I have been fly fishing for over 35 years. Own over a dozen fly rods from 3wt to 10wt fiber glass and several different types of graphite, including a cheap ($10.00) 7wt that was my first fly rod . Only broken rods have been due to carelessness. One was a home built Winston 456 Traditional snapped with the tailgate of my Wagoneer. Another fell victim to being yanked on and snapped 2" off the tip of 6' Fenwick fiberglass rod when it hung on a folded lawn chair. Fly rods, especially graphite are very resilient as long as they are not abused. I don't try to dislodge snags by yanking on the rod or try to lift large fish with the rod. It is easy to make a simple rod case from PVC that will keep your rod safe during hiking.
I think that the above mentioned Cabela's rod would serve well for years. If you were fishing the west often I would suggest a 9' 5wt or even a 6wt (wind). But since you live east of the Miss.River I think the 8'6" 4wt would be a good compromise for small streams/ponds. May want to have 2 lines a wt forward, good general use line and a double taper which works better in tight spaces/small streams because it is much easier to roll cast when there isn't enough space for a back cast.
