Newbie question...How many miles to hike?

[shorembo]

I am new to overnight hiking and am planning a week of hiking the AT in TN/NC this summer. How can I determine what the average daily distance I should cover? I was looking at someones prior route and he got up to 18 miles one some days and 7 miles on others. 18 miles seems excessive while 7 miles seems light.

I am 47 and am above average in fitness for my age.

[bflorac]

They say "hike your own hike". I'm 50 and carry a 40lb back. My heart and sole would love to be able to hike 20 miles/day but my left knee needs time to get in to shape every year. That takes at least a week no matter how much I prepare in advance (as I learned last year) so I try to keep it to about 10 miles/day at the start. TN/NC has some good hills so take your time. Enjoy yourself. There is no rush. You will find yourself with 3 speeds up, flat and down.

[Spirit Walker]

Start with some overnight hikes before your weeklong hike. The first few trips can feel somewhat brutal as you train the muscles of your body to carry weight up and down mountains. What I found starting out was that I could backpack about half the distance I could dayhike. So though I was doing 12-15 mile dayhikes, my first couple of backpack trips were 6-7 miles a day. Mind you, if you have lightweight comforable gear (I didn't) you may be able to hike longer mileage. By my third or fourth trip I think I was doing about 10 miles a day backpacking.

[bigcranky]

Carrying a loaded pack up and down steep hills in the summer heat is unbelievably different than running on flat ground in Florida. My advice would be to plan for 8 miles per day to start, and maybe stretch it to 10 per day at the end of the hike.

In the summer, there is usually reliable water at the shelters, so I generally plan to tent nearby. So the distance between shelters becomes a good gauge for how far I might want to walk in a day.

[OldFeet]

l was 57 when l did my first section hike an averaged about 10 miles per day which fit nicely with the shelter spacing. Definitely avoid a big first day; l made that mistake on my second section hike and paid for it with a sore knee the rest of the week. The previous suggestion of doing a weekend hike is a great one since it will work exactly the muscles you need to get in shape and give you a preview of what your body can handle for a day or two.

[shorembo]

So if I am not sure how long I can go, do I just "play it by ear" and either:
1. Be flexibile with the # of days hiking. (plan to go from A to B but allow for an extra day or two).
2. Be flexible with my take out. (plan on hiking for 5 days, just have a couple different options for getting off the trail).

[stranger]

For a newbie...I would say somewhere right around 10 miles per day would be manageable for most people.

However mileage is very personal, so you will probably find your preference varies from that figure, also consider:

- Most hikers hike just over 2 miles per hour, that means a 10 mile day will take you around 4-5 hours, then add breaks...
- While you may be able to hike 10 miles easily and be done by 1pm, this doesn't mean you won't have knee pain or blisters
- Carrying a pack and going up and down all day is much more difficult than walking a treadmill, it doesn't rain inside gyms, and it's different when you aren't going home to shower and sleep in a warm bed, in other words...10 miles could take you 8 hours

Personally speaking with a few thousand miles experience, I would have to say my hardest ever day hiking was about 7.3 miles on the Devil's Path in the Catskills of New York in January. Its was about 28 deg with 2.5 feet of snow, we were on shoeshoes and it took us 8 hours to cover just over 7 miles...it was rough.

By contrast, I once hiked 26 miles from Iron Mountain to Damascus, Virginia in about 8 hours on a long section hike...context is everything!

[sbhikes]

So if I am not sure how long I can go, do I just "play it by ear" and either:
1. Be flexibile with the # of days hiking. (plan to go from A to B but allow for an extra day or two).
2. Be flexible with my take out. (plan on hiking for 5 days, just have a couple different options for getting off the trail).

I would do what works best. If you have time to add on, I would do number one. If my time was limited, I'd be flexible with my route. I'd either have some alternate loops or exit points or I would consider a turn-around point so if I didn't get to point X by such-and-such day, I'd turn around.

I don't think I've ever had a problem with not having enough time to complete a planned hike. Usually the hiking day's miles end earlier than I could keep going and I have wiggle room. It's been that way my entire hiking career, so it has nothing to do with my experience.

