How much is enough ?????

[Tharwood]

I was wondering.... what would be a good starting distance to work at in preperation for spring section hiking...... this distance would be like working out...Currently , I either hike with a 20 lb day pack, or a 30lb Exos...anywhere from 5 -10 miles a day every other weekend...is this enough?

[hikerboy57]

tough question to answer. i section up in NH and ME every August, usually avg 10 mpd depending on the difficulty, but the terrain is pretty rugged.
in NJ/NY/CT/MA i usually look to do 12-15 mile day hikes.
a lot depends on where you intend to section hike vs where you're currently hiking.My best suggestion would be to steadily increase your day-hike miles to maybe the 10-12 range, then 12-15, etc.just slowly keep looking to increase miles till you feel you've reached your limit.
one of the benefits of section hiking is plotting alternatives to your original plan in case you run out of time.For example, 2 yrs ago, i allowed 5 days to hike sobo through the mahoosucs when i could have done it in 3 days. i was unsure of the difficulty so i allowed plenty of time. as it turned out i used all the time and probably enjoyed myself more than if i pushed through in 3 days.
theres nothing wrong with hiking 5 mpd or 15 mpd. its your hike.you do what you want.

[yellowsirocco]

You don't say what your goal is. I would say hiking 5-10 miles every other weekend is pretty good just from a time management point of view. I would love to get out that often. You won't be hiking 20 mile days, but you won't collapse after a short hill either.

[bear bag hanger]

To me, five to ten miles every other weekend sounds a little short of your needs. I've read hiking about a third of the daily distance you plan to go on your section hike is what you need to hike six days a week while training as a absolute minimum. With what your doing, I thing you'll suffer a lot once you get to the trail if you do less.

[Nutbrown]

Do you want to crush your hike, speed hiking 15mpd? Or just have a good spring hike where your feet don't get raw? You could start running 2-3x per week. If you can run 10 or so miles a week, that is good training for a nice hike.

[Stir Fry]

I have a 1.5 mile loop that I walk for two hours every other day, I'm not concerned about distance just the time spent walking. Easer to fit into dayly schedule too.

[Drybones]

IMO...what you're doing is fine. The main thing is to get accustomed to your pack and shoes and make certain they are comfotable.

[Rain Man]

I was wondering.... what would be a good starting distance to work at in preperation for spring section hiking...... this distance would be like working out...Currently , I either hike with a 20 lb day pack, or a 30lb Exos...anywhere from 5 -10 miles a day every other weekend...is this enough?

Impossible to say. Where do you plan to do your section hike, when, how many miles per day, and what kind of shape are you in anyway? If I have an "easy" section hike coming up, I'll try to hike 3-5 miles a day, 5 days a week, increasing my pack weight weekly, for a month before the hike. If it's a "difficult" section, then I'd like to do that for 6 to 8 weeks before. Honestly, that doesn't always happen.

A day or two of practice every other weekend is not much, BUT it's a lot better than nothing. Can you simply walk around your neighborhood every other evening? It's not just core conditioning, but you want to give your tendons and ligaments a chance to build up to long daily pounding.

Rain:sunMan

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[Captain Skivvies]

I trained by taking 5 mile hikes 3 days a week over the toughest terrain I could find. (not so tough I'm in Missouri) This allowed me to be in shape to do 70 miles from Damascus in 5 1/2 days without pushing too hard. I carried 40 lbs when I practice hike. I would probably suggest you try to get out at least twice a week.