View Full Version : overly optimistic?
Hey anybody or everybody,
I've been hiking for many years. I am 60 years old but very active. I work construction for a living as well as owning a restaurant. I work long and hard hours. I am one of those lucky people who has been blessed with a pretty strong body (for a pint sized 5'9"). I am planning a NOBO thru hike for march of 2015. Recently I have been doing day and section hikes with a full pack to get conditioned. I've been keeping track of my eating habits and mileage. It appears that I average close to 3 miles an hour when I hike. If I figure on 3 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon I estimate I can cover about 20 miles a day. Am I being to optimistic? I understand there will be zero days and unforeseen delays, but on an average day is 20 miles do-able? I want to average 120 miles a week. Not in a race, just planning.
flemdawg1
03-04-2014, 11:55
For the first week or two, slow down and limit yourself to 8-12. The GA mountains are probably a good deal tougher than what you're used to training on. Then gradually ramp up the miles.
I'm 63 and last year (2013) hiked 1450 miles from GA to NY. I found the going very slow in GA & NC. My average speed was between 1.75 and 2 miles an hour. The ups & downs slowed me down quite a bit in the early part of my hike. Also, the NARO virus got me in Erwin, that made we feel weak for a week. (no pun intended.) Where I really lost time was family issues: a new grandchild, a 30 wedding anniversary and an engagement party. I think its easier for younger hikers to concentrate on hiking and nothing else. I am going to finish my hike from CT to Maine starting in May, hope to see you on the trail.
20 mpd average is very do-able for some... and not for others. I think maintaining that average will be more about mental strength than physical strength. Only one way to find out...
kayak karl
03-04-2014, 12:08
For the first week or two, slow down and limit yourself to 8-12. The GA mountains are probably a good deal tougher than what you're used to training on. Then gradually ramp up the miles. i agree with this, but most do what they want and end up hurt. oh, why the need to plan 20 per week ??
steve0423
03-04-2014, 12:09
In addition to the unforeseen, there will be times when terrain will make it impractical. But I think the big question is why? Do you have a time constraint? I saw a lot of folks in their 20s and in incredible shape get beat up physically and mentally by convincing themselves they had to walk big miles every day. My best advice would be to ease into it, listen closely to your body and only do what you’re comfortable with. What you’re talking is probably doable for you; just make sure you’re not taking from the experience by stressing about millage. I think it’s probably smart to go into it thinking this is the only opportunity you’ll ever have to do this and make the most of it. I caught up to a LOT of fast hikers in VT, NH, and ME who had decided to slow down and enjoy it more.
I’ve never once met a thru hiker who told me they wished they’d gone faster
I’ve never once met a thru hiker who told me they wished they’d gone faster
I hear this quote a lot. It is those that don't finish because of weather that are the ones that wished they went faster.
Seasoned young thru-hikers do 20 mile days routinely once they've gotten a few hundred miles under their feet. Almost nobody actually maintains that as a long-term average, however.
Once you've found your stride, maintaining an average of 15 miles a day is certainly possible, as a fit senior, in the middle part of the trail, at least 'till you get to Glencliff. I'd suggest a lower goal once you're in the White Mountains. Partly because it's seriously tough terrain, because weather may work against you, and if it doesn't, you might just want to slow down and enjoy the scenery.
I did my last long AT section at age 55 and managed consistent 15 mile days (long term average.) I took no zeros, but took a short day (say, 8-10 miles) every four or five days. Three years later I still managed 15 miles/day from Monson to Abol. On the Long Trail these last two summers I've been averaging barely 1 MPH.
3 MPH is not realistic for most of the AT. Again, the young un's are much faster but my average is well under 2 MPH, once breaks are figured in. In decent weather and moderate trail I can usually crank out 18 miles over the course of a summer's day.
colorado_rob
03-04-2014, 12:43
Just as a data point, I'm nearly 58 and I averaged 18.5 MPD on the 1st 1000 miles of the AT last year (heading back this year to hopefully finish), not including zero days, but with including nero days (days less than, say, 7-8 trail miles, visiting a town, etc).
