If you’re well prepared for adventure and can find the humor in things not going according to plan, you’ll never stop exploring. To understand just what will get you to that place, we spoke with endurance athletes, gear gurus, and elite climbers about how to physically and mentally ready yourself for your next great journey—whether it’s a multi-day trek, afternoon bike ride, or overnight camping trip.

AFTER SUFFERING A hypoglycemic episode, my new friend Donna reaches a gushing river where the once clear path of rocks has now been submerged. “I don’t see it. I don’t see it,” she says, shaking her head, as our guide Mariana helps her across with an outstretched hiking pole. Donna forges on through the pouring rain, talking about how beautiful the turquoise lake looks on the horizon. I’m with 12 women hiking the legendary W Trek in Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park. We’re at the start of a 10-day off-the-grid Wild Women Expeditions trip. In more than a decade as a travel journalist, I never gave much thought to…