[fredmugs]

I'm also 47 and, based on what I read here, I am in way above average shape for my age. I know this sounds crazy but there is a learning curve. I started hiking the AT around 2004. Back then a 15 mile day kicked my @$$ and now a 15 mile day is nothing. I do absolutely no hiking as training but I do an insane amount of cardio and ride a regular bike during the summer.

For you first time out a safe zone would be 12 - 15 miles per day. Learn as much as you can about blister prevention and treatment - my feet knocked me off the trail more than anything else.

[peakbagger]

If you can possibly set it up, try to do a one day slackpack prior to throwing on the backpack at the begining of the trip. That slackpack day will get you accustomed to the trail conditions and local weather conditions.

I use the AMC formula, 2 mph plus 1/2 hour per thousand feet of elevation gain and plan for 7 to 8 hours of hiking initially. I take 5 minute break every hour (it feels weird stopping during the first hour or two but it makes a big difference) and 15 or 20 minutes for lunch.

[chelko]

Most of the shelters and established campsites along the AT in NC/TN are about 7 to 9 miles apart. Plan yourtrip accordingly with a shorter first day if possible. There is no hurry it is not a race. If you push yourself to hard that takes the fun out of it. You want to get to camp each day with plenty of time to make camp, eat, clean up etc. with enough energy to enjoy the experience. A big part of hiking on the AT is the camping experience. I agree with the above posts that the only way to get in shape for backpacking is to go backpacking.

[Tennessee Viking]

Your hardest sections in the summer will actually be some of your flattest trail. North of Hot Springs to Erwin and Watauga Lake to Damascus typically have low amounts of water.

Since you are new into hiking, you may want to start in Damascus and hike south to get the flat trail out of the way first and build your endurance for the trip. Probably shoot for Erwin.

How Erwin is located you can get picked up fairly easily before town or just after town.

[shorembo]

Thanks for the info. After reviewing some of the feedback along with more research in the guidebooks, I was thinking that heading south from Damascus was a good plan for various reasons (the first few days would be moderate; the hiking support available in Damascus). I just now need to figure out how long I want to hike for.

[sixhusbands]

I am happy to read that you are taking an interest in the outddor world of back packing. I trust atht you are in great health and that the daily hike will not just be about the number of miles. there is so much to see and take in along each trail if you just look for it.
My guess is that the 10 mile days will be enough of a workout for you and leave plenty of time to take in all that is there to see and do.

have fun and enjoy it all

[JaxHiker]

Carrying a loaded pack up and down steep hills in the summer heat is unbelievably different than running on flat ground in Florida.

Don't completely discount Florida hiking. What we lack in elevation we make up for with oppressive heat and miserable sugar sand. It'll wear you out quickly if you're not prepared.



My advice would be to plan for 8 miles per day to start, and maybe stretch it to 10 per day at the end of the hike.

Even though my buddies and I have miles under our boots we always try to start light and work our way up. We don't have the luxury of hiking year-round so 8-9 miles gives your body some time to acclimate. I find that by day 3 my legs are really in the groove. That seems to be my sweet spot anyway.



In the summer, there is usually reliable water at the shelters, so I generally plan to tent nearby. So the distance between shelters becomes a good gauge for how far I might want to walk in a day.
This is also how we do it. We all hammock so we can (and have) stopped anywhere along the trail if need be but since the shelters also mean water we use them as milestones. It's also nice to have a place to sit and eat other than the ground and maybe even get a fire going.

[Old Boots]

I am 68 and began backpacking last year. I have spent many years canoeing the Boundary Waters but have jsut begun to backpack. Believe me it is different. You can carry 100 lbs on a half mile portage, but 30 lbs. for 10 miles takes a different kind of strength. What I learned last year and plan on applying to my hikes on the AT is that you must listen to your own body. The best plan in preparation is to take some overnight hikes and test yourself against different terrain.

[bigcranky]

Don't completely discount Florida hiking. What we lack in elevation we make up for with oppressive heat and miserable sugar sand. It'll wear you out quickly if you're not prepared.

Agreed, my one hike on the FT was interesting, to say the least. Enjoyed it, though.

However, the OP said he had no overnight hiking experience, but was in good shape. I assumed he meant running/walking/gym workouts.



I was thinking that heading south from Damascus was a good plan for various reasons


This is a really good idea. Excellent choice, in fact.