I think 3 miles per hour is unrealistic, even 2.5 is a push, at least for me. I averaged right at 2.3 miles per hour including short breaks now and then, but I hiked 8-10 hours per day, sometimes a bit more (I had a few 24-25 mile days). I found slower hiking for more hours both more enjoyable and overall easier and more efficient energy-wise. Basically if there's decent weather and daylight, I hike. I don't like sitting around camp or shelters much.
Again, just another data point for us 55+ year olds.
You are suffering from spreadsheet hiking. "Alls you gotta do" is hike three miles an hour for seven hours and poof the spreadsheet says you have 21 miles. Reality is far more difficult than hiking via spreadsheet. But having said that, hiking 20 miles per day for an in-shape, fairly lightweight, motivated hikers is fairly straight-forward. You will do much longer days than you are expecting. I doubt seriously if you will average more than 2.5 mph. Doesn't means your goal is impossible, far from it. You will hike longer hours to achieve the pace. On a thru hike you can choose to get up earlier, hike later, take shorter and fewer breaks. This is the way to get 20mpd, not by worrying about mph.
Kerosene
03-04-2014, 13:03
Given a reasonable level of fitness for a 60-year old, I don't doubt that you can average 3 mph for a day hike with a backpack. You may very well be able to do it for multiple days in a row. The risk you run if you start out that fast is that your connective tissue and joints will likely not be up to that level of stress for many days in a row. As flemdawg1 suggests in Post #2, start out much, much slower to give your body time to adjust, recognizing that you may very well want to go faster and think you can, but you also don't want to get pushed off the trail after a week with shin splints, Achilles tendonitis, a sprained knee or ankle, tight IT bands, etc. As I've aged I have slowed from the 3 mph pace I sustained as a 20-something and my knees have slowed me further. Start out a bit slower (2.0-2.5 mph), maybe pump it up to 3.0+ mph for an hour mid-day as your "cardio workout", and limit your daily mileage for the first 2-3 weeks to 10-15 miles. After a month your body should be able to slowly increase mileage into the 15-22 mpd range if you're as fit and strong as you say, and you might even try the 4-state challenge as you approach WV!
Everyone's body is different, but we're all aging and few of us backpack enough to stay in thru-hiker shape all the time. As a section hiker and long-time soccer player, I was able to put in big mile days much faster than most, but even then I've slowed down (and become much more tentative when rock-hopping downhill!).
As Malto suggests, put away the spreadsheet and concentrate on planning your first week at a moderate pace. A thru-hike becomes a series of smaller section hikes after a while, and your plans will naturally adjust as you move up the trail. Best of luck!
FarmerChef
03-04-2014, 13:29
I'll just chime in to agree with Kerosene and Flemdawg. Start out slow and build up. 20 is completely doable but as one who has done this for several days in a row, it takes it's toll when your legs are new to the rigors of the trail. After a few weeks, all your stabilizing muscles are up to snuff and you can increase your MPD safely if that's what you want to do. The last thing you want to do is start out too fast and have to come off trail due to an injury that takes the joy out of hiking.
Slo-go'en
03-04-2014, 13:48
You have been hiking in NJ (from recent posts) and that is about as easy as it gets and not a good judge of the kind of milage you can do in the much more difficult sections. In NH and Maine, 1 mph is a good, fast pace and a 10 mile day is a hard day. North Carolina with it's seemingly endless all day up hill climbs wears at you.
Yes, there are large sections where you can bang out 20 mile days easy enough, (northen VA/PA/NJ/NY/CT) but even in those sections it will not be consistant. Usually because in the mid altantic states it's insanely hot and humid and that slows you down too.
bigcranky
03-04-2014, 13:51
When I did my section hike in central Virginia this past summer, the guys who were cranking out 20-25 miles per day were the old guys. I mean 60s and 70s. They got up before dawn, hit the trail, and just walked all day - no distractions.
Not sure you can expect to maintain a 3mph pace on the trail, especially from day 1, but you can expect that walking all day will get you where you want to be.
