Can I Do This?

I unpacked my backpack this morning and took out a lot of things I use regularly, trying to get ready to go walking. The lighter pack is still pretty heavy, not by Appalachian Trail thru hiker standards, maybe, but pretty heavy. I have to have my little portable office with me since I´m actually writing a book, but maybe not all the printed material. And I can surely do without the church-lady clothes and shoes. I mailed a box to myself to pick up later in Spain and another box home. Not light enough. Can I do this walk with this pack?

Each day for three days, I got up in the morning, put everything in the pack, and started walking. The house where I am staying is at the top of a hill at the end of a long ridge, so I had a choice of lots of elevation change or not much. The two questions: can I walk up the 900 meter hill at the entrance to this walk? and can I walk tens of kilometers every day for two weeks? My conclusion after taking the test walk down the hill and back up: no, I can´t really do the 900 meters straight up. I vowed to look for a bus or a taxi to the pass and walk from there. It was one of those moments of maturity I dislike so much.

Yes, I´m a short person with a pack that is a little (just a little) too heavy, in a body that´s a little heavier than I would like and older than I would like to admit. And maybe, just maybe, once I get up that big hill, I´ll be able to walk every day and carry the pack. I´ll try.