hobbled hikers: more than usual this year?
I'm finding post after post about trail injuries. Are there more than usual? Or am I just drawn to them because I'm sitting on the sidelines, too, recovering from a broken ankle.
It seems like it to me...most of the journals I've been following mention lots of foot problems. Also noted bigger than usual miles at the start. In most cases early 15+ miles days which in years past was much less prevalent except on those few who started in good trail shape. Course, this is just the unscientific opinion of an armchair vicarious hiker stuck at a desk.
what about lighter less supportive foot wear......?
"you cant grow old if you never grow up" ~TUswm
Pyroman53, you may have hit the nail on the head. I think the lighter weight gear may mean folks are going too far, too fast. Just because you can go further doesn't mean you should at first. Especially feet and knees need time to adapt to the trail. Just my 2 cents - I did a few 4000 footers last year, and my feet were killing me after not hiking for years. Tried to stay in better shape this winter so I can start them again next month.
Quilteresq
2013, hopefully.
i carried 22 lbs with saloman trail runners, averaged 7 miles per day, and still ended up with a knee injury after 50 miles.
there were man people going 12+ miles per day at the beginning, who, when i got off, were still injury free.
go figure.
but why should there be any injuries? it's just walking, right? (NOT!)
- pages
I too have thad a pretty decent winter in that I was able to walk alot,so that when it is my time to hike multiday,mt. day hike or whatever,I'll will be ahead of the game somewhat.Most people that don't hike all the time will likely have some injury,when trying to hike a long distance hike.It's important that we don't let our egos dictate what kind of hike we do,let our bodys decide that,cause it is "just walking"(love that term)walk 20 miles right out of the gate,thats not"just walking" that "just stupid"Originally Posted by quilteresq
good advice, rocket socks. just keep in mind that even if you train - i did for six months - and even if you keep your milage low, you still might suffer an unforeseen injury if you are over 40. i had no blisters, everything felt absolutely great. the injury "just happened" with no tell-tale signs beforehand.
what's funny is we talk a lot on here about how to prepare yourself mentally before your hike, and i was prepared that way, but i NEVER imagined for a second that i would get injured while starting out slow with a light pack. i wasn't prepared for that at all!! I don't know which smarts more; my knee or my sadness as to having to get off-trail.
you can usually spot a bad attitude that leads to quitting coming on for days. I never saw this one coming.
- pages
Pages, I thought that you were having knee problems at Neel Gap...wasn't that about 3 days back? Anyway, the best advice that I got before I started hiking was from Warren Doyle, who told me to keep my knees bent on the downs. He said most folks that blow out knees are locking their knees on the downs. Think about pictures of Chinese women walking with large loads, they have their knees bent as they walk....
no red hat. at neels gap my left hand and arm had gone numb and tingly back and forth. people were worried (and so was i) that i might be having a heart attack. turned out to be a pinched nerve either from strap pinch or sleeping wrong. it cleared up early in the days hike. my knee starting hurting at low gap shelter late that afternoon. by morning, it was already very painful.
- pages
I don't mean to imply this of any one posting here, or to make lite of injuries....but, some of the journal stuff I've been seeing the last few years, and a lot this year, where folks get off the trail is in my opinion.....a case of quitting too easy.
Seems to be a lot (only from reading blogs and journals) where they really are not into it and an injury is just the last straw. Injuries that others might brace and try and carry on are more than they can deal with when they already would rather be some where else
Now I will really go out on a limb and make another observation (based on no scientific evidence), I noticed last year that every time some one got sick it's supposed to be Lyme disease. One hiker even saying in his journal he got it three times. In the 90's when ever someone got sick it was always Giardia . This has lead me to the conclusion that Lyme kills Giardia. LOL
Or maybe people just get sick...and they got to name it something outdoorsy.
Again, I'm not doubting anyone's serious injury, but there are a lot of excuses one can find to quit.
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
if you havent been doing this for a while, the best course is just to start out slow. and if you think its slow enough, slow down a bit more. it usually takes me 3-4 days to get my trail legs under me.(then i go home).
wingedmonkey, you speak the truth, however i was really disappointed with my injury. still am. hope to get back on soon.
as to others - everyone has to reconcile the trail and their journey in their own way. what is one man or woman's heaven could very well be another's hell.
my hell is wanting to do this my entire life, and getting past the fear of the first few days, and ending up on a couch with no cable tv. would much rather be "out there" with the people I was hiking with.
-pages
That's the difference between you and them.
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
its kind of like runniing a marathon if you've never done it before, or even a 5k. the inexperienced will start out with the first pack and try to keep up, quit early because its become an unsustainable pace.too many will push too hard too soon, and then it splits into 3 groups, people looking for an excuse to go home, people who adjust their pace accordingly, and people who get hurt.
This sounds like the most likely explanation of all I've heard. I started in 1993 after a mostly sedentary existence ( a hike every month or or so, but not much else.) I finished after six months and three days on Katahdin. But I was far from a thru hiker. I had numerous aches and pains, including some that have never been explained. I by passed boring sections, took time off on doctor advice including one that had clearly misdiagnosed the malady, and finally bypassed southern New England in order to miss the snow on Katahdin.
I hiked agonizing slow for the first month, but in retrospect, I should have gone even slower. But I managed to resist the temptation to go home. As a result it was the most valuable six months of my life.
slow and steady wins the race. fast and steady finishes a bit earlier.
" I had numerous aches and pains, including some that have never been explained."
i used to have these as well. they went away after i divorced her.
Yes a knee can get patched up,a broken heart no band-aid for that,acept another crack at it,sorry to hear about the knee pages,I'm sure you'll give it another go?
My son and I wear light trail runners and keep packs in the teens mostly. We go pretty fast. 15 mpd right off the couch. It is actually hard not to, you just walk at a fast pace, even uphill. Because you can.
But especially on downhill, it is easy to roll an ankle, stub a toe, etc when going that fast. When this happens you try to slow down, take your time but its actually hard to, you get bored going slow.
That's really solid advice. Think of it as doing a proper squat in the weight room. It takes the weight and stress off the knees and places the load onto your quads and hamstrings. Good call.
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