know, and I, I could do something with great ease on one leg and then sort of not be able to do it at all on the other leg. Um, so I felt, um.

[13:13] I loved that it was targeted really, truly specifically to me because everybody is different and every body is different. Um, and so, you know, you were great about being realistic of like, okay, realistically, how many hours a week do you have to train? And what is that going to look like? Like, do you have like four hours one day, but an hour every other day, you know? So you took my schedule into account.

[13:47] And I gave a lot of thought to that about, okay, how do I, what do I really have to give? And how am I going to balance this with my work and my other, you know, with my relational demands and things like that. And then the program was this awesome combination of, of course, hiking and weighted walking with weights in my pack, which turned out to be something I loved. Because the first time I did it, I was like, my God, I can I really feel this in my body. Right. And it's not that I'm cavalier, but I think I am a person who's like, hey, I'm just going to chuck this dumbbell like back of my backpack and head out. And so it was a combination of that and a little bit of cardio and very, very specific sort of weight training, muscle training that was unlike anything else I had done before. right? It wasn't just grabbing a kettlebell and doing countless squats or lunges. And, um.

[15:07] I really enjoyed the exercises. You know, I really, really liked them. I was like, oh, this is so cool. And for example, um, I can tell you really specifically that, um, after a hike where I would climb, you know, maybe 2000 feet of elevation gain, give or take, I was really, really sore in my hip flexors, right? You're like lifting your legs up, higher than just taking a stride as you do when you naturally walk somewhere. And there were exercises specific to building up that hip flexor strength. And it was like, I just never got sore anymore there. I could actually experience how effective it was. And it was such a simple, controlled move, you know, that done in these sets. And it sort of got more and more intense and ramped up as we got closer and closer to the date that I left to go on my hike. With a really great sort of cool down period, just immediately preceding.

[16:32] And it just, it held my attention. Every month, there was a different set of exercises. So that was kind of fun and interesting. Like every month I would open up the app and be like, okay, what am I going to do now? And do I get to do the Blackbirds still? Because I really enjoyed those. Oh, no blackbirds this month. Okay. So it just worked so well for me. I wish I could be more specific, but it really was exactly what I needed.

[17:07] And then beyond what you mentioned so far, was there anything else different in there which maybe you hadn't done before or you hadn't considered?

[17:20] Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, cardio is important. And I am, in a way, I'm lucky because I live at altitude. And um i've always felt that um my sort of um oxygen capacity wasn't super great so of course you're i'm going to be in an advantage you know training at altitude and then going down to a much lower altitude, uh, in Iceland. But, um, you know, there were exercises around that, around your lung capacity and also sort of, I think the exercises were called grinding where you just really, really work through this super high resistance and get into a rhythm with it. Um, which was something I had never done before. Um, and you know, I, I sort of would just do the exercises and not necessarily question like, well, why am I doing this or what is this doing? But I could absolutely feel how it contributed to my overall fitness and to targeting specific muscle groups and mechanics of hiking. Um, and.

[18:48] And, um, the other thing was just getting in the habit of hiking with a weighted pack, right. That changes things. And, um, it is an important consideration because, you know, it's kind of, it's, it's, you know, we, we, those of us who hike around where we live, you know, we head out and we have our, maybe our little backpack with a bladder in it, you know, and some snacks and, you know, possibly a rain jacket. But I had to carry a lot more on my hike, although we did not carry all of our gear. We were a little bit bougie and we had luggage transfers from hut to hut. So that was fantastic. But regardless, we had a lot of stuff in our pack to account for all of the climate changes that you might experience in the course of a day in Iceland. And, um, that was really important. Um, so it, it seems really obvious now, but at the time I was like, oh yeah, well, of course I'm going to hike with my pack, you know, and it's going to get heavier and heavier until it doesn't really feel that heavy anymore.

[20:13] And then throughout the preparation process were there any particular roadblocks that got in the way um and if so how did you go about overcoming them hmm um you know to be honest I on it I really can't think of any I mean there were certainly times where um you know let's say I planned to do a really, really long hike and it was just pouring rain that day, or maybe it snowed that day. Right. Because we, I, I left at the very end of July and we started working together in March. So, um, in Colorado, March is the snowiest month. So, um.

