View Full Version : any slow hikers out there?
I noticed a slow hiker society thread.. turned out to be in the women's forum. Oh well. Anyway, I am posting this to see if there are some of you out there, either gender, who like to hike at a slow and leisurely pace.
Myself, even as a mid 40's male.. I can hike up most anything in the East yet I tend to get passed by almost everyone. In my view... who cares how long it takes? It is getting to those nice scenic spots (including summits!!) and being there that counts! In my 2006 thru hiker ( and yes I did the whole trail!) My longest day was 22 miles (flat part of NJ) and I averaged only 12 some miles per day over the whole trip. I enjoyed my self most when I slowed down and took my time (and I slowed down especially in VT, NH and ME).
Perhaps we could set up a forum for leisurely hikers.. those who like to to nice and slow.. and take their time to soak up the mountain air and scenery! Any of you from the New England states?
Especially interested to see if there are any men under 50 who enjoy hiking at a slow and relaxed pace (say 2 mph or backpacking and doing just 10 mpd or spending extended time relaxing on summits).
David
hopefulhiker
02-07-2009, 12:27
I am a really slow hiker.. In order to do a thru hike.. I had to do several things to compensate.. go lightweight with expensive equipment, do a lot of slackpacking, and for the regular days I would get up before dawn and start hiking at dawn.. I would hike until dark and usually be the last one to get to a shelter.. Many of the people "I hiked with" would reach the shelter in the middle afternoon and just lay around for the rest of the day.. I do not regret my pace, and actually took a couple of side trails , do some trail maintenance and other things that slowed me down.. I really did not like "the forced march" feel that you get trying to make a certain amount of miles a day.. When I got in shape I could comfortably do about eighteen miles a day under normal conditions.(Not the Whites, or Maine). I felt like more a tourist than an athlete...
As I remember you were only slow heading DOWN the hills. Going UP you zoomed right past me!
traildust
02-07-2009, 12:30
David,
I am with you. Of course I hike with the significant other and she will never do more than 2 miles per hour even on the downhill or flat trail. She is just not going to go fast. We were usually the last to leave ever morning but we always got to the shelter before dark and found our hiking companions sitting there, some for hours because they left so early. Anyway, slow hiking is for sure a style we embrace.
hopefulhiker
02-07-2009, 12:31
That was when I was still out of shape.. The only one I could keep up with was Mother Goose who had part of her foot missing!
Red Hat you were still a lot faster and more competent hiker than I was for the first 400 miles...
Ron Haven
02-07-2009, 12:34
I am slow down steep terain or steps.
I'm over 50, and I live in Durham, NC. I've day walked sections over the years, never had the time to take off. Now I'm 65, semi retired, and I'm finally ready to tackle the trail. I honestly know nothing about hiking, other than a desire to do it. I present myself as a rookie, looking for any help, guidance, besides "don't do it!"
You idea of a group of slow hikers would seem to be a great idea. I certainly would join in. I guess I should ask, is 65 even a viable age to begin this trek?
Thanks for all responses.
Lots of 65 year olds due to retirement. People have hiked the trail in their 80's.
StarLyte
02-07-2009, 12:41
Seems like I never fit into any category.
I'm a moderate hiker, but if my allergies kick in or drastic change in temperature, it affects my asthma. I take precautions, but sometimes it doesn't help.
I can't hike with slower hikers because I get frustrated, yet sometimes going up a hill can be harder on some days, but I can pull a 10-15 mile hike day.
I'd hike with you any of you guys though :sun
See you out there...
Slo-go'en
02-07-2009, 13:03
Yeap, sure do miss the old days when I could sleep in to 9 -10 am and then do 15 miles in 5 hours. Now I need to get up at dawn and hope to finish the day by dusk.
Seems every year the trail gets longer and the hills steeper, espcially here in NH!
65 is DIFINITELY in the arena... don't let age stop you. I know plenty of folks older then you that have done a whole lot of hiking.... some of them very VERY strong and not just physically. I hope you give it a shot.
i am not into slow normally. I like miles cuz I don't want to carry alot of food...but, there are days when it feels right to just slow down.
WritinginCT
02-07-2009, 13:33
I am definitely a slow hiker. I like to enjoy my surroundings and I'm always looking for odd photo ops plus I have short little legs. Someone with a 36" inseam vs. my 23" inseam will always be able to outdistance me very quickly, even if we are walking the same step pace. We might cover the same miles- but I have to do it in almost twice as many steps.