Spirit Walker
03-04-2014, 15:34
Some of the older hikers I met easily outpaced the younger hikers, not because they necessarily hiked faster, but because they were more willing to hike sunrise to sunset. If you get caught up in the shelters, people end up stopping at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. If you hike until 5 or 6 every day, without staying at shelters, you can hike an additional 6 - 8 miles a day. The older hikers also tended to spend less time in town, which eats up time. Not always though. As I've gotten older, I've actually ended up spending more time in town, because one day of running errands uses up more energy than a day of hiking, so I need an additional day to actually get some rest.
Julio, I commend you for your preparation, but since you have never done a 2200 mile hike hiking in a week after week after week month after month after month fashion I would still caution, as others have, to work your way into your thru-hike. Plenty of AT NOBO thru-hikers, and sections hikers, get knocked off the trail because of injury, often over use injuries, sometimes ending their entire hikes, because they started their hikes with a rigid mentality of going out too fast, furious, and far in the beginning than they were ready for. Don't be a shotgun hiker - fast out of the gate but with little stamina/endurance. A thru-hike is largely an endurance event not a beat the clock event for the vast number of thru-hikers no matter what faster hikers would like others to assume. I would advise, don't get caught up in the all the speed hiking mania or MPD obsessions at this point in your hiking. There's a very good amount of flexibility and adaptability I notice in the hiking styles of those that complete their first long distance hikes. I notice it often even in those that regularly happily complete long distance hikes or whatever duration hikes they complete. Don't be so rigid in your pre AT thru-hike planning that you ignore your ability to also be flexible.
"You are suffering from spreadsheet hiking." LOL.
Your math is not realistic.
The speed depends on slope. You might top out at 3 mph on a nice gradual downhill, but the uphill will reduce your speed to 2 mph (1 mph if you take breaks). Overall, most real-world older hikers average 1 to 2 mph. You can do 20 mile days if you are willing to hike 10 hrs plus/day. My wife and I are marathon runners, but we averaged only 1 mph all the way through the Maine AT, for example.
But really, we would rather hear you talk about something other than mileage. There is so much else that is more interesting. It's usually the young hikers that get fixated by the shallow goal of making big miles.
peakbagger
03-04-2014, 17:32
The zero days will get you if you don't watch out. Its easy to plan skipping zeros but the for many the attraction is too much. Over the years of sectioning I met many unconventional thru hikers over 60 and many tended to do slower speeds but longer hours per day. Definitely the hare and tortoise approach. One individual in his late sixties got up before sunrise and was walking out of the site as soon as he didn't need a headlamp. He typically hiked to about an hour before dark. Some other thru hikers along this section commented that they would always pass him in the morning as he was slow but inevitably he would pass by them when they had quit for the day.
As an example of what town days do, I and a friend did 5 weeks of sectioning, we had two cars and would spot a car, drive south and hike back to the first car. We set it up so that we got up early on the last day and hiked for 4 to 6 hours and ended at the car around noon. We then resupplied, got a motel or hostel room, did some wash and sometimes respotted a car. The next morning we would then drive to the trail and do it again. We were only doing 16 to 18 mile days but our average was great as we never took a day off for 5 weeks. Obviously two cars isn't an option for thruhikers but turning a zero into a half day in town is going to cut you expenses and increase your average.
If you're not a purist, one of the ways to improve your overall rate is to slackpack. You can walk (and climb) much faster without a pack on your back. Warren Doyle's numerous AT expeditions were in effect 100% slackpacking.
Aside from that I'd just echo what everyone else is saying; cut down on the zero days and use as much of the day as you can for walking. I typically walk from 8 AM to 6 or 7 PM, but that includes a couple hours down time. Say, forty minutes for lunch, and a fifteen minute break every two or three hours.
fiddlehead
03-04-2014, 21:05
I'll throw my 2 cents in here:
IMO it takes about 1,000 miles to truly get your body in condition for thru-hiking.
If it's your first hike, I'd figure you can do 20's AFTER that first thousand.
If it's your second, it will only take a week or two. (your muscles remember)
Lots of good advice above but, I think you can do what you want to do by taking it easy early, let those muscles and feet build up where they don't hurt anymore and plan on busting out 20's around Shenendoah National Park.
Sure you can do them earlier, but you might pull a muscle or overtretch a tendon and postpone the rest of your hike for an unnecessary problem.
