Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2016 13:41:24 GMT -8
What does everyone do to prepare for a long hike? One of my big dreams is to hike the AT. What do you do to prepare for that? Just lots of walking every day? It's really confusing because so many people say so many different things in this topic.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Jan 2, 2016 14:08:14 GMT -8
If differing opinions confuses you, you will hate this place. 
Nothing prepares you for big hikes better than big hikes. You just have to go out there for a week to 10 days and see how you do. For any trip longer than 2 weeks, you will fall into your trail gait after 4-5 days and just stay with what works for you.
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Post by cweston on Jan 2, 2016 14:54:56 GMT -8
I've never done significant through hikes like the AT, but for me it's mostly just about walking as much as possible in regular life. On my trips, I try to avoid a super-ambitious first day if at all possible: I hate feeling whipped on the morning of day 2, although even when that happens, I always seem to hit my stride again fairly quickly.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2016 18:07:16 GMT -8
AT Trail Journals link to some people who are ramping up to do the AT in 2016. You might try looking at the 2014 and 2015 journals to see what people did before the doing the AT and who actually made it to the end. I follow the PCT Trail Journals. Over the years there is, for me, a path to success of completing the PCT.
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Post by rwtb123 on Jan 2, 2016 18:36:35 GMT -8
As much hiking,backpacking,stretching and general fitness training as possible will help you with the physical aspects,but completing the AT is as much mental as physical(if not more so).Reading as many trail journals as possible will not only help you with your gear choices but give you an idea of the rigors of trail life to help temper those idealistic dreams most start out with.If possible,hiking at least a week on the AT with the thru hikers will give you a good idea if this is for you(however if it is you may want to keep going to Maine and not stop after a just a week). Here is an article about ways to conquer "the Virginia Blues" a phenomena where a lot of the mental challenges come together about the time you reach the long trail stretch through Va. appalachiantrials.com/meeting-virginia-conquering-blues/ |
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Westy
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Post by Westy on Jan 4, 2016 7:55:14 GMT -8
My daughter and I thru-hiked the Colorado Trail this year. Our training was actually a mix of pre-planning, field testing gear and (3) multi-day hikes totaling about 100 miles. Physical training is best served on trial hikes to test your gear, pack, tent, stove, outer layer and footwear. Your gear has a major impact on comfort, weight and effectiveness. The trial hikes help you prepare physically. I agree with others that mental is the key. After the first 100 to 150 miles you will be in trail shape. - Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance - Prepare detail and macro timeline. Recognize that everything is subject to change and Murphy's Law applies. A good plan mitigates and minimizes screw-ups and simplifies solutions to the inevitable downside situation.
- Determine Re-supply Strategy - Purchase Yogi's CDT Handbook. Apply re-supply strategy to AT.
- Puttin' on the Ritz - Treat yourself to a zero day or two at an upscale resort or hotel. Huge on trail incentive and you deserve it.
- Happy Feet - Soggy feet is a trail fact of life. Fit is first - Dry is second - Non-Gore-Tex hiking shoes with ultra thin socks. Rationale: That combo dries faster. Fast drying is good. No hope of dry feet is bad. Hope of dry feet is mentally good.
- Singing in the Rain - Get the lightest and best clothing you can afford. There are no "weather days" in thru-hiking. Being miserable in inclement weather is a huge downer.
- You Are What You Eat - Variety, Variety, Variety! Lots of emphasis is on calorie intake per day. OK but I view it from the routine, hike, eat, sleep, repeat, day after day after day. What do you think about most often? Your evening meal. Redundancy in dinner is an automatic mental rut. Good morale from meals, priceless!