Knowing that I am slow has made me look at my section and thru planning carefully. I'll need to start a thru earlier in the year and deal with more cold/nasty weather et cetera. That requires not only slightly different mind and skill sets, but also gear/clothing.
I've also decided that my ADD hiking style would probably annoy the crap out of most people and that I would make a horrible side-by-side hiking partner. I get very easily distracted by interesting things I see as I hike. (for example - last summer I stopped my day hike dead in its tracks to spend an hour examining and photographing a rotted log blooming with bright orange fungii)
Nothing wrong with being fast or slow, to each their own.
I'm from Cape Cod. No hills here. Looking for hikers to do sections of the AT CT,Ma,VT,NH and Maine. I turn 50 this year so I'm not as fast as I use to be.
I was 64 when I walked between Springer and Katahdin in 1993. Everyone passed me going up hill. I usually caught up on the level and down hill sections. I had worked at a sedentary job for years before heading south. But I had done a lot of weekend and occasional 4-day walks.
I lived most of my adult life with an increasingly leaky heart valve. It was repaired a few years ago, but a medicine designed to help regulate my heart rhythm messed up my lungs, so I continue to be a slow hiker.
Now I confine my walking to nearby land trust preserves. I suspect I could still complete the AT today, providing I spread the hike over two years. I'm tempted, but probably won't. Age brings health complications. Medicines, paraphenalia, all diminish the fun of a long walk.
Weary
Nothing wrong with hiking slow, in fact lots right with it.
I am a sprinter, have been all my life, and have hiked all my life. Long miles at that.
At 40, and after recent illness, the contrast between speed and endurance has been brought to stark relief. My hiking partner might be soaking wet half my size. I have much longer legs, and can move much faster. I will say "I need to stretch my legs" and take off, but then I need to stop for a bit. She will catch up with me in a short while, and tell me she doesn't need to stop for a rest, and keep moving.
Slow and steady. After many years of sprinting, then resting, I have learned to just fall in behind her and enjoy the pace, and the photo ops we get in GSMNP.
I consider myself a "saunterer". Idly drifting along enjoying the sights. The breeze in the trees, the dancing leaves. A calling bird.
What, me hurry?
johnnybgood
02-07-2009, 16:24
I'd call myself a leisurely paced hiker ,don't want to miss anything and I will park myself at a summit view for a spell . Guess thats why I've never hiked a twenty mile day before . I'm still physically capable of racking up the miles ,I just choose not to .
theinfamousj
02-07-2009, 18:21
I am definitely a slow hiker. I like to enjoy my surroundings and I'm always looking for odd photo ops plus I have short little legs. Someone with a 36" inseam vs. my 23" inseam will always be able to outdistance me very quickly, even if we are walking the same step pace. We might cover the same miles- but I have to do it in almost twice as many steps.
I've also decided that my ADD hiking style would probably annoy the crap out of most people and that I would make a horrible side-by-side hiking partner. I get very easily distracted by interesting things I see as I hike. (for example - last summer I stopped my day hike dead in its tracks to spend an hour examining and photographing a rotted log blooming with bright orange fungii)
Woo hoo! :banana Someone else like me!
As a scientist, not only do I set a slow pace (but damned if I don't require any rest breaks :) ) but I also like to move slowly so I can keep an eye out for any tiny interesting science- or nature-related thing that I may pass. And if I see it, then I must photograph it.
I figure that I'll get to the end of the trail in due time, but to get there quickly means that I will have missed the sight of orchids just breaking through the forest duff, or Mayapples just turning, or shelf fungi, or any other thing.
I mean, the views from balds and overlooks are great ... but they aren't the only views to be had. Who's with me?!
Ramble~On
02-07-2009, 18:35
Slow, fast, medium.....whatever you call it - it sounds like a speed!
Yoda would not be happy with any of you speaking of such things!
It's about the journey, the destination and what experiences you have along the way - it's not about the speed at which you do it. HYOH at your own pace and don't fret anything.
rainmaker
02-07-2009, 22:24
I hike like I bike, start out slow easy and then back off.
Just Jack
02-07-2009, 23:04
Slow hiker----Heck, I'm so slow that I have to go by the same spot three times
before I leave a shadow.
Yup, I'm very slow and everyone passes me. I had two snails and a turtle pass me my last section. Being overweight, 50, and short little legs, I have no choice but to hike slow.
On top of that, I too, stop and take pictures of everything. I have pics of the orange fungus, shelf fungus, snails, spiders, efts. Did I say I was slow???
my motto has always been "walk slow, and then slow down."
fifo
We don't use no steenkin labels!
