[pct-l] quick question on my hiking performance

Tue Oct 26 22:14:53 CDT 2010

For me, the most important thing I did prior to starting last April, was not
my choice of gear, pack weight, or shoes, but was to train hard, and for
many months before setting foot on the PCT.  I'm just about to turn 58, and
when the endorphins get rolling, I have a propensity to just keep going
because it feels good, and then find myself with an overuse injury.  This
didn't seem to happen when I was younger, but it does now.  I trained at
between 10 and 20 miles 3 to 4 days per week, with a 4000 foot elevation
gain.Even so, when I started I still didn't go over 10 to 12 miles per day
the first week.  The second week I upped it to 15 to 17 or so, and by the
third week was over 20 miles per day.  This may have been overly cautious,
but I know how quickly I can kill myself when I'm feeling good on the
trail.  On full hiking days, except in the High Sierra where the snow really
slowed us down, I ended up doing 23 to 28 miles per day in most of CA.  By
Oregon we were mostly over 30 and up to nearly 35, as the trail is simply
much easier.  Everyone I loosely hiked with got into a pattern of hiking all
day, stopping for dinner on the trail, and then hiking an hour, or two in
the evening before pitching camp.  By WA we were making a bit less as the
trail is tougher, and the days shorter, but started out at 27 to 30 still.
Speeds varied by terrain and goal, but were usually in the 2.5 to 3.5
range.  One afternoon when we realized we could physically make the bus at
6pm into Stehekin, which meant a bed at the lodge and a good dinner, we
trail ran for hours on a mostly downhill trail, and made it with time to
spare.   We were well over 4mph that afternoon.  So Mark, I think you are
well on your way to a great hike of the JMT and TRT.

There's still plenty of time for training, and John, I train at sea level to
4000 ft. which isn't much, but by the time you get into the high country,
you will have lots of mid elevation hiking and relatively slow ascents, over
a day or two, to get used to real altitude.  It can still be an issue as
became clear when Turbo and The Kern had to help Half Ounce, off of Forester
Pass when he developed altitude sickness.  He is a very experienced hiker,
but was airlifted out of the high country near the Kern River in early June.

Steel-Eye's mileage estimates are right on, and his comment of hiking versus
camping became a real joke with us by WA.  Whenever we purposely pitched
camp early, we would all joke that we were finally "backpacking" and not
"thru hiking."  It simply felt so restful and enjoyable.  We all promised
ourselves that next summer we were going "camping."  The time factor is
real, and we didn't want to make it to Manning Park too late, given that
"the predominant season in the North Cascades is winter," as we were so
eloquently told by a North Cascade local who was south bounding.  Our last 2
1/2 weeks in WA were in drizzle, temps in the 50's and 60's during the day.
Within 2 days of crossing into Canada on Sept 17th, however, the temps had
dropped into the 20's and our friends who were within a week of us all came
out in white out, and some in blizzard conditions.  I was glad to have been
able to push at relatively high miles, and with fewer zeroes than I had
planned.  I found that I really liked being on the trail, and simply didn't
need the rest of a zero as often as I had thought.

Good question,  thanks.

Shroomer

On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 6:45 PM, Mark Hudson <mhudson89521 at att.net> wrote:

>
> I have wondered the same thing all year.  I have been really working to get
> in shape all this year so as a result I always wondered where I fit in with
> the through hiker crowd.
>
> I still don’t know the answer to that question but I can tell you what my
> wife, my 13 year old son and I average now.
>
> We each carry about 10-15lbs on day hikes each.  We average around 15 miles
> on hikes with more and more days going over 20.
>
> We are usually above 7K with hikes going to 10.6 K  Most elevations are
> between 7500-9100 I would say.
>
> we usually encounter around 3000 feet of elevation gain in a given day,
> with
> some days reaching 5K.
>
> on a recent 20 mile day with elevation gains in the 5K range I averaged 2.5
> mph.  on a recent 15 mile day with 3K elevation gains I averaged 3.3 mph
>
> I use a gps to measure my speed for my own purposes, as I want to see how I
> have progressed over the summer.  Our goal is to hike the JMT and TRT next
> year and to fit that into our vacation schedule we need to hike over 20
> miles each day, so that’s what we are training for.
>
> My brother in law is a pct grad and he makes me look like an old fat man
> when he hikes with us...so long story short, I have found I have to hike my
> own hike, but I still like to know how I measure up... so I responded to
> your post as a result.
>
> As an aside, I wouldn’t use this as any sort of step or or step down
> measure, I would simply decide what my hiking goals where in terms of miles
> per day, then decide what average length of time I wanted to hike each day,
> and do the math on mph.  then train for that goal.  that’s all we are
> doing.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Abela
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 6:09 PM
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] quick question on my hiking performance
>
> Hey All,
>
> I know the issue of "hiking speed" is not one of those issues that is
> really
> an issue... so please do not think I am all hung up on this issue - grin.
>
> And, I know that there are a ton of factors that go into this issue, this
> is
> just me trying to get a feel for what most of you out there are able to do
> on a daily basis.
>
> Basically what I am looking for is thoughts on whether my performance is
> where it should be or if I should "pick it up" a bit more... you know...
> man
> up and all that.
>
>
> Just to be clear and honest... the vast majority of my hiking is between
> zero elevation (lots of trails under 100 feet here in the Redwoods) and
> 2000
> feet.... so, pretty much all sea level hiking at this point... kinda woosie
> in that regards.
>
>
> What I have been doing is 10-12 mile trips - with a total pack weight of
> 12-18 (water dependent) - and I have been doing 4 miles per two hours with
> an average of 1000 feet elevation changes.
>
>
> So anyway, just wondering if that is decent or if that is really pathetic
> and I need to suck it up some more and push myself a bit harder.
>
> Thanks.
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