Knowing your limits

[Mikey Appleseed]

Howdy All Blazers, the great John Muir said, "A man has to know his limitations" How do you find your limitations? Ive come to the conclusion that you must exceed your limits, in order to find them. Thats why I beleive most hikers will never realize there potential. When I section hike, I let myself stretch those limits way more than thru hiking, I end up leaving alot of energy unused and wasted on my thrus, because of the fear of not having anything left in the tank. Comfortability with your trail helps ease the fear. Thoughts, questions, comments, appreciated. I have a couple big questions, will my limited social skills hurt my chances at a successful thru of the AT? Could I hike the AT without talking?

[max patch]

Google Ward Leonard. Mr Leonard is one of the strongest -- perhaps THE strongest -- AT hikers and his limited social skills certainly didn't slow him down (pun intended). Mr Leonard has thru hiked the AT at least 10 times.

[Spokes]

Knowing your limits? As they say in ultra running circles "If there's no bones showing, keep going."

Remember, even the quietest hiker can get on other peoples nerves.

[Ktaadn]

Is this what you meant when you said "limited social skills"?

http://lonelypolicebox.wordpress.com...k-and-publish/

I don't think that was the kind of stuff that the OP was referring to.

Anyway, I'm not a thru hiker but I don't see any reason why someone couldn't be successful without talking. I'm not an overly social person but I'll usually say hi when I pass someone. It just feels right to me. If the other person doesn't say anything back, I'm not offended.

[tiptoe]

I think it depends on your tolerance for risk as to whether you push your limits or opt for a conservative approach. Of course sometimes you have to go outside your comfort level to get out of a bad spot.

[PapaGarrettP]

I'm not much of a talker either. But when I hike down a really steep mountain to the bottom of a gap and meet someone who just came down the other side, I find that remarks along the lines of, "Wait until you see what you have in front of you," naturally lead to some good-natured fellowship.

[max patch]

Is this what you meant when you said "limited social skills"?

http://lonelypolicebox.wordpress.com...k-and-publish/

I don't think that was the kind of stuff that the OP was referring to.

no, that is not what i was referring to.

[garlic08]

If you haven't puked from exertion, you haven't reached your limit. Try it sometime. Muir was right.

[RedBeerd]

Pushing limitations can be dangerous. Be gradual with things!

[Mikey Appleseed]

On the social skills thing, im just more comfortable being a shadow. New friendships "on trail" have changed my hiking regiment, and have left me sad for missing them. So a "self limitation" of future friendships that I can handle, seemed like a reasonable approach to hiking the highly traveled AT. I asked because im trying to find the fine line, that will be just right, dont want to make waves either. Im also a west coast guy and perhaps nieve to the realitys of the different land and culture, its kinda scary. I like Muir, but that quote still boggles me. Frankly, a man has to know ALOT of things...............-Me Thanks everyone.

[Slo-go'en]

The trick is to know when to back off when you approch your limits. Actually exceeding them can result in injury. This is especially true in social situations

[garlic08]

The trick is to know when to back off when you approch your limits. Actually exceeding them can result in injury. This is especially true in social situations

...especially if you puke.

[rocketsocks]

Howdy All Blazers, the great John Muir said, "A man has to know his limitations" How do you find your limitations? Ive come to the conclusion that you must exceed your limits, in order to find them. Thats why I beleive most hikers will never realize there potential. When I section hike, I let myself stretch those limits way more than thru hiking, I end up leaving alot of energy unused and wasted on my thrus, because of the fear of not having anything left in the tank. Comfortability with your trail helps ease the fear. Thoughts, questions, comments, appreciated. I have a couple big questions, will my limited social skills hurt my chances at a successful thru of the AT? Could I hike the AT without talking?

What kind of limited social skills we talking here?Like,Hi my name is Mickey Appleseed I'm from Donner Summit Cal.would you like to have dinner with me?Or,I hike alone,I prefer to be by myself type thing?..either way you'll be fine...if your chill.

[Kirby]

Hiking for the purpose of reaching that moment where you might die if you keep going is irrational.

--Kirby

[tdoczi]

Hiking for the purpose of reaching that moment where you might die if you keep going is irrational.

--Kirby

so is stopping after 5 miles (or 10, or 12 or 25) simply because youre not sure you can go farther.

i agree with the OP, most of us think we can do far less than we can.

[stranger]

As far as pushing your limits go, I guess it's different for everyone. I've never been in a situation where I've felt I had to stop, I've always been able to keep going, but my longest day ever is around 33 miles, so not a tremendous distance by comparison to some of todays' standards.

I agree that shorter hikes test you more than longer, in terms of a physical nature. Also on longer hikes I've definately taken the trail for granted and not pushed too hard cause it could wait for tomorrow, or "I'll make up the miles in Pennsylvania", etc... On a shorter hike, the time is now.

Alot of hikers on the AT aren't very social, I went behind a shelter in the Smokies one day in 2008 and was talking to a guy about his tarp setup, he wasn't very responsive. I asked him a few open questions and he looked at me with a puzzled look and just said "Look I really don't talk to people out here", and I said "no worries" and that was that. If you want to avoid people just start in late April and don't go to shelters and hostels, you will barely see anyone.

The AT 'social' element gets old real quick for me, it's cool if it's your first experience but after a few hikes I can't deal with another hiker discussion in Georgia about "how difficult the rollar-coaster" is in Virginia, or now the climb out of "Stecoah Gap" (the climb is actually out of Sweetwater Gap) will take 2 hours, or how bad the PA rocks are, blah, blah, etc...The stories that get handed down and amended to suit the times, it's kinda funny in some ways though.

As Max Patch said, the greatest hiker we've ever seen on the AT, Ward Leonard, certainly had social difficulties, and no one has matched his accomplishements to date. And what's even more impressive is that people have constantly tried and tried, where as Ward was probably just going for a walk.

[quilteresq]

Mmm. . . what about enjoying your hike? I have no desire to push my limits hiking in that way. I want to have fun. That said, I know there are challenging sections of the trail, but I don't have to do the really steep stuff AND do a 25 mile day in the same stretch. I'll leave the "pushing the limits" stuff ONLY to those that feel the need or desire.

[pdcolelli42]

I think the simple answer would be listen to your body. For example if I hike over 3mph my knees and ankles will begin to hurt much faster than If I hike 2.5mph. I can cover more ground at a slower pace. Ultimately though if my joints or muscles are starting to hurt it's best to plan to stop soon otherwise it will get progressively worse. If I stop when I start feeling pain then I usually don't feel that pain the next day.

[Edwardo Rodriguez]

Well my 2 cents is knowing
your pace
how long you can hike each day
can you handle the daily life of a Thru hike
the mental part of your body (the aces and pain)
In a Thru hike every one reaches a point where they question why they are out on the trail and not in the comfort on home life. Keeping it real on the trail, why are you out there and are you doing it for the right reasons. A Thru is not a cake walk and a person has to know how far they can go, for me it only come with trail experiences.

[Capt Nat]

I don't take it that seriously. Quoting the great "Lone Wolf", "It's just walking."