[21:01] I think that there were certain adaptations and I had to make sure that I could sort of, you know, be a little more flexible with my schedule. And, um, but I, I'm a very compliant patient. And so I really, um, I really tried to adhere strictly to my training program. And for the most part, I did.

[21:30] In terms of roadblocks with specific exercises, I know that there were a couple of exercises that you had put in my programs and I have a bad shoulder. I actually have two bad shoulders, but one needs a little more attention than the other. And so, for example, I would try that exercise and be like, oh yeah, that's not working. Like that hurts. And I really can't do that. And then I would just message you and say like, this is really kind of tweaking my bad shoulder and you'd replace it with something else and on we'd go. So for me, there were no massive stumbling blocks. Um, and the ability to, you know, modify certain exercises to, you know, whatever my sort of congenital issues were was really helpful.

[22:32] And then with all that being said, we've talked about the preparations, we talked about the training. Let's hear about the trip. Give us the rundown. How did it all go? You know what? It went great. It really did. I mean, I can tell you with absolute confidence that I felt really, really well prepared. Um, so the mileage to the best of my recollection, we did about seven and a half miles and then about seven miles, which is not a tremendous amount of mileage, but there was constant up and down. Um, and I'll circle back to that. And then we had about a 10 and a half mile day and then a 10 mile day. And then the two bonus days were then about eight miles and then a short one around three miles. So where I live, if I'm going to do some elevation, you know, in Colorado, it's like you tend to go up, up, up, up, up. And then you go down, down, down.

[23:49] But Iceland is very different. And Iceland, you're constantly climbing and then descending and climbing and then descending. And that in part is due to the sort of volcanic nature of that island, of that land mass. Um, and I remember that towards the end of my training, um, I did consistent stair climbing and where I live in the city of Boulder, there's an awesome trail called the Sunitas trail that climbs this little mountain in town called Sunitas. And it's basically climbing stairs for a couple of miles. And so I just did that once or twice a week every single week and out on the hike I kept turning to my friend who lives here with me who did some training like with me I would say to her like okay today Rowan says I have to go climb stairs so let's go climb Sunitas and I would turn to her and say like thank God we climbed Sunitas so many times and she agreed.

[25:05] So I, The hike is, it's fascinating. You really transverse significantly different terrain almost every day. You go through this extraordinary volcanic area where it is just black sand and these black chunks of like obsidian rock. That is, you know, from volcanic eruptions. And then you come into these sort of rust-colored hills and huge gorges and waterfalls everywhere and these pockets of steam coming out of the ground because there are these little bubbling geysers with boiling water just everywhere you walk, surrounding you. Um, and then towards the end of the trail, you come into a more traditionally sort of, um.

[26:15] Wooded, uh, birch forests, um, that is yet again, completely different from anything you've done before. And, you know, I, I can honestly say that I was not in pain. I was not even terribly sore, you had provided me and we had also spoken about, you know, what do I do for recovery, right? Because I know I don't want to end the hike and just get into the hut and plop down in a chair and sit there. And so I was very conscious of sort of unwinding and doing some stretching and recovery exercises, which I think made a huge difference. And um.

[27:04] You know, it was it was a bunch of women out there on the trail being led by we had this extraordinary Icelandic guide named Sigrun. And and it was camaraderie and it was fascinating. And for me, we did river crossings, which required, you know, we did four river crossings. And you have to have water shoes and either, you know, take your hiking pants off or pull them all the way up. And at first I was sort of, you know, a little bit cautious about the river crossings, but they tended to occur towards the end of the day's hike. And what I what I found was that I actually started to look forward to them because my feet would get in that glacial freezing cold water and it felt so good like, totally renewing and I'd come out on the other side of the river I'm like okay you know let's go for another like five or six miles um.

