WalkingChris
04-12-2015, 09:11
Hi to all! Newbie here with day-hiking experience, planning a half-thru from Springer to Harper's in 2016. Still doing a lot of research and reading and have already started to plan some overnights this year for prep and experience.
Two issues I couldn't find discussed on this board or much of anywhere else:
1. Dropping body weight. A whole lot of discussion of pack weight, but not much info on dropping body weight for long-distance hiking. Now, I realize a whole lot of you folks are probably already at optimum weight, but what about us other folks that pack on weight in the winters? I am female, 35, six feet tall, big-framed, and usually weigh around 220 pounds. When summer gets started, though, I fight off about 20 pounds with a chair and a whip, to keep my ankles and knees happy. Is this something that just happens naturally long-distance or is it something to be done on purpose pre-trip? I figured I'd probably want to push down to around 180 (as low as I can usually get on healthy diet and exercise) for this trip, but from reading about it, it doesn't seem like much of a concern. Thoughts? Should I worry more about conditioning or more about body weight? Which is the higher priority? I want to be kind to my joints and do the best thing.
2. Foot expansion/'growth' and shoes. A few people have said their feet grow up to a size on this trip, and I had to laugh because this happened to me when I was about 24 during one awesome and quite grueling summer of traipsing around OhioPyle. I went from a woman's size 9.5US to a 10.5US. My concern is that I already have BIG feet for a woman. If they get much bigger, finding shoes on the hike might be a problem (and several people have said not to buy shoes ahead of time, for precisely this reason). Do outfitters along the southern way carry large sizes? Since there's no way to stop it from happening, if it does, can I just buy men's runners instead, or is this frowned upon for some reason? Has anyone experiences a second period of foot growth when getting into long-distance? Around home, I wear Starter sneakers (holy cow are they comfy but I destroy them quickly), so I'm already out of my element when looking at real trail shoes.
Just trying to get myself as prepared as possible. Thanks in advance for reading and any guidance you can offer. Happy trails! :)
Two issues I couldn't find discussed on this board or much of anywhere else:
1. Dropping body weight. A whole lot of discussion of pack weight, but not much info on dropping body weight for long-distance hiking. Now, I realize a whole lot of you folks are probably already at optimum weight, but what about us other folks that pack on weight in the winters? I am female, 35, six feet tall, big-framed, and usually weigh around 220 pounds. When summer gets started, though, I fight off about 20 pounds with a chair and a whip, to keep my ankles and knees happy. Is this something that just happens naturally long-distance or is it something to be done on purpose pre-trip? I figured I'd probably want to push down to around 180 (as low as I can usually get on healthy diet and exercise) for this trip, but from reading about it, it doesn't seem like much of a concern. Thoughts? Should I worry more about conditioning or more about body weight? Which is the higher priority? I want to be kind to my joints and do the best thing.
2. Foot expansion/'growth' and shoes. A few people have said their feet grow up to a size on this trip, and I had to laugh because this happened to me when I was about 24 during one awesome and quite grueling summer of traipsing around OhioPyle. I went from a woman's size 9.5US to a 10.5US. My concern is that I already have BIG feet for a woman. If they get much bigger, finding shoes on the hike might be a problem (and several people have said not to buy shoes ahead of time, for precisely this reason). Do outfitters along the southern way carry large sizes? Since there's no way to stop it from happening, if it does, can I just buy men's runners instead, or is this frowned upon for some reason? Has anyone experiences a second period of foot growth when getting into long-distance? Around home, I wear Starter sneakers (holy cow are they comfy but I destroy them quickly), so I'm already out of my element when looking at real trail shoes.
Just trying to get myself as prepared as possible. Thanks in advance for reading and any guidance you can offer. Happy trails! :)