How to hike a fast thru hike

[Mags]

Sometimes I carry a .5 liter box of wine versus the full liter.

Gotta save weight at times.

White wine is best served chilled

[Dogwood]

I too am trying not to get ornery(I like that word). I too KNOW I have to get out to the trail soon! I may have to get snowshoes!

Yes, I do fast/slow hikes. Yes, I hike faster/slower. I don't always go faster. I don't always go slower. Seems several of us feel we need to be on a side or only see two sides. Seems some of us are having problems seeing the value of how others hike. Seems some of us on both sides(hiking fast sucks/you don’t see anything crowd and the hiking fast is always great crowd) are taking a cavalier shallow, dare I say ignorant, quick to dismiss perspective of the benefits of hiking in a way we are not accustomed.

Probably, good reason why Skurka mainly stays out of this kind of fray and is probably out hiking or planning something to do with hiking rather than engaging in all this cyber jabber!

I have also recieved great value in Skurka's website info. I have adopted much of his advice when I want to do a faster hike. I'll try not repeating what he wrote.

After all my ranting trying to get all of us to see value in fast/slow hiking rates and faster/slower hikes, Ill bring it full circle and get back to why this thread was started.

When wanting to hike a faster hike(get done with a trail or section or stretch faster) I typically hike longer hrs. That's the main way I increase my mileage per day. I get up at 6 a.m. and am hiking in 1/2 hr or less. To get that quick start in the morn I like cowboy camping as often as conditions allow. It means less stuff to pack up in the morn. I ready as much as I can for the morning pack up the night before.

For example my gear is laid out neatly for packing up quickly in the morn. I often unload everything in my pack so I can safely and comfortably place it under my legs. If I'm not already wearing my morn start hiking clothes in my sleeping bag those are neatly ready for the morn. Usually, if I do have unworn clothing it’s in my sleeping bag stuff sack used for a pillow. For me, my hiking style includes not having any or maybe one or two pieces of clothing not used for sleeping. I tend to sleep in most if not all my clothing. It’s part of my plan for increasing the temp range of my sleeping bag allowing me to go with a lighter lower volume sleeping bag.

If not in bear/rodent issue areas my day's snacks and on trail food are separated and ready for packing into my hipbelt pockets and a reachable side mesh pocket for quick access for consuming as I hike. My other food is separated into a closed stuff sack for quick packing up. If I'm eating a heated b-fast my stove and food is ready the night before and placed within an arm’s reach for quick warming in the morn. If I do cook b-fast I eat as I'm packing other gear. In the morn I usually break down camp doing several things at the same time.

I like to be hiking as the sun rises, watching the mountains and forests come alive with light and life, but if there’s an especially beautiful sunrise or scenery sometimes I’ll just sit in my sleeping bag eating b-fast soaking it up. When doing a fast hike or planning on hiking at a faster rate I try to be sensitive to the need to stop and "smell the roses", which is something I tried relating in my posts on this thread. Some did not that point!

As I hike during the day I don't have to stop if I don't want to! Everything from clothing accessories(merino wool beanie, UL gloves, bandana etc), rain/wind jacket, rain pants(I most often do not carry any though), snacks(bars, nuts, seed, dried fruits, etc), electrolyte/vitamin/green drink additives, maps/trail description pages, Aqua Mira, camera, drinking water is accessible with my pack on. VERY rarely do I have to take my pack off for anything when desiring to hike this way.

However, at the risk of being redundant, I try being sensitive to the need to stop or slow down to better experience what I might be missing! Sometimes, TO ME, experiencing some things are BEST or CAN ONLY be done when I’m moving slower or not moving at all! I try not rushing the "moments!" I try to remember the wisdom of Gandhi’s statement: "There is more to life than increasing its speed." While backpacking, I try not being so darn habituated and stubborn to the same rapid lifestyle that many of us have become soooo accustomed to while not hiking.

Hike until about ½ hr on each side of sunset, but being willing to stop a little earlier if I locate an especially nice camp with an outstanding view. Each night in camp I try reflecting on the day’s events and feeling gratitude for what I’m able to experience!
Next day, do it all over again!

[Wags]

i cared about this thread for about 3 pages. now it's just getting filled with nonsense of how everyone doesn't care or believe what other people say, only in telling others what they believe in. the failing part of communicating is the "listening" piece. many only interested in talking. whiteblaze is really annoying like that at times....

[10-K]

i cared about this thread for about 3 pages. now it's just getting filled with nonsense of how everyone doesn't care or believe what other people say, only in telling others what they believe in. the failing part of communicating is the "listening" piece. many only interested in talking. whiteblaze is really annoying like that at times....

On the internet no one is ever wrong.

