Shakedown Hikes

[Skeemer]

Since I'm on kind of a rampage today I thought I'd try post something that might be helpful. I hit on it in Dainon's rookie question thread.

IMHO, the shakedown hike is too valuable to take lightly for someone who has little backpacking experinece (as I had before my thru-hike.)

I'm not sure a weekend or several days would have been enough for me.

Reasons:
I felt good the first two days then, after losing my appetite and not eating right, was nearly exhausted the 5th day limping into Harpers Ferry in 95 degree weater. By that time I had reached a level trail into town and was taking breaks every five minutes while filtering water out of the Delaware river. Obviously I knew I should be eating right, but in my case I learned it the hard way.

After 2 weeks I was more than ready to go home and assess whether I really wanted to walk and climb for six months.

I learned my pack was too small (one of the reasons I did not carry the right food).

I met and talked to a number of experienced hikers. Most, like I am now, are more than willing to take a few minutes and share some advice.

I'm not an expert, but I would think you would want a couple of weeks to break in new boots. Having said that, I did recognize a boot problem the first day out on a one day hike.

You learn to manage your water. My shakedown was in the summer and one of the water sources was dried up. On an extended hike one of the most frequent questions from the hikers you meet is about the next water source.

I'm sure weekends are better than nothing but I wouldn't have learned what I did in a few days

[SGT Rock]

I couldn't agree more.

[Mags]

It is not feasible for everyone, but I found doing an "End to End" trek on Vermot't Long Trail was a great shakedown hike. It was only 18 days, but it was long enough for me to get a real feel for my gear, what it was like to re-supply and what it felt like to be in the weather than more than just an overnighter. The LT was pretty much a thru-hike in small form. The LT itself is a worth hike in its own right, too.


When I started at Springer the following year, felt mentally ready for the challenge I was about to take.

[Alligator]

To play devil's advocate, a week or longer hike could blow some rookies out of the water. A bad week or two with little experience could sour their outlook. If the person has no experience, a weekend will be better in case they suffer. Say I had 15 days to hike. If I took 5 weekend hikes of 3 days, I would suspect that I would have at least 2 enjoyable trips. But supposing I take that time straight and the first week is bad, say with compound errors. A newbie might quit.

For the very inexperienced, perhaps several weekends, then at least a week or longer trip could be very helpful.

[SGT Rock]

Well, just like a physically training program, you could start off easy with a one or two night hike, low mileage, just to work some bugs out, then work up some longer trips as you go. I would say that even just hiking a mile out and spending the night in a camp is good practice for a beginer. Nothing beats personalexperience and we all have different styles even if you haven'tfigured out what that style is yet.

[Mags]

To play devil's advocate, a week or longer hike could blow some rookies out of the water.


You are absolutely correct. I should add that I did not do the LT until the year after I started backpacking. Did many, many weekend trips the previous summer. When I was thinking of doing the AT, thought the LT would be a good way to see if I wanted to do such a trip. WAs also mentally ready for a longer hike.

As the good Sgt. suggests, build up to the shakedown hike, too!

Kinda like running. You don't do a marathon right away. You start running, maybe a little walking thrown in. You build up to longer training runs. Maybe do a 10k or even a half-marathon. Then the big day comes..you do a marathon!

The weekend hikes can be like those initial runs. After a while, you are ready to do a half marathon to get a feel for what a race is like. What it feels like to pace yourself, use aid stations, the "vibe" of a race. Kind of what the LT is to the AT. Then, the big day comes..you do the marathon/start from Springer.