Here's the facts:
In the mountains 2 mph on flats, 1 mph normal ups and downs and 1/2 mph on serious climbs.
Classify it as you like.
Grinder
PS
I get passed a lot
boarstone
02-08-2009, 12:00
There's a reason that when the AT shelters were erected, they were placed "at a daily leisurely walking pace, apart".
MoBill122
02-09-2009, 18:56
I'm like LittleRed... I stop for photos of any little thing my eye catches. I feel I have missed to much if I'm going more that 8-10 miles a day. And lordy, in Spring... 5-6 miles a day, if flowers are starting to show up
neighbor dave
02-09-2009, 19:27
:-? i'm walkin', how much slower can i go???:confused:
YoungMoose
02-09-2009, 19:54
I hike fast but sometimes i like to hike slow to take it all in
WILLIAM HAYES
02-09-2009, 20:40
don't let age keep you off the trail I hiked a section one time with a guy in his mid 70's who averaged about 8 miles a day who started hiking at 60...you don't have to rack up 20 mile days I average about 12 miles/day and I am in my early 60's--- just go do it we can always invent a thousand reasons for not getting out of our comfort zone-----hike your own hike and enjoy it see you down the trail
Feral Bill
02-09-2009, 21:26
My kids won't hike with me because I'm too slow.
I'm like LittleRed... I stop for photos of any little thing my eye catches. I feel I have missed to much if I'm going more that 8-10 miles a day. And lordy, in Spring... 5-6 miles a day, if flowers are starting to show up
A very wise post, which I suspect most of the active White Blaze members won't understand.
Weary
bikerscars
02-09-2009, 22:50
i enjoy slow...like letting it all soak in...hyoh
Some folks may think I'm slow...I prefer the term "Special needs hiker".
:-? i'm walkin', how much slower can i go???:confused:
As Weary says....
"A very wise post, which I suspect most of the active White Blaze members won't understand."
Hi Gone to be slow and easy for me not in any big hurry plan on stoping to take photos stop at look out have a lunch or stop at a nice spot any where from 5 to 10 miles
a day their are a lot of great places to stop on the A.T and this is a one in a life time thing so why not have fun.
SouthMark
02-10-2009, 11:07
Just got back from a three day hike on the Alabama Pinhoti. Was passed by two turtles.
Surplusman
02-16-2009, 19:47
I'm 62 and had the excitement of a stroke two years ago that left me with a bum right wheel as a souvenir. I can only go about 4 miles a day, far short of what I was used to, but it doesn't matter any more. All I could think about for the month I was in the hospital, learning how to walk again, was hiking the AT. And bum wheel and all, I'm doing just that and will continue to do so as long as I can. JUST HIKE!
4eyedbuzzard
02-16-2009, 20:50
Three back injuries have left me with weight restrictions and a bum left leg. But as long as I keep it under 25 lbs with food and water, I'm good to go. I can motor right along on the flats and downhills, but the uphills seriously kill me especially after the first 500 feet or so. Whatever the terrain will allow me to do is fine with me. Could be as little as 4-5 miles per day or as much as 10-12. It doesn't really matter. I like to eat breakfast and dinner without a headlamp as well, and stop to see the sights, have a nice lunch along the way, take a blue blaze to a waterfall or summit, or take the time to chat with someone I meet on the trail. I figure that if I'm pouring sweat, out of breath, and have a headache from hiking, I'm probably no longer having fun. If I want to get from GA to ME or anywhere else really fast, I'll take a plane.
"The ultimate pupose? There are three things: to walk; to see; to see what you see....Some people like to record how speedily they they can traverse the length of the trail, but I would give a prize for the ones that took the longest time." - Benton MacKaye
Surplusman
02-17-2009, 09:21
You touched on a point that I didn't bring up and should have--pack weight. Last year on my first overnighter on the AT in many years I lugged about a 30 lb pack, which was absolutely ridiculous. Over half of the crap I packed I never used. Well, I did learn my lesson and this year's pack is going to be a lot less, while still not sacrificing anything in the necessities and comfort department. I may not hike too much farther than I did last year, but it should be a lot more enjoyable not tottering down the AT with a blacksmith's anvil strapped to my back.
Tipi Walter
02-17-2009, 09:27
I'm so slow I've been known to set up camp and stay put for 5 days of a 10 day trip. And then pack up and go 2 miles for another 2 nights. Why not? We're either out or we're not.
Plodderman
02-17-2009, 15:47
You can tell by my name Plodderman that I hike slow. I get where I am going and have done some long days of more than twenety miles without any probelms. I usualy hike uphill, downhill and level all the same speed.