[pct-l] 20 mile times.

[Eric Lee (GAMES)]

Austin wrote:
>
Based on this (and one other long hike during my training period) I estimate
I can cover 40 miles a day, 6 days a week on flat ground.  Since not much of
the PCT is actually flat, and because I like to take my time and enjoy the
scenerey, I'll probably only cover about 30 miles a day on average.
>

I agree with Austin - doing training hikes (and just lots of walking, period, even if it's just around your neighborhood) is definitely critical for high mileage.  There's no substitute for knowing your body.

One note for Krikor, though - for me, I find that the relationship between miles and wear and tear on my body is not linear.  That is, doing 20 miles in a day is significantly *more* than twice as strenuous than doing 10 miles.  At 10 miles I may feel no more than pleasantly tired but at 20 there's all kinds of aches and pains and blisters that weren't a factor earlier in the day.  So be careful about predicting your performance on a long hike based on your experience with short ones.

Terrain, body weight, pack weight, and conditioning all have an effect.  I've section-hiked all of Washington and part of Oregon.  I found that in Washington, 20 miles was a good day for me.  Last year in Oregon, 25 was normal and I did my first 30 mile day.  There are probably multiple reasons for that: Washington is more rugged with far more ups and downs, I weigh 15 pounds less now than I used to, and since I've been doing 100+ section hikes for six years now, I've just gotten better at walking.

Eric