[pct-l] Break Strategies

[Robert Henry]

For my thru hike in 2012, I hiked for 50 minutes and rested for 10 minutes,
the only exceptions being when there was a spectacular view.  (One of the
factoids I picked up in my youth was that was how the British Army marched
at a steady pace of 2mph.)

Those 10 minutes were pretty busy: Pack on ground, sit down immediately on
the ground with my legs stretched out in front of me.  Put sleeping pad
under knees. Take off shoes and socks and let air.  Take out wet clothing,
if any, and let air.  Grab a bite to eat if after 11AM.  Consult map. Enjoy
view for a few minutes. Repack food and clothing.  Put socks and shoes on.
Stand up, pack on, and off I went. By following this strategy I was never
stiff on restart.   If, however, I spent those 10 minutes sitting on a
rock, log, chair or bench, it took me 15 minutes to get limber and back up
to speed.

This strategy also was somewhat amusing.  I would play leapfrog all day
long with my fellow hikers, as I would normally hike faster than they, but
would rest longer.  So our VMG (velocity made good) was identical.


On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 9:54 PM, Michael Irving <michaeljirving at gmail.com>wrote:

> OK, here's an actual hiking question to mix things up.
>
> To provide some context, I'm not a thru-hiker but a MYTH (multi-year thru
> hiker) hopefully.
>
> When I hike I tend to want to power through with pretty short breaks that
> may not even involve taking my pack off or sitting down. I usually have a
> short lunch but that may only be 20-30 min. I read/hear about thru-hikers
> often times having more formal breaks. (I tend to eat steadily through the
> day rather than set eating/break times).
>
> So, my question is if there is any info or opinions on how a break
> strategy or lack thereof impacts the average persons body in ability to
> hike longer miles and/or the same miles more comfortably. Sometimes it
> seems that breaks can make it even harder due to tightening up.
>
> Any experienced thoughts on this one? I don't recall it being discussed
> since I've been reading about the PCT over the last few years.
>
> Thanks!
> -GoalTech
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
>