Accommodating a new hiker 2/3 through trail? [NOBO]

[DjangoRob]

Hey guys. There's a possibility of a friend of mine will be joining me and "Skipper the Eyechild" on the trail, somewhere between New York and Massachusetts and then continuing with us to Katahdin.

Now, I know the first few weeks are difficult, and it's important to go slow, so what I figured we'd do is slacken our pace a little, keep an eye out on how he's going, and after three weeks he'd be ready to kick it back up to how we were going before.

We're already kicking off early to give ourselves a little extra time so that we can finish the trail, see some friends etc. before we have to fly back to university, and I imagine that once he's up to a more acclimatised fitness level, he'll be good to go, but does anyone have any advice for this period or the idea in general?

Failing that, smart-arse comments and gorp recipes also accepted :).

[Gray Blazer]

OK, here's a smart arse comment. WWDD What Would Django Do? He'd probably stop early every day and have a gypsy jam session. Seriously, your friend should probably be the one to do a little work to accomodate you as well as you slowing down a little bit at first for him. He should take lots of practice hikes/practice walking up and down hills (or stadium steps or stairs in a tall building if no hills are available). I would think that you would be able to pick the pace back up before 3 weeks. Good luck!

[rafe]

NY/MA seems as good a place as any for a warm-up. But your friend will still need to get in shape fairly quickly. The hills start getting bigger in a hurry.

[Ender]

I'll suggest that possibly you try to discourage your friend from joining you. You'd be surprised how protective you'll become of "Your Hike", and disruptions to your schedule will irritate you.

Here's my reasoning... at that point in the hike you'll be pulling 20+ mile days on a fairly regular basis. Your friend, when he starts, should probably only be doing 10-12 mile days for at least the first week (if not longer) to get his body into shape at a healthy speed. Are you really willing to cut your speed in half? Will you be willing to do that when you're neck deep into "Your Hike"?

I'd say, if your friend can get into good enough shape that he only cuts your pace by maybe 20% for the first couple of weeks, it's worth thinking about. If he can't do that, it's not worth it.

At least that's my opinion... yours may vary.

[emerald]

I like Gray Blazer's suggestion to climb steps and I would add with a pack as heavy or heavier than will be carried on the A.T.

Tell your friend to pear down his or her pack weight as much as possible. That will help in getting him or her up to your level of endurance faster and reduce the risk of injury.

WhiteBlaze.net has an article on pre-hike conditioning you may find helpful.

Sorry, no smart-arse comments or gorp recipes -- that's not my specialty, unless the occasional smart-arse comment happens to come to me in a timely fashion. Don't have one at the moment.:rolleyes:;)

[emerald]

I'll suggest that possibly you try to discourage your friend from joining you... , it's not worth it.

At least that's my opinion... yours may vary.

I would think his opinion would depend upon how much he values including his friend in his hike. The participation of his friend may be important enough to him to make the necessary adjustments.

As I've suggested previously to others in his position, he could add rocks to his pack or carry both packs to level the playing field.:D

[Pringles]

Maybe he could start north of you, hiking alone for just a few days, and when you catch up to him, he'll be "sort of" in trail condition. You may still have to slow down a bit, but he should be closer to your speed and have sort of worked the kinks out.

Beth

[Mother's Finest]

You Brits can persevere thru anything.

I am sure your buddy will be fine.

peace
mf

[bfitz]

OK, here's a smart arse comment. WWDD What Would Django Do? He'd probably stop early every day and have a gypsy jam session. Seriously, your friend should probably be the one to do a little work to accomodate you as well as you slowing down a little bit at first for him. He should take lots of practice hikes/practice walking up and down hills (or stadium steps or stairs in a tall building if no hills are available). I would think that you would be able to pick the pace back up before 3 weeks. Good luck!
Gypsy jam indeed! How many fingers you got Django?
But seriously...you'll probably be grateful for the slowdown, and unless this person is out of shape physically they won't slow you down much. When I'm hiking with a group we all acknowledge the possibility that we might not sleep in the same place every night, but will leave notes in registers and set up regrouping in town or at stops along the way. Don't share essential gear because if he stops short of where you are camping someone will have to go without.