[28:25] And I, I felt great. Uh, and I think for me, the biggest challenge, and I, I think I can say this for a lot of us who are out there was the weather. The, the weather was highly changeable. And, um, Iceland, you know, when you think of summer, um, you know, it's not what you will find or encounter in Iceland in quote unquote summer. It really maybe barely gets to 60 degrees on any given day, if you're lucky and out on the trail, it's significantly colder.

[29:06] Um, there was a tremendous amount of rain, um, very, very high winds one day. And I mean, really high winds. And, um, so you're in this sort of constant process of like, kind of bundling up and making yourself waterproof and, you know, hunkering down against the wind. And then you might get a break and the sun might even appear. And then you're sort of, you know, ventilating yourself and unzipping things or taking layers off. Um, but you know, uh, we all sort of got the hang of it really quickly. And, um, and it was all part of the experience. I mean, it was just a part of the experience, uh, that made it, made it really kind of incredible. And, and, you know, you get to that hut at the end of the day, and you have a really good sense of accomplishment.

[30:11] And then throughout the trip, were there any other, I guess, major challenges you faced or anything you ran into, which I guess you hadn't really considered before you head off on this adventure um well you know honestly i think um, i i have to say no because our outfitter did a very very good job of preparing us um, I felt very physically and mentally well-prepared, you know, through our work together.

[30:54] And one of my friends who came with me is a physician. And so she brought all of these things with her that ended up being of use to a lot of us who were on the trip. You know, honestly, not so much myself, but, um, I mean, she practically could have done surgery on the side of the trail if she needed to. Um, I, I think that I, you know, I'm lucky that I don't have any chronic issues like a sciatica. Um, I don't have back problems, but there were people, uh, there were women who were part of my group. And the larger group who, you know, one woman did have some pretty significant sciatica. And fortunately, my friend had some lidocaine patches that are transdermal. And so, you know, she thought she wouldn't be able to do it one day. And in the end, she did. Um, but no, I, I, I don't think there was anything that really came out of the blue as a surprise. Um, I think between my training and conditioning and, and the outfitter, uh, I felt pretty well prepared.

[32:21] And then after the hike, so you got through the days, you got through it all, like at the end, how did you feel? Like what was going through your head and did you do anything to celebrate? I, I just felt great. I felt so happy and incredibly peaceful. I, I, was very happy to be completely disconnected from, um, from all electronic devices, from means of communication, um, and to really just be out there in these simple, you know, simple accommodations. We would all make these communal meals that were great. Um, and, um, as you know, I, I wasn't ready to go back. I really could have stayed out in the huts, um, for a few more days. I, I really loved that experience. Um, and I, I did celebrate in a way, um.

[33:34] When my hike was over, um, that day, my husband and my youngest child, who is my only daughter, who is in her early 20s, and one of her best friends flew over and met me when we got back to Reykjavik. And then we rented a car and explored the north coast of Iceland, um.

[34:04] Which was great because I really fell in love with the country and I was excited to see more of it. Um, and we ate some amazing meals and we had some incredible experiences and, um, we rode little furry Icelandic horses who are really, they're so cool. They're so small and they're incredibly sturdy. And my husband is six foot three and 220 pounds. And, you know, there's this teeny tiny horse. And, you know, it was a funny image, but the horse was really righteous. And, um, so I think by being able to stay there and experience the country and the landscape in a different way, um, that definitely felt like a celebration. And, you know, I think my family was very happy for me and proud of me and loved seeing the photographs and, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um, um.

[35:13] Yeah, I, it was, it was great. And I was away for a very long time. So, you know, the sign of a really good vacation, I think, is when you feel ready to come home. And I think I, you know, when, when it was time to come back, I was like, okay, I feel ready. Like, I've sort of assimilated this and reset. And it was definitely life changing. I mean, it clarifies, I think for me, it certainly clarifies what's really important and how much I get from being outside and where cars can't go, for lack of a better way of explaining it. And seeing these places that you can really only see if you hike there.

[36:15] And, you know, taking life at a slightly slower pace. And of course that I was able to have this experience with six of my friends who I love and who brought something different to the experience and the time we shared together. And everybody seemed to gel really nicely because, you know, for the most, a few of my friends knew one another. But, you know, then I had friends from other states who didn't know one another. And it just was kind of this magical, perfect convergence. So, yeah, I'm still celebrating in a quiet way.