[Nean]

On the internet no one is ever wrong.

except for the ones who are never right............

[Nean]

Tsk tsk you two. Nothing about egos and all about cherry picking a post.

Every Trad hiker (and I mean EVERY Trad hiker) will happily confront the UL'er as an extremist. Yet....after a few treks with heavy loads 'they' sheepishly wander back to these (and other forums) asking for ways to drop weight. Hypocricy at its finest.

The Ul'ers will be here waiting for you two. With open arms, of course.

Now that you mention it, I have been looking for a mentor.

[10-K]

except for the ones who are never right............

I rest my case.

[Egads]

A Fast Hiking thread on an Ultralight subforum and there are people criticizing both. If you don’t have value for UL then why push your views on others in a UL forum. Also, if you don’t fast hike, great, others do and don’t want to constantly hear how they aren’t “stopping to smell the roses.”

I do fast hike and I don’t “stop to smell your roses.” You may not like it or understand it but I don’t care. I am getting what I want and need out of my hike. On any given day it could be the challenge of pushing myself mentally, physically or emotionally. I may hike a long day to take advantage of a 48 or 72 hour hiking window made possible by a business trip near the Sierra. And you are going to tell me that should be “stopping to smell the roses” when I get to hike in the Evolution Lake Basin or do the Rae Lakes Loop only because I CHOOSE to do high mile days? You can keep your roses, I’ll take seeing new places and exploring areas that most people would need a week to get to.

I leave on Friday to start my 100 day PCT hike. Probably way too fast by some people’s standards but I can only afford to take this length of time off from work. If it bothers you so much that I will be doing high mile days then send me a PM and I will give you an address where you can send two months of my salary so I can hike the PCT by your standard.

Life is about tradeoffs. I CHOOSE to push myself at the expense of reading a book, bumming around a trail town or hanging out. I CHOOSE to get up before the sun to get a cool early start and see the sunrise instead of sleeping in. I choose to get on the trail in 15 minutes rather than sit around camp drinking coffee and making a hot breakfast. I CHOOSE to try finishing my PCT even faster so I can hike an additional section of the PNT instead of spending extra zero days spending money in some trail town. And there are a myriad of other choice that are MY choices. If they aren’t your choices, great, I don’t care.

I find it so ironic in a community that throws around HYOH like it was a commandment there are so many people waiting to shove their own values and motivations down others throats. Rant Over!

And 10-k, I found skurka's site invaluable.

+1

For what it's worth, Dogwood, I don't think anyone who is really cool actually cares what anyone else thinks. They do what's cool without even giving what others think a thought.



Not a bad rant or concluding remark for a beginner, but consider the possibility that people may simply be attempting to point out opposing points of view.

What many don't seem to grasp is HYOH is more about staying focused on one's own hike than having one's nose in someone else's hike. It's not synomyous with MYOB. There is also an important distinction between what trail managers call to the attention of hikers and what other hikers post or say in the real world.

-1

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[emerald]

I cared about this thread for 3 pages.

There's a lesson in that. In my experience, most threads not long after page 1 cause me to question why I spent my precious time and what I had hoped to learn.

Communication fails when people are only interested in posting their opinions without considering what others post.

That's your best observation ever.

+1 -1

Self-appointed scorekeepers who show up over 3 weeks late rarely add much even when they quote earlier posts.

[mustangpwr98]

These arguments make me laugh. I am an ul hiker and enjoy it. I have never been unprepared. If I don't haul a 5 pound tent am I unprepared? Or why should we take advantage of progress? Let's all carry canvas pup tents and trapper nelsons. IF you don't like ul hiking stay the hell out of the forum. Seems simple enough to me. But I digress I am just a retarded ul hiker. Good thing I have a titanium spit cup...the old one weighed too much.

[azb]

The beauty of preferring to hike slow or fast and having little tolerance for those of the opposite speed is that you don't have to put up with each other for very long. And then, as you leave the idiots in your dust, or watch the morons hurry away like they're being chased by a bear, you can continue to make fun of them behind their backs (or in front of their backs for you speedy gonzales's!) and no one will be the wiser or get their tender feelings hurt.

The tricky part is those of us who can't make up their minds and jog 30 miles one day, and take a zero the next. It's not easy being schizo, but at least I'm never lonely!

Az

[Egads]

Self-appointed scorekeepers who show up over 3 weeks late rarely add much even when they quote earlier posts.

Hurt your feelings?

[emerald]

No, not at all!

[SassyWindsor]

I hike at whatever pace feels best. If the scenery is nice I slow down. If hiking at night or in bad weather I usually (safely) speed up.

[Dogwood]

That may turn out to be the wisest statement on this thread Azb. LOL!