Newb
03-09-2005, 11:03
I found this article on the web, I don't know if it's been posted here before. It's self explanatory, but really quite fascinating. It's from the Journal of Family Medicine.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0689/is_n5_v36/ai_13928819
Snippets:
"The duration of the hike for the thru hikers averaged 163 days with a range of 82 of 252 days. On average, the section hikers completed the Trail over 8.8 years, with a range of 2 to 42 years. Backpackers reported an effect on body weight. The thru hikers reported the largest average weight loss (18 lb) during the course of their trek. The section hikers also tended to lose weight, averaging a weight loss of 11.8 lb over the duration of the hike. The weight of the packs carried ranged from 28 to 98 lb, the average being 45.6 lb. The pack weight was the same for the thru hikers and the section hikers.
Correlations between pack weight and frequency of injury or duration of lost hiking time because of injury were not significant. This was also the case when hiker size was considered and the ratio of pack weight to body weight was used in place of pack weight"
...very interesting...
"Backpacking, hiking, running, and jogging were the primary forms of physical conditioning employed before hiking. For conditioning the feet, the major method was merely wearing one's boots ahead of time. The results from discriminate analysis indicated that no form of conditioning resulted in significantly less injury or fewer foot problems."
and this:
"Sixty-three percent (63%) of the hikers experienced diarrhea at least one time during the course of their hiking. In 58% of these cases, the duration of the diarrhea was only 1 to 2 days. Only 7% drank exclusively from protected water during their travels, while the majority admitted consuming unprotected or untreated water approximately once a month. The majority used some form of treatment for their water supply such as filtering, boiling, or chemical sterilization of the water. There were no significant differences in the frequency of diarrhea between those who drank untreated water and those who treated their water."
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0689/is_n5_v36/ai_13928819
Snippets:
"The duration of the hike for the thru hikers averaged 163 days with a range of 82 of 252 days. On average, the section hikers completed the Trail over 8.8 years, with a range of 2 to 42 years. Backpackers reported an effect on body weight. The thru hikers reported the largest average weight loss (18 lb) during the course of their trek. The section hikers also tended to lose weight, averaging a weight loss of 11.8 lb over the duration of the hike. The weight of the packs carried ranged from 28 to 98 lb, the average being 45.6 lb. The pack weight was the same for the thru hikers and the section hikers.
Correlations between pack weight and frequency of injury or duration of lost hiking time because of injury were not significant. This was also the case when hiker size was considered and the ratio of pack weight to body weight was used in place of pack weight"
...very interesting...
"Backpacking, hiking, running, and jogging were the primary forms of physical conditioning employed before hiking. For conditioning the feet, the major method was merely wearing one's boots ahead of time. The results from discriminate analysis indicated that no form of conditioning resulted in significantly less injury or fewer foot problems."
and this:
"Sixty-three percent (63%) of the hikers experienced diarrhea at least one time during the course of their hiking. In 58% of these cases, the duration of the diarrhea was only 1 to 2 days. Only 7% drank exclusively from protected water during their travels, while the majority admitted consuming unprotected or untreated water approximately once a month. The majority used some form of treatment for their water supply such as filtering, boiling, or chemical sterilization of the water. There were no significant differences in the frequency of diarrhea between those who drank untreated water and those who treated their water."