How to train for this?

This training thing is very challenging. Not the physical part, that frankly, is a piece of cake. Been doing it my entire life. Since 14, I have had the mindset of an athlete and understand the day to day grind of training and the discipline necessary to train on good and bad weather days. But I always did that in the gym, the road for running and in a boat. Now kayaking in moving water when it is 20 degrees outside required its own sort of planning of gear and learning the value of preparation. But never have I trained in the woods. How to train for hiking in 14,000+ foot altitude with 3,000 foot rises in elevation daily is a challenge. Especially when you live at sea level.

The most convenient place I have near me is a state park trail next to a convent about 2/3 of a mile from the house. The trail drops about 400 feet over 1/3 mile down to a suspension bridge over the river. Up or down takes about 15 minutes with my 25 pound weighted backpack, so I’ve been doing 3 circuits (up/down) in 90 minutes. Not a bad little workout. That is roughly 2,500 feet in elevation change. 1,250 up and 1,250 down.

Going have to at least double that over the next 90 days to get close to the same elevation change as is on the trek. So to just get the bare minimum at sea level of what will be coming at altitude is going take 3 hours of training a day. Ok, where to cut corners to create that kind of waking free time? Sometimes I ask myself what I was thinking.