Good luck and have fun.
In addition to the unforeseen, there will be times when terrain will make it impractical. But I think the big question is why? Do you have a time constraint? I saw a lot of folks in their 20s and in incredible shape get beat up physically and mentally by convincing themselves they had to walk big miles every day. My best advice would be to ease into it, listen closely to your body and only do what you’re comfortable with. What you’re talking is probably doable for you; just make sure you’re not taking from the experience by stressing about millage. I think it’s probably smart to go into it thinking this is the only opportunity you’ll ever have to do this and make the most of it. I caught up to a LOT of fast hikers in VT, NH, and ME who had decided to slow down and enjoy it more.
I’ve never once met a thru hiker who told me they wished they’d gone faster
I agree with the above. I am 59 and did a thru last year 2013. I saw many young uns on the trail early on with over use injuries, knees, ankle, blisters, and the like. Some of them got off the trail. I started slow in Georgia and took many zero days in the beginning. In Virginia I picked up the pace and was doing over 20 miles a day and got my first shin splints ever. Listen to your body the parts you think will give you trouble probably won't, and the parts you think won't give you trouble will. I finished strong doing high miles in very rugged terrain through NH and Maine.
Data, I'll be looking for you.
Karl, There is no "need" to do 20 a day. That's just the pace I hike at. Very comfortable for me. I guess my question should have been is it realistic to Maintain that pace?
This reply is what I was looking for. Thank you.
colorado_rob
03-05-2014, 12:02
Karl, There is no "need" to do 20 a day. That's just the pace I hike at. Very comfortable for me. I guess my question should have been is it realistic to Maintain that pace? The bottom line is Yes, for about half the trail or more. But some sections no way, not even for the very strong (excepting the elite, of course). Given your age and strength, similar to mine, I'm guessing your overall average will be more like 18, but again, just a guess and what I'll wind up averaging (most likely), all said and done. This assumes also that you have a lightweight kit, 12-14 pound base weight or less. If you're one of these carry-the-kitchen-sink types with 20+ pound base weight, fugedaboudid ! :-)
Karl, There is no "need" to do 20 a day. That's just the pace I hike at. Very comfortable for me. I guess my question should have been is it realistic to Maintain that pace?
Here is what I found when relating day or weekend hiking mileage to thru hiking. I was never able to maintain the same pace on my thru as I did on shorter hikes. The main reason for that is because you have to live on the trail. For a weekend you can get by with not washing up as much, doing laundry etc. On a thru you have to do these chores at some point. Also, on a shorter hike you can leave your feet dirty knowing you will get a small blister the next day. No big deal on a shorter hike, you don't have to get up the next day and hike on that small blister, on a thru you do. I found that these types of activities made the biggest difference between my mileage on short duration vs. my thru. It bothered me a bit at the beginning because I didn't understand why I was able to hike 3mph all day everyday. I quickly got over that and focused more on a sustaining consistently high mileage vs. racing on a daily or even momentary basis. Hope that makes sense.
PS. You will also likely take a hit in your daily mileage due to zeros, neros, trail magic and other temptations. It will happen often enough that you will rarely have what I consider a "normal" hiking day. But these are all part of the trail experience.
takethisbread
03-05-2014, 13:56
wouldn't 20 mpd be the fastest pace ever by someone over 60? i hope you are the best over 60 hiker ever. I hike a lot and am much younger than u. I can do 20's in areas and have done a 30 once. I am doing a thru hike this year and hoping to average just around 11.5 mpd which is a 6 month hike
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Slo-go'en
03-05-2014, 14:03
Since most people hike shelter to shelter, the shelter spacing is what really determins how far you go most days. As I'm now an over 60 hiker myself, I like it when every-other-shelter is about 15 miles apart. When they start to become 20-22 miles apart, that extra 5-7 miles can be a struggle to do.