[37:05] Then now that you are home and you've kind of thought about things, you've reset. And as you sort of said, you're just back in the swing.

[37:14] What are you thinking for your hiking moving forward? What's the plan for TAC? Have you got any other adventures in your sights or what are you thinking? Oh, totally. Oh, my God. A friend of mine, I keep sending these hikes and my friend said, you're completely obsessed. I said, well, it isn't that I've suddenly become obsessed. I've always been obsessed. I just, my life wasn't arranged in a way where I could actually do the trips, right? Because my children are now all independent and adult. And so, yeah, I have a friend who did the Tour de Mont Blanc, where you circumnavigate Mont Blanc, and you hike through Italy, Switzerland, and France. And that is a trip that I've been thinking about also for a few years. And I would love to do that.

[38:08] And I'm sort of thinking, oh, maybe in two summers, right? Maybe we'll do like summer of 2027. And we will let the boys come and we'll have a co-ed trip. Um, and there are many operators that can either design a self-guided, um, tour de Montblanc and arrange your lodging and even do luggage transfers if you choose to do that. And also trips with guides. So that's something that I would very much like to do.

[38:48] I would like to do the Alta Via, which there are actually a few of them in Northern Italy that are these very old hikes through the Dolomites. And a lot of them have a lot of significance for, the world wars, because it was territory that was, you know, disputed. And at one point, it was sort of part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and then it became Italy. And for anyone who's ever been to that part of Italy, it's just, it's indescribably beautiful in its own way, right? A very different way from Iceland. But yeah, I mean, you know, There are those really big projects that I believe I will get to over the course of the next several years.

[39:43] And then I live in a state that is absolutely great for hiking. One of the things in Colorado that I have not done, but I have yet to do, is there is a hike between Crested Butte and Aspen. Um and it's i think between 10 and 11 miles and you gain i think about 3 000 feet elevation through the course of the hike and um you can do it in either direction and then you end up in you know i mean both crested butte and aspen are really great mountain towns um so yeah i i always sort of have a little, little project in mind, both local and foreign wide. Yeah. Yeah.

[40:37] And then if anyone was listening to this today and they were like, you know what, Iceland has been on my list for a while, you know, and this, uh, this trip, you know, something I really wouldn't mind doing, or it's definitely appeals to me. What advice would you give them? Oh, absolutely do it. I mean, I, you know, I, I would encourage anyone to, um, anyone who likes to hike, to hike the Loiga Vega trail. Um, it is, you know, it's not, there's nothing, um, technical about it, right. You don't need any technical climbing skills, which I don't have. And frankly, I am not interested in necessarily, um, tackling on any of my hikes. Um, I think that, that combining your love of hiking and being able to see Iceland in this way is just a really unique combination. And I think that that's why people come from all over the world to do it. Um, you know, when, when you get to each hut, uh, at the end of the day, you know, it's not just you, there are other people hiking the trail and we met people from Belgium and Australia and, uh, South Korea and France and, um.

[42:06] You know, people from all over the States and, uh, and, That's kind of lovely too, right? That you, you're all from all over the world and you're all there to enjoy the same experience. And I, I think that there's power in that. Um, there are a lot of outfitters that will, um, help you, um.

[42:34] To, you know, tackle the Leugeveger trail. Uh, and there are trips that again, like mine, you know, it's sort of all in, they provide the food. Um, they were also able to accommodate, uh, some dietary restrictions that some of us had, which was terrific. Um, and they will do the luggage transfers. Um, but for example, I flying back from Reykjavik on the plane, I sat next to a American guy who had also hiked the trail a few days, you know, a little bit after me. And they carried everything on their back, um, all their food, all their gear and stayed in the huts, right? So they had just made the reservations, um, to stay in the huts. So there are different ways of approaching the hike, um, depending on what you're comfortable with. Um, at the huts, a lot of people pitched tents. There was, you know, there were different areas for tent camping. Um so i would absolutely encourage anyone who's curious to do it i i think um it's just an extraordinary experience in a lot of different ways.