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Post by wondermonkey on Jan 5, 2016 17:43:26 GMT -8
I've actually felt the best on hikes when I use bike riding as my fitness base using intervals, sprints, rides of 30 miles or less. Couple with some hiking for sure, which can't be replaced.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 5, 2016 22:14:36 GMT -8
I've actually felt the best on hikes when I use bike riding as my fitness base using intervals, sprints, rides of 30 miles or less. Couple with some hiking for sure, which can't be replaced. Definitely be sure to add in hiking. I have done the "all bike" training thing, and my feet suffered for it. Nowadays, I train for 7-day trips by hauling a loaded backpack around town for a few miles most days, weeks or months leading up to it. I maintain a good fitness base all the time (running, biking and swimming), but as trips approach I need to prepare for the same kind of stresses the trip will put on me. In some ways, this might actually be less important for a long hike: you'll be on the trail long enough to move through the "getting fit and trail-hardened" stage and on to just hiking, whether you trained for it or not. Note: I have not tested this. We may do the John Muir Trail or similar in the next year or two, and odds are I'll train like heck for it. I'm too old to mess around. When I was in my 20s, I just went out and started hiking. It mostly worked. |
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idahobob
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Post by idahobob on Jan 12, 2016 20:37:35 GMT -8
I hike uphill, in my hiking boots. I add a pack after a while, and increasing weight in the pack. I start walking to work instead in riding a bike, because the bike is just too easy. If need be I use a treadmill at the gym, set it to maximum incline, and walk. As the trip approaches, I'll put on the boots and pack, and increase weight in the pack. Finally, the secret sauce of training for a tough hike or climb: 2 weeks before the hike, I climb a peak as high in elevation as possible. Lately its been Mt. Borah in Idaho. That thrashes my quads on the way down to the point I can barely walk. (6000' elevation gain, 6 miles). Two weeks later I've recovered and hit the trail at a higher level of fitness than if I hadn't climbed the peak. |
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speacock
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Post by speacock on Jan 13, 2016 15:25:16 GMT -8
You need to physically prepare for the first two weeks. After that you will be more fit than you can realistically be on your own with limited personal time. You will need stamina, your lower body prepared for the impact of 2000 foot steps per mile, and your kit you are taking with you fully vetted. For your body, jogging provides the acclimation of the bones, tendons and the skin in your shoes. It takes a long time for those to be ready. The earlier you can start and do it daily for some time the better you will feel the first few days. You don't have to do 10 mile days. 30 mins a day will make you feel better the first two weeks. Repetition is your buddy. Stamina is associated with spending time on exercises that make you breath hard for longer than 30 minutes. This could be gym time pushing iron around with your big muscles under supervision of a pro instructor. If you are taking a tent, make sure you can set it up as quickly as you can - with your eyes shut. Be able to find things (because you have organized things well) quickly - especially tp and a head lamp in the middle of the night and cooking things so you can be ready to eat in a downpour.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2016 7:50:28 GMT -8
Listen to the old guys. You shouldn't be asking how do you get in shape for a long hike. You should be in good enough shape at all times, to just pick up your pack and go. If you have to train to go for a long hike, chances are you don't have the skills and experience to do the long hike in the first place. The question should be: how do I become a backpacker? The answer is: spend time in the woods. Go walk after work, take long walks on the weekends. Learn about plants and animals. Stop training, and get yourself in shape by having fun. When I started hiking, the packs were canvas, on heavy frames. We all hiked in jeans. We bought our boots at Kmart. We ate mac and cheese with summer sausage or canned beef stew for dinner. No one had to read a book to stay in shape, and above all no one ever talked about training for hikes. Start moving and have fun!
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Post by tipiwalter on Feb 5, 2016 8:43:42 GMT -8
I agree with both Jaxroben and Rebeccad---Spend time in the woods and/or do training hikes with a loaded pack.
But there are other factors as important as a fit body---
** Sleep outside every night starting tonight if you have a backyard or a porch or a deck etc. Get used to long term living and sleeping on a sleeping pad and inside a sleeping bag. Get used to outside temperatures in all conditions. Get used to setting up your shelter in your yard during the daylight and with a headlamp.
** Load up a "training pack" with 35 lbs and climb steep hills around where you live. Increase pack weight to 50 lbs for a real workout. See how your legs and lungs and heart do.
** Jaxroben says you should be in good enough shape at all times and this can be accomplished by pulling 14 to 20 day backpacking trips once a month---with no training needed between trips, rest up and prepare for the next trip. As he says, staying on the trail in a near permanent fashion obviates any need for physical training. In fact, you'll need periods of no-movement recuperation.
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Feb 5, 2016 13:06:06 GMT -8
Jaxroben says you should be in good enough shape at all times and this can be accomplished by pulling 14 to 20 day backpacking trips once a month Yeah... that's realistic. |
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idahobob
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Post by idahobob on Apr 4, 2016 12:51:32 GMT -8
Definitely, you should quit your job and train full time, then you will always be in shape. Also sleep outside, and go to the bathroom outside. Cook and eat outside, and run uphill, backwards, with a pack on. Only than, Grasshopper, will you be able to snatch the pebble from my hand.
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Post by tipiwalter on Apr 5, 2016 3:58:40 GMT -8
I totally agree with this suggestion as I just came in this morning from a night out in the backyard in a surprise East TN "cold snap" on April 5. I slept on a Thermarest under my old Marmot down bag. As regards quitting your job and hiking, well, many millions of retirees play golf or RV camp or whatever else and instead they have the time to pull two week backpacking trips every month if they so desire. Younger folks can get 10 to 15 hour a week jobs and live with minimal pay in order to spend more time out a month---and ergo to stay in better shape. It's all about priorities. When I lived in my Tipi in the mountains of North Carolina I supported myself with a one-day-a-week church janitor job which supplied me with food money so I could continue to live outdoors and use my backpack to haul out supplies up to my lodge. Then when I retired and I left the tipi, I had more time to stay out on longer monthly backpacking trips. Remember, the current fascination with the indoor life is a brief anomaly, an aberration from our 200,000 year history of primitive living in the outdoors. Nature's wilderness and Man used to be irrevocably and intricately linked, and we all share Neanderthal and Cro magnon blood. We are in fact animals and mammals. |
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