Thru hiked in 2001 at the age of 66. My average mileage for the whole way was 10.8 miles a day.
oldwetherman
03-05-2014, 22:25
1+ to what Slo-go'en said about shelter spacing....not so much about sleeping in them but rather water and privy availability. Biggest thing I had to learn is to "take what the trail gives you." Somedays
the trail, weather and your energy levels will give you 20 to 30 miles a day.....sometimes it will only give you 8 to 10.
kayak karl
03-05-2014, 22:49
That's just the pace I hike at. Very comfortable for me. ,but where are you doing 20 per day. whats your elevation gain and loss? i was doing 25+ in south jersey, Georgia 12
im not saying you can't do it, but failed expectations effect everybody differently.
1+ to what Slo-go'en said about shelter spacing....not so much about sleeping in them but rather water and privy availability. Biggest thing I had to learn is to "take what the trail gives you." Somedays
the trail, weather and your energy levels will give you 20 to 30 miles a day.....sometimes it will only give you 8 to 10.
I saw a graph a while back of some folks' thru hike, with vertical bars representing miles-per-day, arranged along a time axis. There was a clear pattern. Low miles leaving town, miles-per-day increasing each day, peaking just before the next town stop. I can absolutely understand how that happens. Slow start bloated from town food carrying a heavy pack. Pack gets lighter each day, and motivation builds for the next town stop. After two or three days of big miles -- a zero or two in town to recharge, and the cycle repeats.
Anyways, these guys were routinely peaking at 20-25 MPD in each cycle, but averaging only 13 or so for the trip.
You are suffering from spreadsheet hiking. "Alls you gotta do" is hike three miles an hour for seven hours and poof the spreadsheet says you have 21 miles. Reality is far more difficult than hiking via spreadsheet. But having said that, hiking 20 miles per day for an in-shape, fairly lightweight, motivated hikers is fairly straight-forward. You will do much longer days than you are expecting. I doubt seriously if you will average more than 2.5 mph. Doesn't means your goal is impossible, far from it. You will hike longer hours to achieve the pace. On a thru hike you can choose to get up earlier, hike later, take shorter and fewer breaks. This is the way to get 20mpd, not by worrying about mph.
What he said.
colorado_rob
03-06-2014, 09:28
wouldn't 20 mpd be the fastest pace ever by someone over 60? i hope you are the best over 60 hiker ever. I hike a lot and am much younger than u. I can do 20's in areas and have done a 30 once. I am doing a thru hike this year and hoping to average just around 11.5 mpd which is a 6 month hike
With due respect, you underestimate age and endurance, at least for those of us old farts who have kept very fit over the years.
Google up some ultra running sites sometime and look at some of the oldsters that still completely kick butt for very long treks. Just one example, the JMT record was held by a 61 year old, Reinhold Metzger, for many years. Check out Buzz Burrell sometime, and many others.
Aging does suck in many ways, if I remember correctly :-) of course, but one huge bonus of aging is that overall endurance doesn't decrease, in fact, in many ways it increases. I can hike much longer days now that I'm older; maybe it's just the mental aspect of it; we've lived long enough to have experienced enough physical discomfort that we are more used to it and just shrug it off, and suck it up; just my personal theory of why I can go longer now. Sure, raw speed is declining, at least for me and other 60-ish folks I know, hence why I suggested 3 MPH average over rougher terrain is unrealistic, but low 2's doable all day long with no problem whatsoever, 20+ mile days at easy pace are easy as pie.
It all comes down to whether the OP is a typical 60 year old who has let himself go, or if he has kept fit over the decades like many of us.
Georgia????? Having done the southern AT now, I'll never understand why folks keep saying how tough GA is. The trail in GA was smooth and soft and awesome. Sure, lots of up and down, but so what. Breaks up the monotony.
I turned 66 on the trail last year and in setting my daily targets I estimated 2 miles per hour-and I was very happy when I met or exceeded that goal. Hiking the trail is more about looking at terrain and weather than speed. Your 3mph flat surface speed means nothing on the trail when you have an 800 foot climb over 1.5 miles. And--you cannot actually prepare for the downhills that put incredible strain on your knees, ankles and hips. As you get your trail legs you will be able to go longer distances. I did my first 20 mile day going into Fontana Dam--couldn't wait to get a hot shower! But I hiked a solid 10 hours that day. Don't go on the trail to speed through it You will be experiencing a magical, spiritual time and be forever changed by it.