[troglobil]

Back in '86 I joined my brother for a week or so on his thru. I started a bit north of Harpers Ferry and hiked south till we met, then turned around and went NOBO with him. This got me my trail legs before joining him so I would not slow him down. We did not always hike together, but met up at the shelters each night.
The only bad part was I picked a time when he hit the dreaded Cumberland Valley road walk.

[TurkeyBacon]

There was a strange phenomenon on the Long Trail. All the thru-hikers were recomending to go slow to all the new long trail hikers. They hiked their own pace and some/many of them hiked the same pace as us. I chalked it up to the longer daylight hours of the summer (their start) vs the shorter daylight hours of spring (our start). You might have to slow down a few miles per day but you might be surprised at how many miles he can pack in (or not?). I aggree with Beth's idea of him starting a distance ahead of you and cathing up to him. Never tried it or heard of it done, but it seems to be a good idea.
TB

[mountain squid]

A slightly different take...

If your friend is coming from England it could be a logistical nightmare trying to hook-up. It is very difficult to pinpoint where you will be at any given time, let alone planning now for where you might be later in the summer. And, the possibility exists that you and "Skipper the Eyechild", for whatever reason, might not even be on the trail come summertime. Will your friend have refundable airline tickets?

Logistics aside, you already know that you will have to slow down, so as long as you are willing to do that (not only now, but in several months when "conditions" will definitely be different), then go for it. Have fun.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

[Twofiddy]

I'll suggest that possibly you try to discourage your friend from joining you. You'd be surprised how protective you'll become of "Your Hike", and disruptions to your schedule will irritate you.

Here's my reasoning... at that point in the hike you'll be pulling 20+ mile days on a fairly regular basis. Your friend, when he starts, should probably only be doing 10-12 mile days for at least the first week (if not longer) to get his body into shape at a healthy speed. Are you really willing to cut your speed in half? Will you be willing to do that when you're neck deep into "Your Hike"?.

Not to mention the fact that the DAMN SKEETERS in NY and CT and MA over the summer are going to bit the living daylights out of you. Worst Part of the Trail is Delaware Water Gap to VT line. You are gonna do that section in like 25 mile days in about 3 week flat out hustle.

You are not going to want to slow down in that section because of some of those things. Not to mention the nasty water, inconsiderate weekend hikers, and other riff raff.

Tell your friend to get his but in shape, start hiking about 75 miles ahead of you going the same direction, and you guys let him hike slow for a few days while he gets his legs and then you catch up to him and hike together.

[sleeveless]

I also would agree with Gray Blaze and Shades of Gray. I would suggest that he be walking at least 10 miles a day with his pack at least a few weeks before he leaves home. I also agree that when you get to NY and New England, you are thinking about your goal and not slowing your hike but if you are willing and your friend works on getting in shape before the trail it will probably be fun for both of you. Also the idea of him starting ahead of you has both good and bad points. If he starts with you you will be able to help him lighten his pack and show him a few things if he is new to backpacking.
Sometimes it is not as easy as you think to catch up with another hiker (but then you are young and strong) and the reason for him coming is to join you not to be wainting a couple of weeks or more for you to catch up.

Enough rambling.

[Pokey2006]

Then again, you might be surprised by how darn TIRED you are by the time you get to New England -- you might welcome an excuse to slow down a little bit and take it easy. Plus, the scenery starts getting pretty again, so you'll want to take your time to enjoy it.

Definitely stick with your plan to start early to accomodate the slower pace later in the trip.

Hope it works out.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I feel your friend should do as much as possible to get physically ready for the hiking ~and~ you should slow down to accommodate him. In addition to the rigors of the hike, your friend will be dealing with some pretty massive environmental changes -- he'll be way out of his normal time zone experiencing totally different air, foods, water, 'life-pace' and customs.