[44:00] And then as we're coming to the end of this episode now and as where you know we covered some really really really good stuff and is there anything else you would like to to add i guess that you haven't had a chance to cover today or anything else you might be interested for listeners who are considering or thinking about this type of trip?

[44:17] Oh, um, you know, I think the thing that I want to say really has to do with age, right?

[44:29] Um, you know, I, um, I, As I said, I live in Boulder and, and, and Boulder has often been called, um, like the fittest city on earth. And it's true. We have a lot of professional athletes. We have a lot of just insanely fit people. And, you know, those of us who live here joke about, you know, there's just this pressure, like you can't just sit around, right? Like you have to get out there and do things. And I, you know, I have always, it's always been important to me to be active and strong and vital and healthy. But, you know, you don't have to sort of start from this place of having a lifetime of hiking. Um, you don't have to, um, you know, already be this sort of, um, you know, really highly conditioned person. I would really encourage people to believe in themselves and believe that, you know, with the right training and time, you can absolutely engage in an experience like this.

[45:54] And I think if you have ever even thought, well, what if, just go for it, right? It's so much of this is mental. And I think that a lot of times we maybe get stuck in these thought cycles of, well, I'm this old and so therefore I really shouldn't or can't or what have you. But, um, you know, I'll tell you, uh, you know, I speak as a, about to be 61 year old. Um, one of my friends who came on the trip with me, um, was 67.

[46:32] Um, we met people in the huts who were in their seventies. Um, so don't make decisions based out of fear and, um, you know, seek your counsel and, and have your allies and, um, go for it. Yeah. I, I just, I, I think, I think it's, um, it was really impactful. I think for all of us who did this, that we had this goal and we spent this time getting ready for it. And, and then we did it. And we had this extraordinary, extraordinary trip and met people from all over. And and it was something that we will remember forever for the rest of our lives. So I just I want to encourage people to get out there and challenge themselves and go for it.

[47:29] Yeah. Fantastic. Well, this has been absolutely amazing, Amy. I really, really do appreciate you coming on and just talking about this journey, this experience. And I think it's been really, really, really interesting. And I think a lot of people listening to this will get a lot of value out of this as well. So, I just want to say a big thank you for coming on. I think this has been a fantastic episode. And yeah, I think a lot of people are going to get some great inspiration out of all of this. Oh, thank you. I mean, I, I really loved working with you and, um, it was a joy. It really was. And I, you know, I thought of you often out there on the trail and, um, what you do is really unique and, um, that counts for a lot, but it also works and it was just invaluable. So I thank you because now I literally feel like I have no desire to summit Everest, which is really mountaineering, but I'm like, you know, I can do Tour de Mont Blanc because I've got Rowan and no problem. And he'll just whip me into shape. So you get a lot of credit also that that's important. Oh, fantastic. I appreciate that. And it was such a pleasure having you on board. So with that being said, you know, thank you so much for coming on. It's been an awesome episode and I'm really looking forward to seeing, yeah, what you've got in the future ahead.

[48:57] Thanks. I'm sure you'll be the second to know.

[49:03] So there we go, guys. I really do hope you've enjoyed today's episode. Last thing I will say before I wrap things up, if anyone was interested in learning a little bit more about the training that Amy used to prepare for this adventure, all you need to do is go to summitstrength.com.au online. Now on that page, there's a big video which talks through our programs and our training. And if it is something you're interested in exploring a little bit more, there's a link on that page where you can book a call with our team. We can have a little bit of a chat to learn about you, your needs, your goals, and your hiking, and see if and how we may be able to help you out. So if you want to learn a little bit more, go to summitstrength.com.au online, and we can take it from there. So with that being said, thank you so much for listening. I really do hope you've enjoyed today's episode and I hope it inspires a few people to get out there and maybe explore Iceland on your bucket list. So thanks for listening and we'll talk to you soon. Bye.

Want to get
fit, strong and resilient
for your
hiking adventures?

Check out
​The Online Summit Program