+1 to Colorado Rob's comment....I can hike much longer days now that I could say 10 years ago (combination of the mental aspect or simply more used to it or both) For years I believed I could only do 12-13 on an average day.....this past summer did 500 miles including GA and put in a number of 18's without problem. I simply never think much about it - definitely stop and take in the sights but simply walk longer each day
I'll echo some of what colorado_rob is sayin' tho he's undoubtedly in far better shape than me. I was a more "efficient" hiker at 55 -- higher average miles per day -- than I was at 37. Lighter load, maybe easier terrain, and also having a fixed schedule for my hikes, so few or no zeroes.
Oh, my head is spinning with these posts.
Then everything feels better when I remember to age gracefully - eat lots of chocolate, drink good wine consistently in moderation, everything is not about me, exercise, brush my teeth, laugh often, don't take everything so seriously, and have lots of spontaneous sex.
Julio, you'll figure it out once on the AT. If you don't you will go home.
full conditions
03-06-2014, 15:18
Scores of young people have to quit the trail every year due to overuse and traumatic injuries. I take it as a matter of faith that you don't want that to happen to you. Start out slow and low - maybe in the 8 - 12 mile region (less if you have to) and add on miles when you feel like it - but not too much too soon. When I did my thru I was 17 and fairly fit at the start but still couldn't comfortably do the kind of mileage you're talking about (although certainly your mileage may vary). For me, it wasn't until I left Damascus that I felt strong enough to start walking long days and even then I had to listen to my body and adjust and adapt on the fly. Also, instead of zero days, consider half days around five miles-ish - zeros are expensive monetarily as well as mileage-wise plus you'll get nearly as good a rest doing a short day as doing a zero. Lastly, don't underestimate the morale toll that heavy mile days can take - this is supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime not five months of drudgery.
lonehiker
03-07-2014, 18:01
I think that you are being overly optimistic to think that you can maintain 3mph over any length of time. 20 mpd isn't tough but doing it in under 7 hours, consistently, is.
takethisbread
03-08-2014, 10:01
With due respect, you underestimate age and endurance, at least for those of us old farts who have kept very fit over the years.
Google up some ultra running sites sometime and look at some of the oldsters that still completely kick butt for very long treks. Just one example, the JMT record was held by a 61 year old, Reinhold Metzger, for many years. Check out Buzz Burrell sometime, and many others.
Aging does suck in many ways, if I remember correctly :-) of course, but one huge bonus of aging is that overall endurance doesn't decrease, in fact, in many ways it increases. I can hike much longer days now that I'm older; maybe it's just the mental aspect of it; we've lived long enough to have experienced enough physical discomfort that we are more used to it and just shrug it off, and suck it up; just my personal theory of why I can go longer now. Sure, raw speed is declining, at least for me and other 60-ish folks I know, hence why I suggested 3 MPH average over rougher terrain is unrealistic, but low 2's doable all day long with no problem whatsoever, 20+ mile days at easy pace are easy as pie.
It all comes down to whether the OP is a typical 60 year old who has let himself go, or if he has kept fit over the decades like many of us.
Georgia????? Having done the southern AT now, I'll never understand why folks keep saying how tough GA is. The trail in GA was smooth and soft and awesome. Sure, lots of up and down, but so what. Breaks up the monotony.
this is good news! thanks for the info. that said you and I both know 20mpd average on the AT is highly unlikely, at any age. far less than 1% of people that leave springer even approach that average for a thru I'm guessing
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this is good news! thanks for the info. that said you and I both know 20mpd average on the AT is highly unlikely, at any age. far less than 1% of people that leave springer even approach that average for a thru I'm guessing
Exactly. The median (typical) through hiker does the trail in five months, which works out to around 15 MPD. How many do it in 4 months? I'm guessing just the fittest 5%, of all ages. Those guys are doing 18 MPD. Those who finish in 6 months (let us say, a significant portion of finishers) are doing 12 MPD.
The typical thru will be banging out routine 20 mile days in easy sections like SNP, MD, PA and MA, but not so much in the Whites and Maine. There will be easy days in hard sections and vice versa. Ridgelines are never flat.
Hey anybody or everybody,
I've been hiking for many years. I am 60 years old but very active. I work construction for a living as well as owning a restaurant. I work long and hard hours. I am one of those lucky people who has been blessed with a pretty strong body (for a pint sized 5'9"). I am planning a NOBO thru hike for march of 2015. Recently I have been doing day and section hikes with a full pack to get conditioned. I've been keeping track of my eating habits and mileage. It appears that I average close to 3 miles an hour when I hike. If I figure on 3 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon I estimate I can cover about 20 miles a day. Am I being to optimistic? I understand there will be zero days and unforeseen delays, but on an average day is 20 miles do-able? I want to average 120 miles a week. Not in a race, just planning.
IMHO you are wise to prepare systematically before going on the trail. As a lifelong hiker/backpacker I was astounded at the number of folks I met starting at Springer that essentially decided to do their preparation by hiking. From what you write, it seems likely that you can do 120 mpw. My first day out of Springer I hiked 17 miles and find that to be a good pace. I need a reason to hike less than 15 and a reason to hike more than 20. If I hike 20 or less, I am not over fatiguing myself. If I hike much less than 17, I am hanging out in camp too much.
It's very personal. So I'd sum it up like this: Don't go into it thinking that you can only do what others have done. If your preparation tells you that you can hike 20 mpd, then assume you can. If you listen to your body, you'll know.
IMHO you are wise to prepare systematically before going on the trail. As a lifelong hiker/backpacker I was astounded at the number of folks I met starting at Springer that essentially decided to do their preparation by hiking.
Why would that be astounding? I don't understand.
Georgia????? Having done the southern AT now, I'll never understand why folks keep saying how tough GA is. The trail in GA was smooth and soft and awesome. Sure, lots of up and down, but so what. Breaks up the monotony.
Excellent post Rob. I think most people who start the AT have heavy packs, no experience and are out of shape. So, I think many people perceive the start of the AT to be more difficult. Someone in shape, with experience and a light pack will see it as a lovely walk in some beautiful mountains.
Which begs the question, how come people stillsay that there is no reason to exercise regularly before an AT thru-hike and the trail will get you in shape???? :)
Drybones
03-08-2014, 12:14
I'm like you, an old geezer (65) that's been blessed with good health, with the exception of two torn meniscus. When I started at Springer I had a friend who did the first 4 days with me and he set the pace, I'd never done more than 12 miles in a day before I started and had been backpacking about a year or so, did 12 the first day, then 16, 18,18, and after the friend left me 20 miles a day there after. After hiking with 4.25 lb shoes prior to starting the AT, the trail runners I switched to were like having nothing on my feet and made it much easier. It takes me 9 hours hiking at a comfortable pace and taking three breaks to hike 20 miles. The farther you go, the easier it gets. I found that in the long run I could go farther hiking at a comfortable pace rather than pushing it, don't stop on hills, keep going until you reach the top, if you stop you'll be just as tired after 30 yards as you was when you stopped and you lost time.
I saw a graph a while back of some folks' thru hike, with vertical bars representing miles-per-day, arranged along a time axis. There was a clear pattern. Low miles leaving town, miles-per-day increasing each day, peaking just before the next town stop. I can absolutely understand how that happens. Slow start bloated from town food carrying a heavy pack. Pack gets lighter each day, and motivation builds for the next town stop. After two or three days of big miles -- a zero or two in town to recharge, and the cycle repeats.
Anyways, these guys were routinely peaking at 20-25 MPD in each cycle, but averaging only 13 or so for the trip.
The graph may have been something I put together and used to track my son's thru-hike (he had a hard end date and was determined to finish by then). I also used it to track Matt Kirk's record hike.
If you take a look at it, you can see the average pace for a completed NOBO AT Thru is about 13 miles/day, from mapman's data.
Achilles was 19 years old, an elite athlete, who had grown up hiking in the Whites and already summited the 48 4,000 footers, and for his age had significant experience in camping and backpacking. He did need to take a week off for a knee injury, and another for a tragedy, but he finished averaging just under 18 miles/day.
I'm not saying that the OP cannot average 20 miles/day, but NJ is not a good basis for an extrapolation, and achieving that average is highly unlikely.
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